| You know, when I think about my parents generation (my mom was born in 1918 and my father in 1921), and I think of how few gay people they knew who were out, and the stereotypes they saw, it's amazing there is ANY tolerance in the 65 and older group. How can you come to understand that gay people are pretty much like everyone else if the gay people in your community are in hiding- and no one ever feels secure enough to raise their voice against the weird scary stereotypes? It took the 60's, and the burst of energy in that time period directed at letting people be more honest about what they desired, whether they were women who wanted to work in big business rather than being a nurse or a teacher, or blacks who wanted to ride up front in the bus, or go to the same schools as whites, or gay people who were tired of hiding in the closet, to free people. And sure, freedom often comes with excesses, but (imo) it almost always beats repression, as long as you control people from hurting each other. |
