How To Stop Gay Bullies

Gay bashing is becoming alarmingly prevalent and it is important to know how to stop gay bullies in their tracks. You never know when you may be faced with violence. Bigots and bullies, whether they be homophobic, racist, or just mean, are alike in many ways. Learn now to undermine their advantage and get them to leave you and your friends alone.

1. Bullies are always right. No matter what you say, a bully will always believe their own rhetoric. When you are in the presence of a bully, it doesn't do any good to try and convince them of your views. If you can do it, the first defense against a bully is to walk the other way. Retain your dignity and grace, turn around, and take the high road in the other direction.
2. Bullies are insecure. All bullies are little kids trying to prove their worth by pushing someone else around. Do not make the bully feel more insecure by insulting them. Sometimes the bully is someone in your own family, a neighbor, a teacher, or someone you cannot avoid. If this is the case, do everything you can to keep the peace. You'll have to interact with them for a long time, and you want to keep things as level as possible without giving up your dignity. It's good to come up with one-liners for instances like this. When someone is shouting at you or someone you care about, you can come back with your one-liner and have a chance at shutting down the conversation immediately. Practice your responses. Bigots don't really come up with new attacks. You'll hear "Faggot!" and "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," and "You make me sick!" quite a lot. Have a response ready that shuts them down without giving up your self-respect. Something like, "I can see you feel that way," or "We have different opinions about that" work well at times. Statements like "And proud of it!" can also confuse and distract. Show your pride. "I love myself this way, and nothing you can say will change that."
3. Bullies will go for blood. Sometimes, this means they will attack you where it hurts the most emotionally. In that case, ignoring them, coming back with pat answers, or retaining your pride work well. If a gay bashing situation escalates into physical violence at any time, do whatever it takes to protect yourself. Make noise and run if you can. If you can't run, fight back with a disabling move like a kick to the crotch. Everyone, whether they could the victim of a hate crime or not, should be versed in self-defense. Take a course that will enable you to protect yourself. Knowing you can hold your own verbally and physically against whatever comes your way will enable you to live out loud and proud, no matter what.