Things were unbelievably homophobic when I was a kid, and I guess I just didn't notice

Playing supposedly innocent playground games like Smear The Queer, giggling at old books that used the word gay in its original sense. And there was the pledge of allegiance parody that we somehow all picked up:

I pledge allegiance to the flag,
Michael Jackson is a ***.
Pepsi-Cola burned him up,
Now he's drinking 7up.

And the weirdest part is, looking at it now, it was a whole lot of little things that individually might not have been terrible, but added up to a very negative view of anybody who wasn't strictly heterosexual.

Weird how you only see some things in retrospect.

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Ynotisay · M

I grew up around that talk but, in all honesty, it never felt like it was a purposeful act to demean. It was just something kids said. My whole thing, which has never left me, was to protect those who are bullied. It was more tangible. So if it was someone who was gay, a minority or physically weaker, that was my line. Didn't matter why. But moving to San Francisco when I was a young man changed the dynamic. I became more aware of the "why's." And the 'why' is fear and insecurity. Two traits I kind of despise.
So it's good that "society" has created lines that shouldn't be crossed in regards to words. But now we need to keep moving on to the fear and insecurity part. I think that's changed a TON in the past years. Young people see things differently now. And not just in big cities where gay people are part of the fabric. That's nothing but a good thing.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@Ynotisay That's the interesting part of it. I don't think any of it was ever consciously intended to make anybody feel excluded. Hell, most of us kids didn't know what gay even meant. It was a word like lame, dumb, etc.

Ynotisay · M

@LordShadowfire Yep. Smear the Queer was just a game. My guess, although I could be wrong, is that kids who were gay probably saw it as a game too.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@Ynotisay I hope so.

Grateful4you · M

@Ynotisay I really appreciate your spot on observations. Thanks for posting these comments.