Anderson Cooper Comes Out

[TotallyOz]

The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.

 

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/anderson-cooper-the-fact-is-im-gay.html

[daddydawg]

Well, as Gomer Pyle (or was it Goober) used to say: "surprise, surprise, surprise."

[Guest fountainhall]

There is an article in todays Guardian newspaper taking the near-enforced outing of Anderson Cooper to task. It tackles the issue of privacy v. publicity and argues that the time has surely come for an end to the persistent hounding of gay men and women in public life to come out, as though it is their duty to do so in a very pubic way without giving them the luxury of choice. It likens such tactics to school bullying, a form of personal terrorism that many, straight and gay, are now working hard to stamp out.

 

I have never been a public figure, and I had the luxury of deciding to whom and when to disclose the fact that I am gay. I know that some activists believe it is a duty of those in public life to announce their sexual orientation as a way of helping “the cause”. Others happily taunt ordinary men and women, especially younger ones, who choose to remain in the closet, and then gloat when their tactics "succeed", as though some personal victory for the taunter has been won.

 

Let’s not forget that 20-year old Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from a bridge when his sexuality was revealed to the world through an invasion of his privacy by a mean and bigoted fellow student, Dharun Ravi. Hounding takes many forms, but it is no different to schoolboy bullying – whatever the age of the subject. In my view, it has to stop.

 

Most of us – no, let's make that everyone – would like a measure of privacy, whether it's about our sexuality, our eating habits or our taste in TV shows. But Cooper, like a bunch of Hollywood male movie stars and one or two powerful people in the entertainment industry that many of us can name, has never been given that luxury. Type "Anderson Cooper" into Google, and it gives you the option of autocompleting "gay" before spewing out pages of innuendo, rumor and ridicule.

 

"There continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear where I stand," writes Cooper in his email. What he doesn't complain about is that he has been a personal victim.

 

Cooper has been harassed to come out for years. By Gawker, by Out magazine and by Twitter – to name some of the worst offenders. (Gawker's founder and proprietor, Nick Denton, still found fault in Cooper's declaration: "The choreographed publication of a private letter from Anderson to Andrew Sullivan has so much in common with Obama's mealy-mouthed statement of personal belief on afternoon TV: both are missed opportunities," he wrote.)

 

But, as Cooper says in his email to Sullivan, he was actually never "in": "I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues." He never tried to hide his sexual orientation, as he has been accused of. He just didn't think it was the public's business.

 

And why should it be? Why did Cooper have to be so bullied? He never pretended to be straight. He just chose not to address the issue. Why did that enrage people? Shouldn't the increasing acceptance of gay lifestyles, the growing legalization of gay marriage, the realization that 21st century families come in all shapes and sizes, mean that Cooper should have been left alone? Of course it does. Why should anyone care about this? What's it got to do with you or me? Are you NOT going to watch him on TV now that you "know"?

 

It's interesting that Cooper doesn't express any uncertainty about the effect his public statement will have on his career. Those days are definitely over. I would guess that you're either going to continue to watch him or not based on whether you think he's a good reporter . . .

 

The news trend of this cycle is that gay people can now come out in a quiet, understated way with their dignity intact. Three cheers for that. But there are still many, many people in the public eye who won't want to talk about their orientation. It's time to spread the dignity. Stop the taunting. Leave Anderson Cooper alone and hope that next cycle's trend will be that those who choose to keep their sexuality a private matter are given some peace.

 

http://www.guardian....per-bullied-gay

[Rogie]

Unlike Daddydawg, it came as a surprise to me as I had never heard of this gentleman, as I am not a watcher of CNN.

 

I am in agreement with the tone of that Guardian article.

 

Unfortunately the genie is out of the bottle as far as people in the public eye having much likelihood of privacy. I guess you could say it was always like that, but there used ro be such as thing as discretion and respect for another person's feelings - even going so far as to keep 'secrets' if it came to that.

