Dear Abby offers some advice to anti-gay couple in today's column

[kpete]

You might remember the classic response to a homophobic writer from Pauline Phillips, the original "Abby," more than thirty years ago:



Well, today, Pauline's daughter Jeanne, who has been writing the column since 2002, deals with a very similar letter. Get a load of this steaming pile of hate from "Unhappy in Tampa":

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I relocated to Florida a little over a year ago and were quickly welcomed into our new neighbors' social whirl. Two couples in the neighborhood are gay -- one male, one female. While they are nice enough, my husband and I did not include them when it was our turn to host because we do not approve of their lifestyle choices. Since then, we have been excluded from neighborhood gatherings, and someone even suggested that we are bigots!

Abby, we moved here from a conservative community where people were pretty much the same. If people were "different," they apparently kept it to themselves. I don't feel we should have to compromise our values just to win the approval of our neighbors. But really, who is the true bigot here? Would you like to weigh in? -- Unhappy in Tampa

DEAR UNHAPPY: I sure would. The first thing I'd like to say is that regardless of what you were told in your previous community, a person's sexual orientation isn't a "lifestyle choice." Gay people can't change being gay any more than you can change being heterosexual.

From where I sit, you may have chosen the wrong place to live because it appears you would be happier in a less integrated neighborhood surrounded by people who think the way you do. But if you interact only with people like yourselves, you will have missed a chance for growth, which is what you have been offered here. Please don't blow it.

The rest from 2014:
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/02/18/5349411/abby-couple-new-to-florida-arent.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/19/1278802/-Dear-Abby-offers-some-advice-to-anti-gay-couple-in-today-s-column

[3catwoman3]

1. Ziiiiiiing!

Short and to the point. Kudos to her.

[Happyhippychick]

2. That top letter is an absolute classic.

[Skittles]

3. Loved Dear Abby, and she raised her daughter right