That’s great, and I’m glad you’ve managed to remain optimistic in the ability for fellow man to change his ways. I think the people more likely to be swayed are the ones who haven’t made their minds up yet, these may be the people just simply reading, never discussing themselves.
Oftentimes you’ll see people who are “just asking questions” when what they’re really doing is making thinly veiled racial statements and claiming ignorance on their part. They will then often claim that in fact they are the real victims.
The real victims here are lgbt people who already have it rough in real life. I don’t care much if I offend the feelings of Internet homophobes uncomfortable with their favorite pastime moving beyond them. The same stuff happens in comics as well.
If Riot as a company produced poor-quality stories, and I felt that they wouldn’t be able to handle an LGBT character well, I wouldn’t be arguing the position I am. I also wouldn’t be remotely as interested in the lore.
That being said, I think Riot handles stories well and they can make complex characters with interesting motivations and room for development.
Finally, I refuse to treat homophobia as a logical, rational viewpoint. Bigotry is never founded in ethical intellectualism. Bigotry stems from pseudo-science and fear-mongering. That group of people relies heavily on dishonestly changing the frames of debate. They are stupid people, with hateful views, who should get off the internet and earnestly reflect on their beliefs. They won’t. They have no reason to change their views.
I’d rather the LoLboards not become another festering pit of Internet-chauvinism.
