You are teaching your children to hate

Got a question for all the haters out there, the homophobes, the folks who are doing their very best to demonize the LGBTQ community – which would be the Republicans, the MAGAts, the so-called followers of Jesus … got a question for you guys.

When I grew up I was totally immersed in heterosexual culture. Every book I read, every TV show I watched, every movie I saw, every experience I had at school, all the couples I knew – everything, 100 percent, 24/7 heterosexual.

And yet, I didn’t turn out heterosexual.

How do you explain that?

And don’t try to tell me I chose to be gay. I most certainly did not. The science backs me up on that.

So how do you explain the fact that despite a total immersion in heterosexual culture, I’m not heterosexual.

And where do you get off saying that if your child so much as even knows about the existence of gay people, he or she might become gay? In light of my experience, how do you justify that? You use this mentality to pass laws, harass, threaten and marginalize the LGBTQ community.

Let me explain it to you. Reading about gay people in a book, seeing gay people in a movie or TV show, encountering gay people in real life, and knowing that gay people exist is NOT going to “make your children gay.”

And God forbid, treating gay people with the dignity and compassion you would any other human being is not going to make your child gay; it will make them a decent human being.

You are teaching your children to hate.

You need to stop.

You are hurting innocent people.

About the author:

Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”

Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .