You and us, we’ve been around the digital block a few times and we’re familiar with how the internet works, right, dear Pandas? So we tend to think that nothing can shock us anymore. Who, us, shocked? We’ve seen it all, from the best to the worst the net has to offer. However, there are some stories that take us by surprise in the most unexpectedly awful way and we’re stuck there, wondering how this can be real.

A post is going viral again on Reddit and social media in which a mom to a 1-year-old boy is sharing her husband’s very bizarre views. The man thinks that his son is gay and lists a variety of reasons, all of which are utter nonsense. Among them are things like enjoying colors, spending more time with his mother than his dad, looking at flowers, and liking books too much.

Ridiculous? Of course. Potentially damaging to the kid’s self-esteem as he grows up with such a dad at home? Likely. Scroll down to have a read how people reacted to the Reddit post. It’s difficult to even begin untangling this story. The dad is quite obviously homophobic. What’s more, he has a very warped perspective about what makes someone gay. These sorts of intolerant, fearful mindsets are usually the result of learned behavior over many years since childhood.

Image credits: Pexels (not the actual photo)

One dad has a very strange list of reasons why he thinks his infant son might be gay

Image credits: voicecrack_

A therapist writing on Reddit explained in the original thread on r/relationship_advice_ that everything that the 1-year-old was doing was “developmentally appropriate.”

“Kids are curious, altruistic, and love colorful things. And at 1, kids are not even in their conscious mind. They react simply to what is in front of them,” they explained, adding that it would be helpful for the dad to talk to a counselor about his fears that his son might grow up to be gay.

Previously, Bored Panda had an in-depth interview with psychotherapist Silva Neves who explained some of the reasons why someone might be homophobic. One’s upbringing is a part of this, but not the entire story.

“If people grew up with homophobic parents and they haven’t been exposed to different opinions, they are more likely to be homophobic themselves. Most religions promote the inaccurate idea that same-sex relationships and sexual behaviors are unnatural, wrong, against their God, and a sin,” he said.

“Even recently, the Pope declared that same-sex marriages were not endorsed by the Church. Islam is also very homophobic. Most Islamic countries have anti-gay laws with punishment ranging from imprisonment to the death penalty. Many people in the UK growing up in such households are more likely to be homophobic,” the therapist told Bored Panda.

“Teenagers can be homophobic as a way to conform to heterosexuality and be more accepted by their peers,” the expert noted that some young people want to be part of the ‘in crowd,’ so they adopt the beliefs of their friends and acquaintances.

The therapist said that some people become homophobic because they’re trying to deny and repress their same-sex attractions. “In being homophobic they attempt to repress their own feelings by fighting against the source of their arousal: the LGBTQ people,” he gave another reason for homophobia.

Here’s how people reacted to the story and the dad’s strange behavior

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