eanoen:

So what I really hate THE MOST about Moriarty’s role is how Sherlock used the argument ‘underwear visible above the waistline’ to prove he was gay. All of his argument was crap but I MEAN SERIOUSLY? What decade are you living in? ALL MEN DO THAT! FIFTY CENT does that! (although Rufus…

I agree that this show would totally fail the Bedchel test of female presence in media.  And I too am quite soapboxy about stereotypes.  But this case has a few practical factors on its side.

Firstly, along with what damselunderstress said, there’s the “in plain sight” thing.  Perhaps a brilliant psychopath could have come up with something better, but I certainly can’t think of any other realistic way he could have to not only meet Sherlock but look lustily at him.  And he is a flirtatious and sharp-looking character, so it fits with his personality.

Secondly, Sherlock’s deduction was indeed based on stereotypes.  But he uses stereotypical thinking in basically all of his deductions ever.   

Take John’s phone for example.  He said that it belonged to a sibling and not a parent because it’s a young person’s gadget.  Well, there are plenty of older people who use modern technology (his own parallel-universe brother Stephen Fry being one).  And he concluded that the previous owner was a drunkard because of the scratches by the charge slot.  What if the previous owner had some kind of palsy?  Or a prosthetic arm/hand/fingers?  Those and probably more things would affect fine motor skills. 

He makes these leaps based on what’s most probable.  And while palsy and prosthetic hands are possible, they are not probable compared to drunkenness.  It’s just like how a straight man with impeccable tidiness is possible, but that coupled with the fact that he didn’t seem very interested in Molly and that he was making constant eyes at Sherlock made it less probable.

I’ve got a better idea.  How about we don’t?

Let’s take a look at their side.  There are certainly people who are simply unabashedly bigoted.  But for the most part, the reasons that they hold their beliefs are some of the same that we have for ours.  It may be what we’ve heard or felt all our lives.  It’s congruent with the teachings of our dogmas (whether it be religion, civil rights, etc.).  We feel that society has suffered because people believe otherwise.  And a future ignoring our beliefs makes us feel frightened, angry, and oppressed.  And we will fight tooth and nail for our side.

In order for someone to change their mind on this issue, they’re going to have to turn those beliefs upside-down and see a whole new perspective.  And as allies, it’s our job to help them do that.  How is that conversation going to go when you start out completely lacking respect for them?  Isn’t that comparable to people who say “If you don’t believe in Jesus, I’ve lost all respect for you”?  How excited to continue the conversation would that make you?

You don’t have to believe someone is completely right to respect them.  But in order to have a civil, real conversation and to make an actual impact on a person, we have to treat them as we’d want to be treated.  So let’s keep that respect for people who are different from us, for the sake of our cause (and for just being good people in general).  Here’s a simple list of things you can do instead of/in addition to ignoring/losing respect for people (scanned from a Safe Zone training packet).

by means of Foreign Language

Y’know a “remote control”?

Well, in Spanish “remote control” is “mando a distancia,” or basically control from a distance. 

So the “remote” doesn’t refer to some new noun which I always associated with remote controls - it’s “remote” as in the adjective meaning “far away” sense.

My mum: [lamenting that half of her week off of work is over]  How is it that tomorrow’s already Thursday?

Me: You would know such things if you would have listened to Rebecca Black’s song.

Of course plenty of pain is not a direct reaction. But psychologists typically like to use the scientific method and data and stuff when making grandiose all-encompassing statements, all of which this statement lacks.

so the other night I was hanging outside this friend’s house with this friend

and I heard frogs

and I was all, DUDE ARE THERE FROGS

but then I remembered that my ringtone is frogs

The world can be a difficult place to live in.

And I believe that adversity makes resilience and beauty of humanity all the more apparent.

So please join me in appreciating the latest manifestation of the greatness of our species.

Stephen Fry Potato Crisps.

i’m pretty sure he did that for us

And I’m here with my big ass brown eyes

yeah, big brown eyes are pretty boring and unsexy