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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 16 May 2008

Everyone loses when hatred is prevalent

• THE United Nations World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of disorders on May 17 1990, officially recognising that many people around the world are harmlessly gay.
Nearly 20 years on, this date is still celebrated every year, as the International Day Against Homophobia.
Websites and the media will list many of this weekend’s events, including those bravely put on by falsely persecuted lesbians and gay men in the handful of less developed countries still encumbered with antiquated colonial or religious laws.
Homophobia – the irrational fear of lesbians and gay men – is now more clearly understood to be an unnatural condition.
Those who work closely with this mental illness widely publicise regular, detailed reports of the staggering costs inflicted across humanity by those living with – and perpetuating – their disorder.
History repeatedly shows that the characteristic bullying, violence and disproportional hatred of homophobia afflicts the lives of billions of human beings.
Families everywhere are torn apart, and since homophobes rarely confine their hatred to only one single group, homosexuals themselves are typically a tiny minority of those affected.
Howsoever disguised behind false smiles, lies or idolatrous religiosity, everyone loses when hatred is given prevalence in our society.
IAN STEWART
Golden Square, W1

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld.
Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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