Acquaintance: *chuckling* Do you know what’s funny? I just told my [adult] son that me and his Dad were thinking about buying a Subaru. And he said that we can’t because it’s a homo car. *continues chuckling, waits for me to join in*
Me: *quietly* That’s horrible.
Acquaintance: *backpeddling* No…I mean, I never knew that people thought that Subaru was…that people thought about Subaru cars that way.
Me: *sigh* It’s not funny. Calling something “homo” isn’t funny.
Acquaintance: Oh, he’s not…he has gay friends and he’s very nice to them. He’s nice to everyone… And the couple down the street, they’re gay and THEY have a Subaru!
Me: *brain splattering against the inside of my skull* Subaru has been a proud supporter of gay-friendly efforts for a long time, so yes some people in the gay community support Subaru by buying their cars. But so do a lot of other people. And if your son wants to be nice to his gay friends he should probably stop using the word “homo”.
The conversation veered quickly and awkwardly into safer areas, but damned if I heard anything else she had to say.
On a positive note, standing up to everyday homophobia gets a little easier every time.