The first time I saw free people was in 1960, after I had escaped Yugoslavia into Italy. That was where I first learned about true tolerance. As I continued my journey through Europe into West Germany, I continued to experience that same tolerance. I still have melancholy memories of my youth in Yugoslavia and the gay friends I left behind. I doubt that much has changed.
Hatred is very powerful, and unfortunately, nothing unifies people as well as hate.
I have known hatred all of my life, but I have known love a lot more. When I got to the United States, I continued to make friends with gays in New York and San Francisco before I moved to Los Angeles. I remember the first time I invited two gay male friends home to have dinner and meet my husband Ron. Ron and I are members of the Stonewall Democratic Club, the largest predominantly gay and lesbian Democratic Club in the state, and I can't begin to count how many gay friends we have. My best friend, Eric Bauman, is the president of the Stonewall Democratic Club.