What's surprised me about repeal of DADT is how quickly the majority of my fellow citizens have come 'round to the point of view, "Who cares about someone else's sexual orientation?"I'm pretty sure most of my GLBT friends & acquaintances wouldn't agree with the adverb, "quickly".
But in context:
- 1952 (the year I was born): Alan Turing - founder of theoretical computer science, leader of British code-breakers during WWII - was convicted of "gross indecency" and forced to undergo hormone therapy... he committed suicide in 1954.
- Vietnam era & the draft: one way to avoid being drafted was to assert your homosexuality.
Today? - in my lifetime: openly gay soldiers can serve honorably in the U.S. military.
... It's that "in my lifetime" bit that underlies the adjective, "quickly".
I note that back when gainfully employed, my employer - a Fortune 100 company - actively promoted acceptance of GLBT employees, and sponsored an internal GLBT employee group.
My very first on-stage theatrical experience - 1995, ACLOA/MTS's production of G&S The Pirates of Penzance - was marred only by the presence of a militantly anti-gay contingent in the cast. Most of us wouldn't have noticed - 'twas the militantly anti-gay contingent that made sexual-orientation an issue.
I've not encountered this since. Particularly in theater it makes very little sense to make an issue of sexual-orientation.
Folks have learned. For all I know, many of my cast-mate's still harbor militantly anti-gay sentiments... but they don't act on those sentiments during the show!
(akin to latent racism in the '60s military cited by TPM reader VJ...)
Sexual-orientation just doesn't matter in most everyday situations.
... and most of my fellow citizens now recognize this fact.
From 2002 made-for-TV biopic of Bill Porter, Door to door:
God created us all, Shelly. He doesn't make mistakes.When this sentiment makes its way into a commercial TV show, things are looking up!
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