Puzzling LA verdict on homosexuality

Being gay isn’t supposed to be considered terrible in the 21st century US, right? According to the verdict in a recent workplace bullying lawsuit in Los Angeles, one of the most liberal cities in the country, being gay is so terrible that if people think that’s what you are, it’s as bad as killing you or turning you into a mental or physical vegetable for life.

For a few decades, citizens of the modern world have been treated to formal and informal diversity education by schools, universities, workplaces, news media and entertainment, with a major emphasis on acceptance of gays. Major cities have annual gay pride parades, supported by many heterosexuals as well. The psychological establishment, which once considered homosexuality a mental disorder, has changed its mind, and now considers it a normal sexual lifestyle.

As reported this week in the Los Angeles Times, James Pearl, a sanitation worker, was awarded a monumental judgment of US$17.4 million dollars by a jury that needed a mere two hours to arrive at a unanimous decision in his favor. Judgments of this magnitude are usually awarded for incidents of wrongful death, or paraplegia or brain death. What was the terrible crime for which Mr. Pearl was so immensely compensated?

“He endured repeated harassment by his supervisors, who falsely perceived that he was gay [and] was subjected to verbal abuse, hazing, and a bullying campaign in which his portrait was photoshopped to show him in a same-sexrelationship with a subordinate. The images were then circulated among city employees…”

We are fortunate to live in a society in which we have the right to sue our employers for criminal abuse. But let’s examine this case carefully.

Read here