I really noticed something different this past weekend and it has taken me a bit to understand it.
I went out to dinner Saturday night with 3 CD friends and my Wife and daughter before a theater event. We decided to go to the Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End development, downtown Dallas. This is an old established tourist destination and is filled on the weekends with people from every walk of life. We had a 45 minute wait for out table. As we mingled with the general crowd, also waiting for a table, we would get various looks from smiles to bland stares to mild looks of shock.
This was completely to be expected, particularly when you consider one of my friends was 6' 5" before heels.
What struck me was that there were no comments, either directed at us or even behind our backs, at least not that could be heard by the crowd. Why this struck me is that it is now not socially acceptable to openly display the prejudice that would have years ago allowed those who disliked us to speak up. In fact there was a time that people would not only have spoken, but social pressure would have compelled those who did not disapprove to speak out against us just to fit into society.
But our society has changed to one where those who vocally express feelings of prejudice are no longer tolerated in general public. Yes, of course they will speak of it in private. But no longer in public.