we have always respected gays, we just didn't let them flirt with kids in public during pride parades. notably the (irish) marquess of londonderry was very probably a homosexual and accidentally sort of admitted it to the king during a schizophrenic episode later in his life. the king sent him home and then sent a get well soon card, which he never read due to dying (or probably killing himself or asking his wife to kill him) before it arrived. similarly we have always respected women, owning an inn in the middle ages was one of the most sought after sources of income as it was very lucrative, something like 20% of inn owners over the period were women. the british have always been... actually let me phrase this carefully. the british man has always treated his fellow man with respect. i was going to use the word progressive, but that word doesn't mean what people think it means. progressive means pushover, a doormat. i take issue with the argument that the british aren't good enough. we have respect, it's just that the rest of the world doesn't know what the word respect means. unfortunately, a great many people in britain today have taken on the foreign meaning of the word respect, rather than the true meaning.
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