desperate, but not hopeless

it's a good thing when someone shoots up with a clean needle.

it's a good thing when someone carries Narcan, whether they use drugs themselves or not.

it's a good thing when someone switches from using laced drugs to clean drugs.

it's a good thing when someone starts using only one drug at a time.

it's a good thing when someone goes on medication assisted treatment like suboxone, methadone, or amphetamines.

it's a good thing when someone reduces their spending on substances, or the frequency of their drug use.

it's a good thing when someone gets regular tests for STIs.

it's a good thing when someone is using with friends instead of using alone.

BUT. Now that I’ve just come off the original Teen Titans run, they all seemed quite progressive (for the time), Wally included.

This could be gleaned from:

Opposition to war during the Vietnam war era

Opposition to anti-immigrant rhetoric

Aiding the reclaiming of stolen land from native peoples

And even the less plot-relevant but still pervasive themes of tolerance and acceptance, both of then-modern culture and the hippie movement. Silly, I know, but genuinely contentious.

So I think they're just amping that up a bit, to add a little depth to Wally, who had never really had that much done to develop his character in the past. (NTT #21 is the first time I think any Titans discuss their religious beliefs. When asked if he's religious, Wally replies "I guess so. I don't go all the time, but I believe." and Dick says that "I haven't thought about it much")

So Wally is being a bit of an asshole definitely, but more out of outdated assumptions, than actual ingrained homophobia (at least the way I read it, YMMV of course)

That said, I think it's still fair to call it homophobic. Even by the standards of the time: Wally clearly realizes the things he's said are pretty insulting to his friend, which is most of the reason why he's so eager to get out of there. So even Wally, at this moment, understands that he's crossed a line. Hartley, for his part, has probably dealt with worse.

EVEN PARENTS ARE SUPPOSED TO ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE READING/VIEWING BEHAVIOR. NOT filter everything ahead of time for their kid.

When my kiddo was 5, his pediatrician was asking him the usual Well Child Visit questions (“What are your favorite foods? What do you do to get your body moving? Do you know what to do if you get lost in a public place?” Etc.) and she asked, “What do you do if you see something on TV that scares or upsets you?”

I piped up like, “Oh, he doesn’t watch TV without one of us in the room,” which was true at the time and is still largely true now. She said, “Yes, but that won’t always be the case, so make sure you’re talking to him about what to do if he sees something that upsets him.”

So we started talking to him about that, and the answer is simple: “Turn it off or leave the room, and talk to someone you trust about what you saw and what you’re feeling.”

The answer is NOT “Ask your parents to make sure you never see anything upsetting again,” because that’s just not possible — and ultimately that would be doing the kid a disservice, since sooner or later he’s going to be out in the world where we can’t control what he watches or reads. That doesn’t mean we don’t try to make sure he’s watching/reading age-appropriate stuff, it just means that’s not the only safeguard he has — and that’s a good thing.

So yes, content creators aren’t your parents and aren’t responsible for making sure you never see anything you don’t like — but also, your own parents should have taught you what to do when that happens. So if they didn’t, take it from me, your internet mom:

Turn it off.

Walk away.

Talk to someone you trust about how you’re feeling.