 

These days the mob mentality rules. The great unwashed lead crude pitiful lives only enlivened by periodic doses of scandal and lapping up exposes of life within the castle walls. Many magazines and TV programmes seem to cater for this. I'm not sure what came first, the crass minds of journalists and TV producers ramming it down the throats of a decent public, or a nosy public demanding to know the ins and outs of everyone in the public eye and the media only to happy to oblige. I suspect many people couldn't care less about such outrages as phone hacking provided it supplies a nice juicy story to read with their cornflakes on Sunday morning - but once they realised the perverse depths to which some journalists had sunk, the public turned against them. Maybe cases such as the one under discussion can lead to a better understanding and respect for people in public life.

[Guest fountainhall]

The man who put pressure on Cooper – and who has also continuously pressured other public figures and celebrities to come out – Nick Denton at Gawker, has said -

 

of course he’d been publicly “nagging” Cooper to come out of the closet. “You can call that bullying,” Denton, who is gay, wrote in a comment on Gawker. “But without some pressure, there wouldn't be nearly as many public homosexuals. Everybody agrees by now that visibility is essential if one is going to change attitudes. What they don't yet acknowledge is this: for visibility, you need a searing spotlight.”

 

http://www.latimes.c...0,4282833.story

 

There speaks a man with a rather nasty agenda, in my view.

 

I liked the comment of one poster on the fridae site -

 

I knew he was gay... i could tell by the way he moves his tongue when he talks LOL

 

Well, that's one new distinguishing trait I'd never noticed before

[Rogie]

There speaks a man with a rather nasty agenda, in my view.

 

The internet allows anyone who wants one to have a website. Some see it as a way to make money and some as a way to make the world a better place. However, those wanting to make it a better place tend to be more anonymous, drowned out by those who just want to catapult themselves into the limelight or, as those such as Mr Denton would no doubt prefer, having a 'searing spotlight' shining on them.

 

It is a struggle to make your way in the world in the 21st century. A life lived at anything less than 180mph makes you an ordinary person. What? - an ordinary person! How can that be? Surely that's quite nice. Personally, yes I enjoy being ordinary, but it seems a growing number of men and women think otherwise. It seems to me the divide between us Joe-ordinaries and the stars and super-stars and super super stars is getting wider and wider. No wonder so many young people are star-struck, to use an old familiar expression.

 

Now it seems there are as many terrestrial 'stars' as there are stars in the sky. I don't think there are actually any more people worthy of the accolade star than there used to be. But to a young person it might seem that way because we've got a serious problem of star inflation. Wannabe stars are two-a-penny and they're no shrinking violets either. By fair means or foul, they will strut their stuff.

[bkkguy]

for an alternative take on this:

 

Out This Week: The Keeping Them Honest Edition

 

Over the weekend, talk show host Anderson Cooper quietly came out of his closet as a journalist. In a letter to The Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan, Cooper made the unexpected announcement, stating his underlying pride in his up until now well-hidden career choice was the reason he decided to out himself as a reporter ...

 

Previously Cooper, who was ranked in the #2 spot of the ‘Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America’ by Out Magazine, has made vague references to being a reporter and has even gone as far as to claim being a self-described news junkie, having been one “since I was in the womb,” but this weekend’s announcement is the first time the entertainer has publicly admitted to his journalistic leanings.

 

I know most of you here hate bangkokbois' style but for those who are not beyond a bit of well-written parody, enjoy!

 

bkkguy

[Guest fountainhall]

That's a clever piece of writing! I enjoyed it. And I like that photo with Kathy Griffin!

[Guest fountainhall]

On the subject of bullying, a Report just published by Stonewall in the UK has disturbing findings.

 

Homophobic bullying is still common in many schools and often goes unchallenged by teachers, a major report has found.

 

More than half of lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils have been bullied because of their sexuality, according Stonewall's new study.

 

It reveals that homophobic language is rife, with 96% of gay pupils reporting that they had heard comments such as "poof" or "lezza" used in schools.

 

Almost all (99%) of the more than 1,600 young people questioned said they had heard classmates saying phrases such as "that's so gay" or "you're so gay".

 

While over half of gay pupils had faced verbal abuse, around one in six (16%) had been victims of physical abuse, and almost a quarter (23%) experienced cyberbullying, the School Report 2012 found.

