“you get a potion and the alchemist tells you ‘this potion will cure you’ and youre like 'hell yeah health potion’ and you drink it and turn into salami” - my gf
this has 100% been talked about before but younger members of the lgbt community (especially on tumblr) NEED to understand that “gay panic” doesn’t mean “oh no i’m a teen panicking because i might be gay” it means “literal legal defense used in cases where a person has murdered someone upon finding out they were gay”
the gay panic defense states that if someone finds out you are gay you do not need to have threatened them, spoken to them, or even know of their existence- they now have the right to murder you under self-defense laws bc you letting them find out you’re gay antagonized and “panicked” them.
Only a handful of states have outlawed this horrific legal tactic. Ten have conclusively banned it as of June 2020, and 12 states have put the topic on the table for debate.
Content Warning: The article mentions incidents of violence and murder against LGBTQ+ individuals, when it gives examples of high-profile cases where the gay/trans panic defense has been successful and unsuccessful. To go straight to the action steps, scroll to the bottom where you’ll find a list.
i’m so glad this post has been gaining traction and that people have been adding more information; the two overwhelming responses to this post have been “yeah, this refers to hate crimes and it’s not right to dilute that” and “oh shit, i never knew! i need to remember this!”
if you never knew the history of this phrase, it’s not a personal or moral failing. it’s just information that hadn’t gotten to you but is important to remember. follow the links. do your research. take action.
Worldbuilders naming towns: I named this town Elygwe’meth which means “Where the Dearly Beloved King died next to his Lover” in the language I invented and also a combination of the Old English word for diamonds and the Maori word for apples since that’s their main exports
People in real life naming towns: I named this town Big Falls cause big fall there
me poring over a fantasy map: Shit I already used that name for a town, I can’t use it again, that’s such sloppy worldbuilding
real life maps: There are six rivers in Britain called the River Avon, which means River River, because when the Romans asked the Celts “what is that?” they replied “a river?” and the Romans nodded and jotted it down
