La Casa Roja

He is trolling.

The effect is one of trolling but there may be some genuine lack of understanding and empathy. Dialogue and personal observations from different points of view might just help. Personally, with regard to this issue, I like to think of the differences between Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatanejo. In Puerto Vallarta, after some well-publicized incidents some time ago (early 2000's?), the community came together and began to welcome the homosexual community with open arms. PV is now a gay/lesbian mecca. If one is offended by homosexual culture, stay away from Gay Vallarta, the southernmost part of the Zona Romantica in Puerto Vallarta. You will not approve.

When I first visited Zihuatanejo, it was evident that open homosexuality was not part of the culture. Inquisitive as usual, I started to ask around, especially if it was evident that the local I was talking with was of the alternative sexuality. In a previous post, Jay used the word "frosty" which I think is very suitable to the situation. One gentleman said that his family and friends accepted him for who he was. However, the whole topic of sexuality was just not discussed much.

Overall, the culture of Zihuatanejo and the State of Guerrero seem far more reserved and, to use a politically loaded term, conservative. This is in stark contrast to the culture of Puerto Vallarta and the State of Jalisco which is home to Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city and an important cultural center. One stark example is the tee-shirts that are available in PV versus Zihua. You just don't see the same level of bad taste and overt sexuality in the tee-shirts for sale in Zihua as you do in Puerto Vallarta.

Of course, if IXTZIHUA is indeed just trolling to spread disharmony, then I guess I just fed the troll and I offer my apologies. But the fact remains that Casa Roja is simply offering information to a small segment of the population that has been historically despised and maligned. There is no need for them to add "straight-friendly" as that is the default in all but a tiny sliver of locations around the globe.

I totally got it from the beginning, I just don't think it's necessary nor agree with it....and to the other poster, no I'm not trolling.

The way things are changing rapidly in society the tables can easily turn the other way, and I would actually find it offensive to basically read "straight people are welcome too" if I had to find somewhere to stay, eat, etc.....

This is how you draw attention and single out groups instead of just letting them be themselves.

Seeing as not that long ago being openly gay was impossible due to prejudice as well as legal consequences, I think giving a hearty welcome to people who are still persecuted in parts of the world is the path open-minded empathetic people must take so that bigots and their bad laws lose their bite. I've had gay family and friends pretty much my entire life. I remember when they would almost get killed by rednecks as part of redneck sport, and it was all I could do not to repay rednecks in kind (they also wanted to beat me up all the time just for having long hair and dressing different). So if giving a hearty welcome to LGBTQ keeps away some bigots, GOOD!

I highly recommend getting better acquainted with people whom you appear not to understand very well, perhaps due to your own social isolation. One of my favorite cousins and many of my very best friends are and have been gay, lesbian and bi. I feel totally comfortable around LGBTQ people. A society where formerly persecuted people are made to feel welcome is a healthier society. It's not realistic to imagine the alternative, as you suggest is possible. There is no historical precedent for it. Not in Alexander the Great's empire or even in Caligula's Rome.

The way things are changing rapidly in society the tables can easily turn the other way, and I would actually find it offensive to basically read "straight people are welcome too" if I had to find somewhere to stay, eat, etc.....

This is how you draw attention and single out groups instead of just letting them be themselves.

If everyone were perfect, just like all of us here at Zihuatanejo.net, then we would never have to worry about the reverse situation you fear occurring. Alas, people are not rational. Some can be very mean-spirited, petty, and looking to exact revenge for past grievances, real and imagined. The scenario you describe has already played itself out and will continue to do so, albeit in tiny oases where individuals feel comfortable enough to exert their own toxic brand of reverse discrimination. On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the famed novelist Kurt Vonnegut, let us end this observation of human nature by lamenting, "So it goes."

Note: If you have never read anything by Kurt Vonnegut and it is unlikely you will ever pick up a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five or Cat's Cradle because you just don't ever read any novels, enjoy this extremely short but terrifying dystopian short story, Harrison Bergeron. It will take you less than 5 minutes and you will never again wish that we were all equal.