Posted on 02/14/2005 9:46:45 AM PST by metalmanx2j
MARYLAND - Scheduled to speak at an Equality Maryland rally for gay rights today, Maya Keyes, 19, daughter of former Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes, is speaking publicly for the first time about her sexuality and her soured relationship with her parents. Both Advocate.com and The Washington Post ran articles over the weekend wherein Maya Keyes discussed the situation.
Read Maya Keyes' interview with Advocate.com:
Maya Keyes ends speculation about her sexuality.
On Sunday, Marc Fisher of the Washington Post reported,
Maya Keyes loves her father and mother. She put off college and moved from the family home in Darnestown to Chicago to be with her dad on a grand adventure. Even though she disagrees with him on "almost everything" political, she worked hard for his quixotic and losing campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Now Maya Keyes -- liberal, lesbian and a little lost -- finds herself out on her own. She says her parents -- conservative commentator and perennial candidate Alan Keyes and his wife, Jocelyn -- threw her out of their house, refused to pay her college tuition and stopped speaking to her.
Maya, 19, says her parents cut her off because of who she is -- "a liberal queer." Tomorrow, she will take her private dispute with her dad into the open. She is scheduled to make her debut as a political animal, speaking at a rally in Annapolis sponsored by Equality Maryland, the state's gay rights lobby.
She plans to talk about "what it was like for me growing up as a liberal queer in a very conservative household. I've known so many other people in a position like mine, where their families really don't want much to do with them. Maybe I can help by talking about it."
The issue of Maya Keyes' sexuality came up during the 2004 U.S. Senate race in Illinois when Capitol Fax publisher Rich Miller discovered a blog apparently populated by Maya that discussed her family and her sexuality and included pictures of her kissing another girl. The story remained underground during the Senate campaign thanks in large measure to the campaign's unwillingness to confirm or deny that the blog was indeed Maya's.
According to Fisher's piece in the Washington Post, despite the fact that Maya has been kicked out of her home, a San Francisco-based charity, the Point Foundation, has stepped in to provide the money needed for Maya to begin her studies at Brown University.
Interestingly, Maya Keyes seems to harbor little ill will towards her father. Again, from the Washington Post,
Maya still sounds more sad than angry about her situation. "I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt my father," she says. Like other gay relatives of prominent conservatives, she has struggled with how public to be about her sexuality...Maya is looking for work, planning to move in with friends in Washington or a brother in Boston. She hopes to get back in touch with her mom and dad..."It all seems kind of ridiculous," she says, "because I love him. He's my father."
© 2005 IllinoisLeader.com
I do know declaring someone "hateful" and "insane" on such specious grounds constitutes a value judgment.
My question is what qualifies your values?
I feel no need to throw anyone a bone. My political views are what they are, with no apologies to anyone. I'll set my GOP credentials up against any other Freeper.
Who died??
If Keyes is a true believer this has got to dissappoint him beyond words. I doubt if he KICKED her out of the HOUSE.......However not paying for her tuition means little. None of my children are LEFTIST Lesbians and I didn't pay for their college education either.
I think his comment was neither sickening nor ignorant. Deviancy isn't explained or legitimized by tolerance. However, a parent has a difficult situation to deal with - dealing with what is percieved and believed as an indecency AND maintaining a loving relationship with their daughter.
I've been through the mill with a troublesome daughter and the only thing I can tell you is that you cannot give up your values just for the sake of maintaining the peace. In the end, she saw what she did was wrong and we are all stronger for it. She is now prepared to deal with HER daughter when/if she succumbs to the hormones of teenagershsip.
The one thing that bums me out about this more than anything is why. To me every Christian's primary ministry is to their family. When things like this happen and they often do, it just makes me wan't to be a better husband, dad, and serve my family not myself.
How convenient. How much more of your handling of Scripture is of the ala carte variety?
I understand there is a hatred of all things gay on this board.
You understand nothing of the sort. You are, however, obviously a product of indoctrination.
A distinction without difference is no difference, and as you are defining Dr. Keyes' options there is no distinction between tolerance and acceptance.
If various Freeper refuse to bow the knee to your pseudo-piety it's not because they are full of hate, but because they are unmoved by your allegations against them.
There are employers who won't hire Ivy grads because in their experience the ego/attitude risk is not worth the trouble.
