Summary Of Jonathan Alter's 'Degrees Of Discomfort'

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In Jonathan Alter’s “Degrees of Discomfort” (published March 12,1990), he determines whether or not homophobia is equivalent to racism. That is one question that can be debated all day long by individuals. Some people believe that homophobia is equal to racism, while others believe that homophobia is worse than racism. Instead of arguing for one of these sides, Alter explores why homophobia was considered less serious than racism. Alter writes about both sides of the argument, while he keeps his thoughts neutral. In the piece, he specifically compares homophobia and African American race in order to answer the question of is homophobia equivalent to racism or not. According to Alter, if we want this debate to go away about which is more equivalent,