Originally Posted by
Randall Flagg
I was born in Alabama, in a county that was extremely racist and homophobic. My Mother took my brother and myself away at a pre-teen age. We moved to California. When I went to my grandmother's funeral back in Alabama I was ~13 years old. That's when I had a small epiphany (Is a small epiphany even possible?). I had long hair, and everywhere I went adult men teased and confronted me about me resembling a "girl". In California long hair on boys wasn't a big deal-in fact that's what all the young teenage girls where attracted to. That's when I realized how ignorant their (local people) ideas were very screwed up.
It also showed me the terrible racism that was overt in all aspects of their society.
I never returned to Alabama, and that funeral was the catalyst for my epiphany. I returned to California a much more enlightened and tolerant young man.