re: When will gay jokes from student hecklers become unacceptable?

Bogie, nine months ago I moved to Mississippi from College Station, TX, after having spent the previous 40+ years of my life going aback and forth between Houston and CS. All my life in Texas.

I knew I'd see a different culture in Mississippi; but nothing could've prepared me for all that I saw that first month here. I don't think I could speak for a month. Without getting wrapped up in the extreme poverty/scarcity of industry/school systems, etc., more than anything I was stunned by the feeling of living 40 years ago. Many people warned me of this phenomena before I moved; and they were spot on. It truly has been like going back in time. On a daily basis, something happens that makes me say aloud, "did that just happen?"

That said: Race relations here are very odd. It's very much a situation where the white people live [here] and the black folks live [there], but never the twain shall meet.

The faculty at the university operate the same. As do the students. Very little natural social integration. People are friendly enough to others, but rarely do they socialize together. That blows my mind, coming from the very rich cultural academic background from which I came.

So to get back to you Golden Rule advice, I find it to be quite sound. Because despite the innumerable differences between people here; doing unto others as we would have them do unto us is one of the only certainties I can grasp and hold onto. So far, it's done me right!