Listen, I get that being a gay guy during the early part of the 20th century can't have been easy

[conuly]

I'm just saying, for somebody super concerned with staying in the closet and preserving your reputation, you sure do kiss a lot of men. Maybe try talking to your wife about all this?

Him: I did, and now I disgust her!

Me: Yeah, but not because of the gay thing. She has gay friends. Also, she's still in love with somebody else. Which you know, so really, I think she's just annoyed that you lied to her and then tried to gaslight her about the lying. Maybe don't do that.

Him: Nah, I'll just spill my guts to this random dude I just met. And then we can make out!

Me: Oh, well, I'm sure this won't end badly at all.

(I have no idea if it will end badly or not, I haven't gotten that far. Maybe they all die of the flu sometime after the war, in which case their personal life choices will no longer matter.)

Comments

[rafiwinters]

(feeling thoughtful): My late great-uncle, born in 1910, was gay. It was at the time thought to be a terrible thing, and he was shall we say negatively affected by it his whole life. Although (feeling thoughtful again) at the end of his life he was more worried by the thought of his friends finding out he was Jewish than about him being gay--most of his friends were gay themselves. Heartbreaking.

Actually, remind me sometime to tell you about the (related) hilarious aspect of his memorial service.