A "bad sign" indeed, though I think that there may be more clearly directed anger in the gay world today than there was twenty years ago when this was written.
Out of some peculiarity of human nature, we are less angry when somebody rejects our wishes for something, but tend to get outrageous when our posessions are threatened to be taken away. For example, the anger of being denied the right to become married can be not compared with the anger when a married couple is being divorced by the revocation of previous legislation.
Our softness in treating our enemies probably origins in us growing up as "mama's boy" and as such being mostly decent, polite and well-behaving. Being permanently under fire, we are happy when all the hostility brought against us ceases a little bit and therefore are reluctant to insist on our rights and cause the wind again blow into our faces.
How else could it be explained, that workers go to streets and blockade public transportation for some 2% of additional salary, whereas gays and lesbians stay in home and do not smash windows and burn cars for being deprived of such fundamental rights as the right of marriage and the right of medically-assisted insemination?