Little Hawk, that's very insightful.

I also think there's a tendency of people to not try very hard to understand someone else and just go straight to demonizing them and calling them 'bigots'. Like the heterosexual person who, at some time in his or her life, was attracted to someone of the same sex and is scared of connecting with that side of themselves, a person may not want to 'walk a mile' in someone else's shoes in a discussion of this sort because they may find, that while they don't like the way the shoes look, and find them uncomfortable, they can actually wear them. I've never really seen the harm in trying though. Trying to understand a person is not the same as trying or wanting to be like them.

Kids who grow up being beaten by their parents are often surprised to find out that it isn't 'normal' and that other kids' parents don't give them the occasional black eye or punch mommy in the stomach when she doesn't have dinner ready on time. We base our opinions about people, and our stereotypes on what people around us think AND our own experiences. There's far more out there than what our friends think and what we've personally experienced, so maybe learning the facts and listening to different people is a good idea, whether they support or contradict our ideas.