In a heartwarming video produced by YouTubers Trent & Luke, two British men compare their experiences coming out and living as openly gay men in two very different eras, 65 years apart to be exact.
“I think you’re so lucky the world has changed and you can just be yourself,” Percy, 78, tells Louis, 13, who already has a boyfriend and is fully supported by his friends and family.
Percy explains just how difficult and dangerous life was for a gay man growing up at a time when homosexuality was illegal and same-sex couples lived in constant fear of police raids.
“It amazes me how they could even just say for loving someone, you’re being arrested,” the teen says. “That completely shocks me.”
“Stand up for being gay and for actually trying to make people understand that the most important thing is that you can love somebody and it doesn’t matter who they are,” Percy tells the teen. “Love is love.”
Watch the brilliant video, below:
