answer:I don’t think we’re more bigoted. When I compare my high school culture (mid ‘70s) to that of my kids (‘00s), I’m very heartened. I once asked my kids if they ever see anyone picked on because of sexual orientation, and they looked at me as if I had a booger hanging. In my school, gay bashing was almost as popular as football. I think bigotry is becoming more marginalized, and the very visible public manifestations of bigotry that have been flaring up are a reaction to that marginalization. Bigotry used to be taken as the norm; you could be bigoted and still be a respectable member of society. Now there’s pushback to bigotry. It can get you in trouble. The remnants of the culture of bigotry resent their loss of acceptability and try to reassert their relevance.