If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Mondays, 8-9: NBC - Launching the Careers of Mediocre Singers As Though the Fate of Western Civilization Depended On It And, At This Point, It Probably Does
Even if Barack Obama were born in Kenya (which I don't believe to be the case) the president still would have been a U.S. citizen at birth, because his mother was an American, a fact which nobody to this date denies.
Instead of assuming that Maisani was cheating on Cooper, as almost all the media outlets have done, why not assume that Cooper knew exactly where his boyfriend was and had simply said, "Have fun with Bob. I'll see you later tonight. Oh, and can you pick up some more milk? We're almost out"?
It makes me sad and frustrated that anyone needs to "come out" at all. However, I realize now that being "out" to family, friends, colleagues, professors, the Internet, etc. helps them get to know me and helps me be more comfortable with the way I am.
CNN's latest numbers indicate that the network is now viewed predominantly by adult males with Crohn's disease who forgot to turn their televisions off and Long-toed salamanders between the ages of four and eight.
Does the fact that you live a good life, are kind, work hard -- or are a hero as in Sally Ride's case -- become moot because you don't come out? I hope not.
I found coming out to be an extremely healing experience that wasn't easy at first, but led me toward greater peace and wholeness. Telling the truth can be challenging, but it will bring your destiny closer to you; it will ignite your life and give your struggle greater meaning and purpose.
I worked with my first celebrities who came out more than two decades ago and clearly we have made extraordinary strides. But we have not reached the promised land yet.
Too often we see the queer community literally white-washed. Telling the stories and honoring the coming-out struggles of people of color like Frank Ocean and Diana King, or of people who challenge gender roles like Megan Rapinoe, is extremely important.
When Anderson Cooper announced in a short and precisely worded email that he is, in fact, homosexual, it immediately became a national news item. ABC News, Fox News and even CNN ran stories about Cooper's sexuality. We should not be proud of this.
Even for someone prone to being so hateful in public, Brent Bozell's behavior in recent months stands out -- and particularly in the past couple of weeks -- in its viciousness and disregard for the reputation of his organization.
Not the gay club, to which he has belonged for a while. Rather, the club of those whose character is questioned because they didn't come out earlier. In place of the more difficult work of questioning a culture's character, it's easier for pundits to question a celebrity's character.
As recently as 1989, tolerance for gays and gay jounalists was hardly prevalent. I would cringe at the gay jokes in the newsroom. A few years earlier I overheard a colleague tell a cameraman, "You better watch when you interview those gays. You don't want to catch AIDS, you know."
We met up to talk about the complicated notion of "coming out," Anderson Cooper, and Frank Ocean, and why we think society needs to exit the proverbial "closet" and not LGBT folk.
Those of us who were lucky enough to be born into climates safe for us -- because of where we live or because of the identity we have -- have a moral obligation to be out (and yes, I'm looking at you, closeted celebrities). Cowardice and "privacy" are no excuse.
