The “thicker skin” you speak of has multiple dimensions. Yes, people absolutely used to turn the other cheek more often about social issues that we now discuss. But it’s not because those issues were merely political in nature or because people were more accepting of insult. It’s because people had no other choice. Belonging to a marginalized group today is way safer than it was in the middle of the previous century.

In the middle of the last century, people were murdered for interracial relationships, beaten and imprisoned for being gay, institutionalized for being different. Undoubtedly, people wanted to avoid these things.