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Thor looked around, baffled and angry. He waited for someone to say something, but the Avengers were just staring at their shoes, looking miserable.
“...oh,” said Natasha, at last.
“It’s my opinion!” Thor thundered. “It may be an unpopular one...”
“You can think whatever you want, Thor,” said Steve mutedly. “It’s a free country.”
“Precisely! And you fought to defend, ‘freedom of speech’ did you not? A beautiful phrase.”
“I did. I don’t think it’s currently in danger, though.”
“I am not so sure,” said Thor darkly. “Come, Steven! Surely you are relic of a nobler, more innocent time. You must support my opinion.”
“This, um, LGBT rights stuff, it did take some getting used to,” admitted Steve. “But I’ve always hated bullies. And I have this rule of thumb that if the Nazis were against something, I’m for it. So far it’s worked pretty well.” His brow wrinkled.“Thor -- didn’t S.H.I.E.L.D give you the same stuff to read they gave me?”
“Wait, S.H.I.E.L.D gave you a primer on gayness?” asked Tony, his expression briefly lightening. “How unexpectedly cool of them.”
“It wasn’t just on gay rights, it was on lots of things; they wanted to catch me up on how things have changed. But there are LGBT men and women at S.H.I.E.L.D so I guess they wanted to make sure I knew to be respectful. Thor, they’ve fought alongside you! Just like gay servicemen fought Hitler with me.”
“Yes, I read the material. But it changes nothing! I do not wish anyone hurt -- not physically anyway -- but I cannot approve or condone homosexuality,” said Thor. It surely wasn’t that inflammatory a thing to say, he thought. If he could just say it right, no one would have any right to be upset.
It wasn’t that he HATED gay people. He just didn’t like them or want anything to do with them.
And he was open-minded! He might even stretch a point and associate with a gay or two, one day! Maybe he would learn to like them, provided they were docile and knew their place and didn’t pester him about equality and were suitably grateful that he refrained from bashing them with Mjolnir. Then he would be able to tell everyone he had a gay friend and perhaps people would start respecting his right to have an opinion.
“You did read the history?” asked Steve. “You mean you know about Harvey Milk? And Alan Turing –we might never have won the war without him and they drove him to death for it? And you know about people being kept from the bedsides of people they love in hospital – and all those poor kids who’ve been bullied so bad they killed themselves – you know all that, and you still ... Oh. Oh. Wow. Okay.” To Thor’s horror, he actually looked to be misting up a little bit. It was his habit, Thor knew, when epics of fallen heroes or tales of injustice were told. But for him to weep over this!
Bruce patted Steve kindly on the shoulder. But definitely not in a homosexual way, Thor told himself. His shield-brethren were all wholesome and manly or womanly in the natural, Odin-decreed way of things.
Or if they weren’t, they hadn’t mentioned it.
“I am entitled to my opinion,” repeated Thor, confused. He had understood those words were something akin to one of Loki’s spells, -- they were supposed to render everyone around you compliant, quiet and agreeable, and prepared to accept whatever you said to them. “Surely you have to respect my right to my opinion.”
“This is us respecting it, Thor,” said Natasha wearily. “Sitting here, having opinions of our own. Not asking the government to lock you up for yours. It’s not very dramatic and it doesn’t come with warm fuzzy feelings, I know.”
“If the government does start locking people up for being homophobes, we’ll get right on that!” said Tony. “But seeing as they haven’t even managed a national right to marriage equality yet, I think you’re safe.”
Thor frowned. He was beginning to feel most uncomfortable. This was not what having his rights respected was supposed to be like! “But I still don’t feel that you are supporting my right to have an opinion!”
“How much support do you need?” asked Clint. “You are having an opinion. Look at you. Having it, all over the place.”
“Oh. I get it,” said Tony. “You thought you were entitled to express an opinion, and have everyone be nice to you about it.”
“Yes!” said Thor.
“Yeah, I never fought for that,” said Steve.
“Honestly!” Thor exclaimed, exasperated. “It is not as though I want gay people to be killed! And I am very offended you mentioned fighting the Nazis, Steven – I am NOT as bad as Hitler!”
“...Kind of a low bar you’re clearing there,” muttered Clint.
“I just don’t approve! I merely wish they would... I don’t know, not be homosexual any more, or at least GO AWAY AND BE QUIET.”
There was another silence. “I’m back to ‘...oh.’” Natasha said.
“Your opinion is horrible, Thor,” said Clint. “I hope you respect my right to think that.”
“But hey, good news,” said Tony grimly. “Yours really isn’t that unpopular an opinion. You’ve got a lot of company.”
“Plainly it is unpopular! I tried to explain my views to the world on one of your Midgardian ‘websites’ and I got banned! Honest opponents of so called “gay rights” are clearly being persecuted and oppressed, which we Avengers are sworn to stand against!”
“I’m guessing the site had rules about promoting homophobia,” said Natasha.
“It did!”agreed Thor. “Censorship!”
“Oh, no,” said Tony, eyes wide with mock-sympathy. “And you were banned from the entire internet, huh? You’ll never be able to start your own blog, or write a book, or hand out flyers in the street, or stand on an apple box yelling Down With Gays? No? Then you still have free speech, which we support and respect the fuck out of. Congrats. Let’s go, guys. We’re going to be late.”
“Actually, I’m going to have to pass too,” said Bruce, tightly, getting to his feet. “Please tell them I’m sorry and that I would have loved to be there. But I need to go meditate. Now.” He hurried from the room. Thor noticed his hands were shaking.
“You are trying to make me feel guilty,” said Thor.
"How terrible," Natasha said, deadpan. "Imagine if there was anything worse. Like being fired or abused or killed or forbidden to marry the person you love. Good job that never happens to anybody!"
“It’s up to you how you feel, Thor,” said Clint. “I’m... not very interested in your feelings right now.”
“You are trying to make me attend the event!”
“No, Thor,” said Steve, as the others trooped out. “It’s really for the best that you’re not there.”
Epilogue
Thor woke with a start. “What in all the nine realms was THAT?” he cried aloud, shocked at the dark dream. He spent some time searching the bedroom for evidence of sorcery. Finding none only made him feel worse.
"We all have fucked up dreams, sometimes,” Jane reassured him. Thor knew he hadn't really hurt anyone -- hadn't SAID any of those awful, ignorant things to actual people, thank the All-Father. But he still felt uneasy.
“There is only one recourse,” he decided, opening Jane’s laptop. He went to his friend Northstar’s blog – he was sure there had been a post about LGBT charities recently. He looked down a list of causes, deciding to which he would make a donation. (Maybe all of them?) He felt better already.
http://www.transmediawatch.org/ (UK)
http://www.galop.org.uk/donate/