 

But Stonewall also raised concerns that the bullying is being unchecked by schools. Around three in five lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils who had been bullied due to their sexuality said teachers who witness the abuse do not step in to stop it, the report reveals.

 

 

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/bullying-gays-rife-schools-111032728.html

[Guest fountainhall]

So our poster bkkguy is so impressed by the bangkobois report he posted above, he writes to the blogger and says this -

 

This is a classic post, I couldn’t have written it better myself, but I may have dropped you in it by posting a link to this on the gaythailand.com forum where some of the regular posters do not seem to appreciate your style – but I am not a sh*t-stirrer, I’m really not

 

So bkkguy makes clear his respect (or lack thereof) for gaythaiand and some of its posters. No doubt some may say this is a jibe for his having been put on moderated status perhaps? But what I find hilarious is that bangkokbois replies -

 

I can’t believe Fountainhall actually compared Cooper’s coming out with the suicide of Tyler Clementi. But then that is typical of someone who wants to live their life fueled by self-righteous indignation – any argument to bolster their opinion regardless of how fanatical it is works. Dude should write for FOX.

 

That's the first time I've been compared in any way to Fox News! And then when another poster writes -

 

Strange I don’t read it as the poster fountainhall “comparing Cooper’s coming out with the suicide of Tyler Celmenti”. That’s not at all what he writes. He talks about bullying.

 

- bangkokbois then gives the blogger's typical evasive comment -

 

FH was speaking of bullying, laying the blame for Cooper’s coming out as well as Tyler’s death on bullies though there has been absolutely no evidence bullying had anything to do with Cooper’s statement.

 

Bullying is bullying, bangkokbois, whether it is in the school yard or on a blogger's website. The article from The Guardian I quoted above gives several very specific examples of Anderson being bullied, but then no doubt you did not read the thread. So, bangkokbois turns out to be just your typical blogger, paying little attention to the detail of a discussion and twisting it to his own point of view - then laying accusations at others. Sadly, this is the same licence enjoyed by the bloggers who bullied Anderson Cooper.

[bkkguy]

So bkkguy makes clear his respect (or lack thereof) for gaythaiand and some of its posters.

 

actually I don't think it shows anything at all about my respect for "gaythaiand", and if you want to try to estimate my level of respect for some of the posters here I really don't think you need to go to bankbois' web site to do so!

 

and do you question the validity of the observation about the likes and dislikes of some of the posters here re bangkokbois? or do you just find stating the obvious offensive or disloyal for some reason?

 

No doubt some may say this is a jibe for his having been put on moderated status perhaps?

 

given I have made many more comments about posters and their opinions than I have about the standard of moderation here and the "jibe" quoted was about poster's opinions I don't understand how "some" would come to that conclusion!

 

and in posting the link here I was hoping that at least some here may actually rise above prevailing opinion and go and read the item and enjoy it, and indeed some did - "That's a clever piece of writing! I enjoyed it." was the response from someone here, I would have to scroll back to remind myself who it was...

 

but to get back on topic

 

The article from The Guardian I quoted above gives several very specific examples of Anderson being bullied, but then no doubt you did not read the thread. So, bangkokbois turns out to be just your typical blogger, paying little attention to the detail of a discussion and twisting it to his own point of view - then laying accusations at others. Sadly, this is the same licence enjoyed by the bloggers who bullied Anderson Cooper.

 

at no point in his email to Andrew Sullivan did Anderson Cooper say his coming out was related to being bullied into doing so - perhaps you and Ms Keller are just using the same license you accuse others of using and "twisting it to [your] own point of view"?

 

bkkguy

[KhorTose]

 

I know most of you here hate bangkokbois' style but for those who are not beyond a bit of well-written parody, enjoy!

 

bkkguy

 

Actually, I think only one person expressed any dislike for Bkkbois articles. How does that translate into most.

[bkkguy]

Actually, I think only one person expressed any dislike for Bkkbois articles. How does that translate into most.

 

given the statements made here and elsewhere by "regular" posters here I am willing to stand by my comment but I have started a poll so I may be proved wrong

 

do you like the writing style in the bangkokbois blog

 

vote away! I am sure fountainhall will be the first to cast his vote!

