Isn't This A Funny Picture, Considering He's Into Bondage?

Andrew Sullivan, America's crusty gay grandpappy, follows up on yesterday's nostalgic Observer piece, also lamenting the death of queer culture. Sullivan waxes poetic in a concise 6,000-word essay, taking us through the rise and fall of gay rights - and stopping in at a few leather bars along the way. His thesis is that societal change is inevitable, and we can't stop it from coming.

All over our faces.

Sullivan, like Sicha yesterday, is very obviously distressed that the days of bathhouses and backrooms are coming to a close. But he recognizes, at least, that the vigorous and creative culture of the seventies and early eighties was birthed from a womb of fear and persecution. And Sullivan concludes that maybe, perhaps, it isn't so bad that those times are coming to a close.

What's our take? We weren't really paying attention. We've got more important things on our mind.