Fair point. I think my conflation of the two came from media despite me always shaking my fists at the people who were supposed to be on my side.
Despite all that, I’ve always referred to myself as a leftist (and when joking around, I would add “pinko commie bastard”).
I’m 48 and my girlfriend of several years is 31. We don’t really think about it. But if I were 31 she would have been 14. It’s not a pleasant thought in that context.