 

bkkguy

[TotallyOz]

at no point in his email to Andrew Sullivan did Anderson Cooper say his coming out was related to being bullied into doing so - perhaps you and Ms Keller are just using the same license you accuse others of using and "twisting it to [your] own point of view"?

 

Well, I have known about AC for many years as most people have. If you don't see that he was bullied to make a statement about being gay, you have not read the news for several years. It is obvious to me that there was a constant push by the media and bloggers to get him to make a statement on this issue. You may not consider that bullying, but I do. His sexuality was no ones business and while I am very happy that he came out "officially: I don't think he or anyone else should be forced to do this by those who want him to be a role model (gays) and those that want to end his career (right wing nut jobs).

[Guest fountainhall]

given the statements made here and elsewhere by "regular" posters here I am willing to stand by my comment but I have started a poll so I may be proved wrong

 

Goodness! Why bother with a poll? The fact is: you are already proved wrong! A quick check using the Search function quickly brings up the answer. Of those "regular" posters who made a comment, here are the results -

 

#1 “Thanks for that Blog. It is excellent and I am glad to have found it.”

 

#2 “I've only read that blog once but that was enough for me! Others who love gossip and reading the views of a ridiculously opinionated person may well love it. Not for me though.” But adds in a later thread “I found it interesting even though it's not my scene.”

 

#3 “I recently checked the bangkokbois blog and found some of the material to be very witty and entertaining. This kind of blog can be very worthwhile to read for entertainment.”

 

#4 “You have got to be kidding me! BangkokBois? Have you read his Turtle Ass Award speeches? He goes off on a rant about people he doesn't like, and it isn't pretty. He is vile and disgusting beyond imagination and enjoys judging people from atop his lofty pedestal. This guy is toxic and a nasty piece of work.”

 

#5 “I do like his style. I must confess to having an admiration for sarcastic writers, whether it is subtle like Johanthon Swift or blatant like “Bangkokbois. I admit to laughing quite hard on his last two turtle awards” and later from the same poster “This blogger is great and I have agreed with a lot---but not all---of his observations”

 

#6 “Bangkokbois is polarising, to put it charitably.”

 

#7 “That's a clever piece of writing! I enjoyed it.”

 

Result: 4 - 2 in favour with one expressing neither for or againstl Given the possible change of view of poster #2, it could even be 5 - 1!

 

Time to withdraw your comment, may I suggest. And surely you must agree any poll is now meaningless - in my view? After all, you did say in your post of 15 January 2012 that "everyone else here (presumably bar buckbee to whom you were responding in that thread) already has me on ignore." So who will respond?

[bkkguy]

Goodness! Why bother with a poll? The fact is: you are already proved wrong! A quick check using the Search function quickly brings up the answer. Of those "regular" posters who made a comment, here are the results -

....

#7 “That's a clever piece of writing! I enjoyed it.”

 

#7 was posted - by you I may point out - AFTER my comment on likes and dislikes and even then you then went on to make disparaging remarks about bangkokbois, so I don't see why you are classing this as a "like", and given you have already admitted on another thread that you use selective quotes to support your arguement I won't bother checking the rest of your "results"

 

bkkguy

[kokopelli]

I always assumed that Anderson Cooper was gay, so no surprise.

[Guest fountainhall]


I know most of you here hate bangkokbois' style but for those who are not beyond a bit of well-written parody, enjoy!






So what is it you are trying to say? You criticised KhorTose's comment above –





Actually, I think only one person expressed any dislike for Bkkbois articles. How does that translate into most.





Your comment was about "style". Your poll is about "style". Khortose's comment above was about the blog's articles, not specifically referencing "style".

 


I don't see why you are classing this as a "like"

 

I praised the article whose link you posted. Does "praise" in your dictionary actually mean dislike?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7_pX_raPHs

[Guest fountainhall]

I will not contribute further to this thread which has now strayed off-topic. As stated in another thread, I have put the poster bkkguy on Ignore.

[Guest jomtien]

I am locking this thread since it seems to have run its course. Anderson Cooper is still Gay. Bullies are still bullies.

 

I suggest everyone go have a margarita and calm down.