Beautifully reasoned and stated. I'm in my early '60s, and I'm a fairly typical (for today and for a member of my generation) cisgender gay man. But you know what? In my twenties, like many members of my gay generation, My friends and I were Annoying with a capital A — to other queer people.

They often bemoaned that we didn't understand the struggles they had gone through before Stonewall. That we didn't understand their in-group language. That we didn't respect the culture they had carefully constructed to keep themselves as safe as possible. And that our public radicalism was making their lives worse.

We annoyed them, and we scared them.

I remember those days today, when baby (either in chronological age or newness of experience) queers wax philosophical and passionate about their new ways of thinking and being.

I know I have nothing more to be afraid of from them than my queer elders had to be afraid of from me.

Conservative elements of society are trying to force us all into patriarchal, sexist, homophobic straightjackets really are scary, and they really do hurt us, often grievously. We need to be afraid of THEM.

So, when a 20-year-old demiboy's new enthusiasm grates on my ears (as it can) I try to smile and love their passion. Because 40 years from now, their naive insistence on love and progress might just have made the world happier and safer for everyone.

Just like I hope my cohort's passions have helped.