I run into attitudes like that all the time. It’s so disorienting for me, a long-time activist, to encounter LGBTQ people (and when I say that I frankly usually mean well off gay white men) who disparage activism and sneer at activists. It’s almost always the case that these people are enjoying measures of equality and prosperity only because of activists who fought for them years ago.

Of course that generational gap isn’t always the primary thing. When I was an Act Up activist in New York City in the 1990s, many of my contemporaries disdained loud focused activism, even though as it turned out that kind of activism is what it took to turn things around.

On a personal note, I love that Portuguese expression, and it pains me to say that while I can understand it pretty well in writing just because of my knowledge of French and Spanish, I’d have one heck of a time understanding it aurally.

Portuguese sounds so beautiful to me when I hear it, but sadly I’ve never managed to put in enough work to be able to follow it.