Is the Majority of the Public Indifferent to Anti-Gay Bullying?

ABC News conducted an experiment in Long Beach, New York, in the wake of all the media attention to anti-gay bullying and gay teen suicides. The experiment was simple: they staged an incident where apparent bullies were harassing an apparent gay teenager on the boardwalk and reporters watched and waited to see what passersby would do when confronted with the situation. Unfortunately, most did nothing and just passed on by. I suspect if played out in other venues, the same sad results would likely occur. Too many people "don't want to get involved" even though too often bad things happen purely because ostensibly good people do nothing to stop the evil. Combined with that phenomenon are the special rights given to religious based discrimination, DADT being a prime example. Here are highlights from ABC News:
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It's an epidemic that has seemingly touched every corner of America: kids being bullied for being gay. . . . In September alone, nine young people -- gay or merely suspected of being gay -- took their lives after being bullied. But what would people do if they witnessed this kind of hatred taking place right in front of them? Would they feel compelled to jump in? In light of these recent tragedies, ABC News' "What Would You Do?" went to find out.
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We rigged a busy boardwalk in Long Beach, N.Y., with hidden cameras and hired teenage actors to play bigoted bullies and a defenseless victim. "You're a disgusting homo!" one bully yells. Our victim covers his face, his eyes filling with tears. "What do you have in that bag? Fairy dust?" The insults keep coming as bystanders fill the boardwalk.
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Then we start to notice an alarming trend. Despite the bullies' relentless taunting, most people pass the group without saying a word. Our victim yells "stop!" and tries to get away from the three bullies but they keep blocking him at every turn. Some people watch in the distance -- pausing for a moment to stare but eventually just continue on.
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For 15 minutes, no one seems the least bit interested in stopping the harassment. Some tell us they simply didn't think it was their business to get involved. . . . Later in the day, we meet another Good Samaritan -- who instead of whizzing by on his bike as so many did before him, slows to take on the bullies.
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Not only does he manage to scare them away, but he quietly stands guard over our victim for over 10 minutes before we arrive and explain that he's been part of What Would You Do?
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We later learn Jeff Kupferman is a retired social worker who used to work in a local school. Kupferman had a message for those who, over two days of taping in Long Beach, witnessed our gay bullying and did nothing to stop it. . . . "It's not a normal part of growing up."
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As long as the MSN continues to provide a platform for haters such as Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallager - and yes, elected officials - who denigrate the lives of LGBT Americans (often for a financial and/or political profit) and support discriminatory laws, this sick indifference will continue. Anti-gay bigotry and hate needs to become just as socially unacceptable as openly racist discourse which the networks would never disseminate.