Here’s a pop  quiz for you. The latest You Tube video to go viral shows two NBA players from the Toronto Raptors, Leandro Barbosa and Reggie Evans, holding hands. Please choose the reason they did this: 

• Spur of the moment camaraderie after ending a six game losing streak. 

• A joke, they knew the cameras were rolling.

• Barbosa is from Brazil, accepted with friends in different cultures.

• They are gay.

The correct answer here would be of course, "Who cares?” But based on the vitriolic comments to the clip, so bad in fact that You tube had to disable the comment section, many folks do care. And of course this begs the question of why is it such a big deal in 2011 whether two men want to hold hands for any reason at all? 

Quite simply, homophobia is still alive and well. This is partly due to a variety of religious and cultural attitudes, but it’s mainly based on fear. Fear that somewhere deep inside us lurks a homosexual side and if we’re not very careful this will break free and take control of our world, and of us. 

The greater the fear, the more aggressive the response and a video like this triggers that fear on a subconscious level with two prominent reactions. 

First, abhorrence that these two macho professional athletes may be, gasp, gay. We know there are many individuals out there that consider homosexuality a crime against nature or god or society. Only time and education will eventually make a difference with that. 

But the second response, is by far the more problematic. Even those that consider themselves progressive and tolerant feel the need to defend the action by coming up with numerous explanations for why this was "not gay” as opposed to saying, "Seriously? Who cares?”

This video represents an amazing barometer as to how much tolerance for homosexuality we really have as a society. Until a vid such as this garners barely a passing glance or a only a few meager comments, there is still much to be done with regard to the mantra; live and let live.