The Forgotten Darkness

When it comes to the LGBT community I kinda bridge the gap in between old and new school. I guess everyone in Generation X does to some extent. What troubles me about this is the growing sense of nostalgia for the good old days. Understandable, perhaps, that the millenials and later Xers might wish to idealize the carefree days before AIDS and wish to live that way. Or to look with longing at the tight-knit gay communities where LGBT people came to throw off the shackles of convention.

But we always forget paradise has a price.

The contemporary notion of the gay community of the 60's and 70's is romanticized nonsense. It wasn’t bold adventurers exploring new ground in a peaceful association. It was people forced out of their own lives and communities seeking safety in numbers in dark corners. There wasn’t passion or lust motivating anonymous hook-ups — there was fear of discovery.

Predictably, those Millennials who’ve picked up the mantle of “Twoo Olde Guard” wish to cast judgements based on their own romanticized nostalgia and demean anyone who wants to be a part of the culture rather than be in opposition to it.