Wow, I sincerely applaud your willingness to discuss. Thank you for responding.
"You also have to realize that when you ask for a dialogue in which people explain themselves that you are literally asking someone to explain who they are to you. It's almost as if we have to justify our existence. No one owes anyone an explanation."
Very true. You do not owe me anything, but please realize that I do not owe you anything as well.
I freely admit that I do not know what it is like to grow up feeling like I could not express who I was because of sexual or gender identity. I was bullied for other reasons, but a pervasive feeling that I was different and did not belong with the mainstream culture was not a burden I had to bear. I did know people who were gay and lesbian and they always had to deal with a stigma that was placed on that "lifestyle". I have been to Gay bars, I had queer/trans friends, it has never been an issue for me. I always viewed everyone as simply being an individual. Being who they are. I did not lump people into groups.
The largest problem I have can be boiled down to what I view as the "Other-ing". The "we are not a part of your society/culture" message. I don't care who you are attracted to, who you date, what you identify as, or who you hang out with. Why should any of that matter? You are my brother/sister in humanity. But now a stigma being placed on being a straight white cis male. I am judged for how I am born in relation to the LGBT community, or labeled as a hateful bigot because of my genetic traits, I do not see that as progress.
Earlier I conceded that you do not owe me anything, just like I do not owe you anything. But an integral part of human connection is the giving in order to receive. We give love and then we receive love. We give respect and then we receive respect. We give trust and we receive trust. Empathy, sympathy, kindness etc. No one should think that they can give hate and expect to receive love; disrespect for respect. Sadly, however, this is the message I see, one of "Us vs Them". I would love to see the LGBT community open up and not be so isolating. More understanding and welcoming, it only seems to welcome those who agree with it. Please correct me if you do not think this is the case. Too many things become political on topics like these. While some of society may hold religious views that keep them from fully accepting the LGBT, I do not think that isolating a population (mentally or physically) will ultimately help your community. You might not want assimilation, but if you are seeking mainstream acceptance, it might be that you will have to be the better people.