On Tuesday, we ran an uplifting and wonderful story by Michael Martin, an openly gay high school soccer player in West Virginia who danced with the homecoming king. It has gotten 66,000 Facebook shares and in two days has become the most-read article on Outsports in 2014.

This morning, I checked the comments, which we do not pre-approve, and saw one written by a homophobe. I was going to delete it until I saw the response by someone self-described as a gay teen suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies. Our comment system deletes all replies to banned comments, and I did not want the teen's voice lost.

I am reprinting the offending comment and the reply since it is still shows how many minds need to be changed. I would appreciate any feedback since this is not always an easy call with comments.
Here is the comment from Knaggsk in reaction to the soccer player's story. The face that this person is a medical professional scares the shit out of me. (Neither reply has been edited):

Wow

The behavior is not natural., and certainly not worthy of print! This article is typical though….as the liberal press continues to promote the worlds liberal agendas.
Homosexual behavior is on par with any other type of sexual deviancy…pedophilia, bestiality , sexual promiscuity ……all of which have been studied and have just as much basis for "born this way " as a homosexual person does. The homosexual behavior is no different than the above listed behaviors, I don't miss an opportunity to educate, and call out persons based on their destructive behaviors or lifestyles.
I see patients daily , more than 10,000 in my ongoing career, ….and I study people, and the literature. This behavior is destructive in its purest form, another failure of the Human race is to attempt to say that the lifestyle/ behavior/ CHOICE is correct. …..it will never be so! I will discharge people from my service who do not recognize and alter their behaviors in many areas, the same as some specialty physicians will do when their patients continue their behaviors….. including alcoholism,..people with sexually transmitted diseases for unchanged behaviors, drug addictions without desire to change, and the like. It seems that the more that the behavior or human weakness gains strength in the press , that it usually gets some sort of medical diagnosis or other label to protect from "discrimination"
More and more people are finally speaking up about this. The harm here is trying to support these confused young people in these CHOICES. The CHOICE for any of the listed behaviors , and any other human weaknesses expressed is still a choice, ..regardless of the likely tendency we may all have toward a type of behavior. The alcoholic ( listed as a medical diagnosis, so therefore protected, and medically treatable) is similar to homosexual behavior/ same sex attraction ( once listed as a medical deviant…rescinded due to public pressure, other reasons) . ( information is available in the medical community , though not printed in the press in recent years) .
Every lifestyle choice is a CHOICE. There are constants in human nature, homosexual behavior has been around since the beginning….but so has every vice mentioned above.
Homosexual behaviors are now protected in more ways . This protection DOES NOT justify , or make right the behavior, but does Protect in some way the person from harm of others who might disagree. This world is regressing in many ways, not progressing, this is just one area getting much attention at present.
I have adopted children, internationally adopted, and the vast majority of Hague approved countries WILL NOT allow homosexual couples to adopt , nor do the agencies even recognize the "marriage" of such couples. Children need natural families with a male and female to raise them ( do a search on this subject) …..millions of kids without homes, …..and still the intelligence of these agencies to realize the child is better without a home than being exposed to the homosexual lifestyle.
These BOYS will have a lifetime of pain , even if the behavior becomes more accepted due to our innate ability to realize that the choice is not Natural….. I did not have time to spell check..

The response from Cedricedric:

A Plea From The HeartDear knaggsk,
I'm sure you love your children and want the best for them and the world they would grow up in.
The growing acceptance and tolerance for homosexuality, in my opinion, is a step in the right direction for society. Without such tolerance, millions more people would still feel depressed, shunned and even be driven to suicide. Love and attraction play a big part in every human life, and to unwillingly suppress one's only attraction for an entire lifetime is the real destructive behaviour that would incapacitate so many individuals.
If your mindset were to persist in society, so many human lives would be cut short. So many people would be dead; People who could have been useful to society would be dead. Homophobia is very toxic and dangerous. Even without you knowing it, your homophobia might have caused devastating effects on the people around you.
Think about this possibility, a member of your very own family suffering and dying because of a purely "moral" mindset.
Unlike the vices that you have stated, homosexuality does not objectively bring any harm on its own. It can be pure innocent affection. Acting upon "Pedophilia, bestiality and sexual promiscuity" is hazardous and objectively harmful as it can spread diseases and scar unwitting minors.
In case you are thinking about it being destructive because of the lack of reproduction from a homosexual relationship, then infertility, celibacy and abstinence should be condemned and vilified as well, but I struggle to find any sanity in that.
I ask that you give the situation a more personal reflection: What would you do if your children came out to you as gay? Or god forbid, if they commit suicide and not even tell you a single word because they know very well of your stance on the issue and feel that if you knew you, their own parent, would not love them anymore. I may have personally thought about taking this very option myself. Please give this more thought.

Love,
A closeted gay teen
(Still suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies despite the growing acceptance and tolerance)

P.S. Being attracted to only the same sex is a struggle and I wouldn't wish it on any heterosexual person

We can easily tell who the well-adjusted human being is in this exchange and I would give Cedricedric a hug if I could.

Don't forget to share: