For years, the Republican Party has treated queer people with very open hostility. However, last week at the Republican National Convention, they seemed to strike a different tone, actively trying to court queer voters with their fear-mongering.

Along with this shift in tone has been a small but growing contingent of queer people who openly identify as Republicans. Several noteworthy examples made appearances at the convention. Milo Yiannpoulos, an infamous troll and a gay man, headlined a "Gays For Trump" rally right outside the RNC. There was also Caitlyn Jenner who claimed, at an event outside the RNC, that it was easier to come out as trans than as a Republican. And last but not least, there was gay billionaire Peter Thiel, who claimed he was "proud to be gay" during his endorsement of Trump.

What's important to note is that almost every queer person who identifies as a Republican is a cis, upper-class, white gay man. The only notable exception is Caitlyn Jenner, but she more than makes up for her trans womanhood due to her whiteness, her wealth and her fame.

This is not a coincidence because being a queer Republican, especially in today's political climate, requires a ton of privilege. Queer conservatives, despite their queerness, are often shielded from the realities of existing as a marginalized person due to their privilege. It is thus, easy for them to ignore the oppression that is justified by their ideology.

That oppressive ideology was made very explicit at this year's RNC. At this year's convention, we saw:

- Trump's campaign manager say that women will vote for Trump because they realize "their husbands can't afford to pay bills."

- Constant fear-mongering about Muslims, despite the fact that most terrorist attacks are carried out by white supremacists.

- Fear-mongering about undocumented immigrants, even though there is no evidence that they commit more crimes than anyone else.

- The crowd actually cheer at the announcement that Freddie Gray's murderers were not convicted.

- A woman get harassed for holding a sign that simply said, "No Racism, No Hate."

- Chants of "All Lives Matter" as Black Lives Matter was compared to domestic terrorist groups.

- A prominent GOP Congressman argue that white people contributed more to civilization than any other "subgroup."

And of course, the convention was also extremely anti-queer. Even if the speakers pretended to care about queer lives, the Republican platform says otherwise. The GOP platform is the most extreme anti-queer platform in years. Among its many horrifying provisions, it advocates conversion therapy for queer kids, despite the fact that it's well known to be extremely traumatic.

These are just a few examples of the oppression explicitly advocated for at the RNC. Being a queer Republican means endorsing that oppression or at least determining that it isn't important enough for you to reconsider your support.

And again, they are only able to be conservatives because of how shielded they are by their privilege. Being an affluent, white, cis gay man means you will never have to be forced into conversation therapy, worry about being deported or worry about police violence.

People claim that we should respect the opinions of queer conservatives, even if we may disagree with them. This is the classical liberal idea that we should just all have a respectful dialogue with each other. But the problem here is that the opinions of queer conservatives are justifying actual oppression. The rhetoric they support causes actual harm to marginalized groups. For instance, there has been a dramatic increase in racist bullying of students of color ever since Trump started his campaign.

To be clear, this is not an endorsement of the Democrats. The Democratic Party certainly has its own issues when it comes to the treatment of marginalized people. But they are still leagues ahead of the Republicans. While I absolutely do not consider myself a Democrat, I can still respect people who are. I cannot say the same for most Republicans.

Being queer does not stop you from benefiting from privilege. It is unfortunate that so many members of the queer community choose to be blinded by their privilege instead of working to deconstruct it.