I have some thoughts, but of course, they won't make sense of these mysteries. That is, I suspect you're saying how you can't understand why anyone would be stupid enough to believe them. To that, I can only say, "never underestimate the power of irrationality, stupidity, or denial."
As for those thoughts I mentioned:
1. Racism as we know it was a by-product of European conquest, genocide, and slavery in the Americas, Africa, Asian, and Austronesia. In order to justify the conquest and pillaging, Europeans and their descends had to invent myths like the notion of racial superiority or the "White Man's Burden." How else could they sleep at night knowing they were doing such monstrous deeds?
Today, racism endures as a manifestation of fear and guilt. When you spend so long putting your boot on the neck of other people, you fear what will happen if you take it away. "White fear" and "white "guilt" are the reason caucasian people feel so uncomfortable and/or resentment toward people of color.
2. Faith is and always has been a way of making an uncertain and unpredictable world have intelligible meaning. Some people reject this on the basis of natural explanations and empiricism, which have dispelled more and more of the ignorance religion depends upon. But in the end, faith is just that, an attempt to answer the unknown. It can never be proven either way, you either believe it or you don't.
3. The whole "gay/straight" dichotomy emerged by the 1960s as a way of explaining the difference between normal, respectable folks from the hedonistic and flagrant lifestyle that they associated with homosexuality. "Straight" was essentially code for, "someone who doesn't do drugs, engage in excess, accepts Jesus, and is a respectable member of society." You know, the usual Victorian morality BS.
In short, it was a way of politely saying "godless sodomites" or other perjoratives that respectable types didn't engage in. Much like they would say "Negroes" or "Colored" when disparaging Black people, or "Chinamen" when saying how they didn't like Asians. The list goes on.
That is all, thank you!
