The 27-year-old man who police say shot and killed a California business owner over a Pride flag draped in her store appears to have had a yearslong history of posting disturbing — and often violent — anti-LGBTQ messages on social media.

The suspect, Travis Ikeguchi, gunned down Laura Ann Carleton, 66, on Friday, after confronting her and “yelling many homophobic slurs” over her clothing store’s Pride flag, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said at a news conference Monday. Shortly after fleeing the store, Mag.Pi, Ikeguchi was killed in a shootout with law enforcement.

  • Kerrigor@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    That is literally one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.

    There is absolutely homophobia. There are people who very specifically go out of their way to harass primarily LGBTQ individuals. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US experienced this even in school as a child.

    • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      No, it’s called bigotry.

      If I see a queer person, I don’t go running for the hills, nor do they make me feel irrationally uncomfortable or fearful.

      • JollyTheRancher@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Absolutely. This is the same reason I am against the use of sunrise and sunset. The sun isn’t actually doing anything!

        Peanuts are not actually nuts, we must fix this as well.

        I heard someone say they were head over heels in love with their boyfriend the other day, imagine my outrage that they were standing normal on their feet!

        We should also get rid of the word hemophobia, they’re not actually afraid of blood, they’re just having a neurological reaction.

        It is just all so infuriating

        Oh, and don’t even get me started on “sleeping like a baby”! I’ve never seen a baby sleep through the night without waking up multiple times.

        Or when people claim they’re “freezing” when it’s just a bit chilly. To my knowledge, they’re not turning into ice!

        Ever heard someone say they’re “starving”? Unless they’ve been stranded on a deserted island recently, I doubt it.

        And the term “caught red-handed”? Unless their hands are actually painted red, I think we might be exaggerating.

        It’s all so perplexing; words just aren’t what they used to be!

          • JollyTheRancher@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Absolutely, words do matter! That’s precisely my point. If we’re to take every word and phrase at its literal, original meaning, we’d have quite the linguistic overhaul on our hands. It’d be a monumental task (and not literally involving monuments). But let’s remember, language is dynamic and ever-evolving. It’s as much about communication and shared understanding as it is about individual words. Let’s focus on the bigger picture and not get bogged down in the weeds—or should I say, not literally stuck in marshy grounds!

                • cubedsteaks@lemmy.today
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                  1 year ago

                  No. The entire time they have been trolling for responses.

                  Think about where they chose to post all this. In a specific thread where it would definitely get seen and get responses. As long as people respond, they get entertainment value out of it.

      • Kalkaline @lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        I get what you’re trying to say: “It’s not fear, it’s hate” but we call that hate homophobia and everyone agrees on the meaning.

        • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Exactly. And since we already have words for that, I don’t understand why people have to make up new terminology. If the article called him a bigot, I would still know what the shooting was about.

          • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            “Homophobia” has been the accepted and predominant term for anti-gay bigotry for as long as I can remember; no one’s making up new terminology here.

            • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              As I said in another comment, Native American has been the terminology for quite some time as well, regardless of the fact that it’s wrong.

              My point, so you don’t think I’m trying a straw man argument, just because something is used for a long time, by the majority of people, doesn’t make it inherently correct.

              • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I don’t understand why people have to make up new terminology

                I used google trends to show you they’re not; the term has been in common use for literally decades.

                Further, you’ve been stating repeatedly in this thread that “homophobia” is incorrect semantically because it’s not a literal fear of gay people. But the literal dictionary definition of “phobia” proves you wrong on this.

                Repeating the same alternative facts over and over in this thread doesn’t make them true.

            • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              So has the term “Native American “, and that’s no more correct than the word “homophobia “. 🤷🏻‍♂️

              • Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Except “phobia” doesn’t solely mean “irrational fear”. As @[email protected] pointed out, “hydrophilia” and “hydrophobia” do not refer to chemicals that are literally in love with or afraid of water.

          • Landrin201@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            What us the definition of “hydrophobia” as it relates to chemistry?

            I’ll wait for you to explain how some molecules are leterally afraid of water.

            • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              What does that have to do with homophobia?

              The same point comes across if you call them a bigot instead of attaching new definitions to a word so that it fits the description of someone who is prejudiced.

          • yata@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Bigotry is the overall term, homophobia is a subset of bigotry. You are the one attempting to redefine language in ways noone but yourself agrees with.

        • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          They’re the ones getting hung up on that part of my comment and conveniently overlooking the second part. Not surprising.

            • DadeMurphy@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              It’s not suspicious, I t’s more about the lack of enforcement in regards to how easy it is to get purchase a gun legally.

              It’s actually harder to get a driver’s license than something specifically made to kill, and that’s a big problem.

              The issue is, if the government tries to implement protocols, then they start crying about infringing on their right, as if it’s the only amendment that can’t be, wait for it….amended.

              Regardless of what kind of weapon you want, you should have to take a psychological evaluation beforehand. And depending on what type of firearm you purchase, you should be required to have a certain amount of hours for gun safety as well, for that specific type of firearm, i.e. handguns, rifles, shotguns, etc.

      • MrSpArkle
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        1 year ago

        Is a hydrophobic material afraid of water? Or does it simply repel water?

        Similarly a homophobic person repels homosexuals from society via shame, discrimination, or violence.