I have a drug addicted son (meth) and have kicked him out.
I kicked him out because:
1. I like my stuff
2. The situation was becoming dangerous and one of us would end up in jail
3. I could no longer tolerate the constant uproar in this house
4. I would not allow his 13 year old brother to endure this any longer.
5. When he no longer could pay his dealers and our stuff was secure, the dealers would call or come to the house.
Perhaps I allowed him to stay in the house too long, but he is my son. I could never, ever live with myself if he ended up in prison or dead and I asked myself forever "Did I do all I could do?"
The Keyes' family situation does not seem to have any of the above factors. I do not approve of the gay lifestyle--it is not in my value system.
No family is immune from any issue. If I had a child make such an annoucement, I certainly would have a tough adjustment.
But in the end, I love my child. I would not kick him/her out of the house for this.
Once I picked myself up off the floor and spent as long as it took to process it, I would say "Okay. I do not approve. I believe it is wrong. I will not allow this to destroy our family. I cannot change your preference and I certainly do not understand it. But I do have control over what is and is not allowed in my household."
It would not be easy, God knows. There would be some raised voices and "where did I go wrong?" laments.But I know the pain losing a child to an issue no family should have to endure. Alan Keyes is an idiot to risk losing his daughter to this. Although I suspect he may have lost his daughter's respect years ago.
I stated my opinion. I did not state that any one else's opinion embarrassed or made me ashamed.
Uhhh, none of it. You asked me to correlate the two Scriputre passages. I told you they don't correlate in this situation. One should never view their own child as swine. If you have children and you feel that way, I feel sorry for you and for them.
The posts on this thread (w/ a few exceptions) lambasted Maya Keyes and the gay lifestyle. Futhermore, most defended Mr. Keyes' decision to "disown" his daughter. It is inconceivable to me, that on this board, so few words of comfort or understanding were offered. That is decidedly unchristian.
You are, however, obviously a product of indoctrination.
And that is why I waited out a hurricane to vote for a law banning gay marriage in Louisiana.
If various Freeper refuse to bow the knee to your pseudo-piety it's not because they are full of hate, but because they are unmoved by your allegations against them.
If this isn't the ultimate in the pot calling the kettle black.
My opinion is that the opinion on this thread are embarrassing and shameful.
Your situation sounds difficult, you have my prayers. Thank you for sharing it as I hope it will shed some light on the discussion.
Don't you think you should have a clear definition of what constitutes "better?"
What do you think this Scripture means?
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes will be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.
Thank you for your kind words. He was doing very well, had been testing negative, but recently relapsed. Under any other circumstances, he would be out of the house, but he is on probation and has to go back to court Thursday. And he will go from court to jail for about 6 weeks.
I appreciate your prayers more than you know.
That said, I have no idea what all the details of this story are, and so I make no comment on "What I would do." I'm only saying that tossing her out seems like a valid option under the circumstances. Respect should at least work both ways, and there are other children in the house to think about. Sounds like she is at least of legal age. If she wants to make grown up decisions she needs to be prepared to take on grown up responsibilities.
I do not know the particulars regarding Dr. Keyes and his daughters relationship. Neither do I know the specifics regarding the Cheneys' daughter and their relationship. But I do see palpably the glee which the mainstream media demonstrate in trying to filet Alan Keyes in what must be a heartbreaking familial ordeal. It must be very difficult for Dr. and Mrs. Keyes or any parent who goes through something like this. We all want what is best for our children and when you see one make such an error you ache to correct or help correct. The methodology will be different amongst parents, but it is probably rarely due to anything other than parental love. Dr. Keyes is a good and decent man. I wish him well. I wish his daughter well. I hope they can be reconsiled and I hope we never know the particulars of their personal pain. As for Judy Woodriff and Wolff Blitzer trying to get ratings on the destruction of a family, I do not wish them so well. This is the same damn thing Kerry did trying to game the Cheneys' famial situation while acting holier than thou. The MSM and especially CNN have no shame. I wonder if Woodriff would like to have her personal circumstances dissected and demonstrated to an international audience all the while the commentators taking delight in this tradgedy. CNN and their henchmen cannot get off of the air soon enough for me.' Salacious veuristic SOBs.
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