--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the '70s, the gay movement was really…" description: "\"In the '70s, the gay movement was really making strides. Huge strides. And then AIDS came along and slapped a judgment on it all and the Right Wing rel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/mario-cantone-32724_aids_in-the-70s-the-gay-movement-was-really-m_589950.png" --- # In the '70s, the gay movement was really making strides… ![“In the '70s, the gay movement was really making strides. Huge strides. And then AIDS came along and slapped a judgment on it all and the Right Wing religious movement was like, 'See. This is why, we told you.' And it pushed back the movement 30 years.” quote by Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/mario-cantone-32724_aids_in-the-70s-the-gay-movement-was-really-m_589950.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/mario-cantone-32724_aids_in-the-70s-the-gay-movement-was-really-m_589950.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/mario-cantone-32724_aids_in-the-70s-the-gay-movement-was-really-m_589950.png) > “In the '70s, the gay movement was really making strides. Huge strides. And then AIDS came along and slapped a judgment on it all and the Right Wing religious movement was like, 'See. This is why, we told you.' And it pushed back the movement 30 years.” [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The AIDS crisis halted gay progress, allowing religious right to claim moral superiority, delaying activism by decades. **In simple terms:** AIDS slowed LGBTQ advances, giving conservatives a moral pretext. Key Takeaway Learn from past setbacks to advance equality. Themes LGBTQ rights public health politics religion delay Mood reflective critical Type historical political When to use this quote - activism - health education - community organizing - media representation - legislation Key Concepts social movement dynamics stigma policy change Questions to Reflect On - How can movements build resilience? - What role does religion play in policy? A Different Perspective Progress can be reversed by crises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Right wing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-wing/) ## Related quotes > [I remember my first friend who got sick. It was 1981, and the disease was called the gay cancer. 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There was not really a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-de-clercq/don-t-forget-that-at-the-end-of-the-70s-people-were-much-more-into/) [Eddy de Clercq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-de-clercq/) > [Every time women make tremendous strides, the right wing gets terrified and creates laws making it hard to get an abortion or birth control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/every-time-women-make-tremendous-strides-the-right-wing-gets/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [You don't have to be a religious person to be affected by religion or a religious movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-starlin/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-religious-person-to-be-affected-by-religion-or/) [Jim Starlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-starlin/) > [“When “fundamentalism” takes root within a religious movement, emphasis shifts away from love of God and love of neighbor in order to be replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-milavec/when-fundamentalism-takes-root-within-a-religious-movement-emphasis/) [Aaron Milavec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-milavec/) > [The Palestinian national movement is not an Islamic religious movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tzipi-livni/the-palestinian-national-movement-is-not-an-islamic-religious-movement/) [Tzipi Livni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tzipi-livni/) > [“Evangelicalism, as perhaps the strongest Protestant religious movement in the United States, relies heavily on marketing principles for its strength and growth, often intentionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-smith/evangelicalism-as-perhaps-the-strongest-protestant-religious-movement/) [Christian Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-smith/) > [The problem is not with people or churches that are politically active. It is with a party that has gone so far in adopting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-problem-is-not-with-people-or-churches-that-are-politically/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That Solidarity was a religious movement no one, least of all the Soviets, can deny. In November 1981, Pravda denounced 'religious fanaticism' as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/that-solidarity-was-a-religious-movement-no-one-least-of-all-the/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [What looks like politics, and imagines itself to be political, will one day unmask itself as a religious movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-looks-like-politics-and-imagines-itself-to-be-political-will-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“economic situation in the 1970s and 1980s also supported the rise of the religious movement. Open economic policies that Sadat introduced in the mid-1970s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-osman/economic-situation-in-the-1970s-and-1980s-also-supported-the-rise-of/) [Tarek Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-osman/) > [We are not a religious tradition with a creed, but a religious movement that has always wedded social justice work to theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-luther-adams/we-are-not-a-religious-tradition-with-a-creed-but-a-religious/) [James Luther Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-luther-adams/) > [It is an error to believe that Christ did not teach a determined body of doctrine applicable to all times and to all men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/it-is-an-error-to-believe-that-christ-did-not-teach-a-determined-body/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) ## More by Mario Cantone > [Look, you're either loved or hated. Which is a good thing, as Bette Davis used to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/look-you-re-either-loved-or-hated-which-is-a-good-thing-as-bette/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I won't do reality. That is done. And I don't want people following me around with a camera 24 hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-won-t-do-reality-that-is-done-and-i-don-t-want-people-following-me/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I mean, the things you think will never happen, you have to confront; those things that come into your life that you thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-mean-the-things-you-think-will-never-happen-you-have-to-confront/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I know, it's weird that I've never done a musical. I turned down two of them. 'The Lion King' and 'The Producers.' I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-know-it-s-weird-that-i-ve-never-done-a-musical-i-turned-down-two-of/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I like to hold a book. When someone sends me a script, I ask for a hard copy or print one out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-like-to-hold-a-book-when-someone-sends-me-a-script-i-ask-for-a-hard/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I wouldn't live with me, believe me. I'm moody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-wouldn-t-live-with-me-believe-me-i-m-moody/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I love doing scripted things. What little acting ability I have I am holding on with my hangnails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-love-doing-scripted-things-what-little-acting-ability-i-have-i-am/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I'm crass, contemptuous and crude, obstreperous, obnoxious, rambunctiously raw and rude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-m-crass-contemptuous-and-crude-obstreperous-obnoxious/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [Stand-up was like being on a Barbie townhouse stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/stand-up-was-like-being-on-a-barbie-townhouse-stage/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [Who do you think I am, Pete Rose? I don't bet. I come from a long line of compulsive gamblers. Gambling scares me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/who-do-you-think-i-am-pete-rose-i-don-t-bet-i-come-from-a-long-line/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I hated high school. Ugh. I couldn't wait until it was over so I could sleep in. In college, I made sure all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-hated-high-school-ugh-i-couldn-t-wait-until-it-was-over-so-i-could/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [I love animation, I really do, but I don't do it for the children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cantone/i-love-animation-i-really-do-but-i-don-t-do-it-for-the-children/) [Mario Cantone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cantone/) > [Our black president can't say that he's for gay marriage. 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