How Times Have Changed

Children, let me tell you a story. Some of my generational friends here will get this. I remember a time, not that long ago, when being gay was akin to being a pedophile or a serial killer. Any association was a promise of trouble. The choice was to go live in a big city ghetto or keep your closet door tightly closed. The idea that anyone would ever think that there was any advantage to being gay? Preposterous. And when the civil rights movement for equality began, the victories for any sort of recognition were few and generally sensationalized by the larger media conglomerates. When Coors tepidly advertised to the GLBT community--the out cry was oversized and ridiculous.

Even today we still see vestiges of this mindset in petty and pathetic little enterprises like the Million Moms group--(which I have on good authority is actually a single, lonely, overweight, disenfranchised white guy who wears wife beaters and sweatpants all day and runs the organization from a Dell computer in his basement in Mississippi from which he also orders Papa Johns Pizza every night...but I digress!)

It is with this mindset that I glanced at the latest issues of "OUT" and "The Advocate" magazines. And what did I find? Ads. Lots of Ads. No beer ads. But look who is advertising and no one gives a damn who matters anymore. That's progress you can see, but lets not rush to take it for granted, eh?