1 out of every 10 people identifies as LGBT.

Is that a surprising statistic? Maybe. Is it an unfavorable statistic? Definitely not to me. And probably not to you.

Although it may not be apparent, our surroundings directly foster the kind of forward thinking that pushes us to accept concepts such as same-sex marriage and varying sexualities. In my life, I have never personally encountered anyone that followed a different set of beliefs about LGBT rights than me, or even disagreed with my understanding of them and their ethical backing.

Here in the Bay Area, it’s a little harder to understand differing mentalities concerning the notion of LGBTQ, and the degrees of acceptance that accompany them. Consistent character assassination of anti-gay bigots, the media’s focus on the next level of equality, and the inherently condescending attitude we assume towards people who don’t approve of LGBT rights all attest to our liberal-leaning environs and analytically unchained upbringing. Categorizing said supremacists as ignorant and naïve, the fact that someone could even believe one of their own arguments against an egalitarian society is absurd.

This past summer at band camp in Oakland, I met a girl from Tennessee. As we became more acquainted, she revealed that she loved our whole area more than where she lived because of its ‘acceptance’. Jumping to the justifiable conclusion that she was referring to the prevalence of underground alternative subcultures (it was band camp, after all), I asked her to elaborate. It turned out that the heart of her statement lay specifically in her appreciation of the universal welcome of LGBTQ lifestyles. She complained of her small, conventional hometown that maintained a devout adherence to traditionally accepted views — excluding the acknowledgement of sexuality as a trait and not a choice. Although her high school life was enjoyable and relaxed, almost every day brought conflict and bullying. Due to differing opinions on many sensitive topics, this friction gradually worsened a developing schism between struggling, progressive-minded individuals looking for major societal change and old-fashioned conservatives trying desperately to cling to an earlier mindset.

Her statement about the extreme treatment received by the LGBT members of her school struck me as an incredible oversight on my part. Many people I know, including me, whine about the clichéd adolescent experience that we’re being robbed of in such a competitive private-school casket. The quintessential suburbia that so many yearn for, usually portrayed exclusively as either central United States or late 20th century material, could very well be wrought with additional baggage — including steadfast attachment to custom (disguised as moral standard) that clashes with our paradigm for reality.

This, in essence, served as a culture shock as I realized the parallel yet entirely different environments across the country. My model for relatively avant-garde (maybe even realistic) stances on issues receiving untenable opposition immediately came crashing down. This first hand account about the resistance against unacceptably sui generis lifestyles fell in direct contrast to San Francisco’s open arms as a sanctuary for political and social equality.

Living in such close proximity to the “the city that practically invented gay”, as the official San Francisco Travel Association puts it, definitely plays a large role in influencing our outlooks and even our upbringings. Shaking our heads at the latest news regarding the Westboro Baptist Church and laughing at Russell Brand’s and Tyler Oakley’s pointed satirization of gay marriage protesters, the reality of such an obviously discriminatory attitude seems distant and faraway. When was the last time you went to San Francisco and saw someone challenging the legitimacy of LGBT rights? Being exposed to the other end of the spectrum is an eye-opening and unsettling notion, revealing a separate, locally unpopular, and usually unsupported perspective on a major and current topic.