Posted on 07/02/2012 1:15:31 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week, Entertainment Weekly ran a story on an emerging trend: gay people in public life who come out in a much more restrained and matter-of-fact way than in the past. In many ways, it's a great development: we're evolved enough not to be gob-smacked when we find out someone's gay. But it does matter nonetheless, it seems to me, that this is on the record. We still have pastors calling for the death of gay people, bullying incidents and suicides among gay kids, and one major political party dedicated to ending the basic civil right to marry the person you love. So these "non-events" are still also events of a kind; and they matter. The visibility of gay people is one of the core means for our equality.
All of which is a prelude to my saying that I've known Anderson Cooper as a friend for more than two decades. I asked him for his feedback on this subject, for reasons that are probably obvious to most. Here's his email in response which he has given me permission to post here:
Andrew, as you know, the issue you raise is one that I've thought about for years. Even though my job puts me in the public eye, I have tried to maintain some level of privacy in my life. Part of that has been for purely personal reasons. I think most people want some privacy for themselves and the people they are close to.
But I've also wanted to retain some privacy for professional reasons. Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often found myself in some very dangerous places. For my safety and the safety of those I work with, I try to blend in as much as possible, and prefer to stick to my job of telling other people’s stories, and not my own. I have found that sometimes the less an interview subject knows about me, the better I can safely and effectively do my job as a journalist.
I've always believed that who a reporter votes for, what religion they are, who they love, should not be something they have to discuss publicly. As long as a journalist shows fairness and honesty in his or her work, their private life shouldn't matter. I’ve stuck to those principles for my entire professional career, even when I’ve been directly
asked “the gay question,” which happens occasionally. I did not address my sexual orientation in the memoir I wrote several years ago because it was a book focused on war, disasters, loss and survival. I didn't set out to write about other aspects of my life.
Recently, however, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something - something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.
I’ve also been reminded recently that while as a society we are moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible. 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.
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.
I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist.
Since my early days as a reporter, I have worked hard to accurately and fairly portray
gay and lesbian people in the media - and to fairly and accurately portray those who for whatever reason disapprove of them. It is not part of my job to push an agenda, but rather to be relentlessly honest in everything I see, say and do. I’ve never wanted to be any kind of reporter other than a good one, and I do not desire to promote any cause other than the truth.
Being a journalist, traveling to remote places, trying to understand people from all walks of life, telling their stories, has been the greatest joy of my professional career, and I hope to continue doing it for a long time to come. But while I feel very blessed to have had so many opportunities as a journalist, I am also blessed far beyond having a great career.
I love, and I am loved.
In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God’s greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love with the people in my life. I appreciate your asking me to weigh in on this, and I would be happy for you to share my thoughts with your readers. I still consider myself a reserved person and I hope this doesn’t mean an end to a small amount of personal space. But I do think visibility is important, more important than preserving my reporter’s shield of privacy.
Me too.
Update: The Beast created a video tribute to Anderson's work - watch it here.
(Photos courtesy of Anderson Cooper and CNN)
I have no idea who he is.
Fact is, I was calling you faggot from the moment your face appeared on my TV screen. Faggot!
LOL
lol!
Andrew Sullivan: We still have pastors calling for the death of gay people, bullying incidents and suicides among gay kids, and one major political party dedicated to ending the basic civil right to marry the person you love... The visibility of gay people is one of the core means for our equality.Bullying incidents and suicides among other kids, well, those are okay with that partisan media shill.
I wonder if Cooper is the last person to know he’s a homosexual? Unless everyone assumed he was a bisexual.
I think the only reason CNN hired him in the first place was because he would have sex with anyone, anywhere, and in their weird alternative media reality that means he is moral.
I’m not kidding about that, either. I remember one local sportscaster who was a nobody until he was caught in his motel room with two young girls all drinking liquor. Even before he could be fired by his local, he got a job offer from the network at five times the pay.
And Jessica Savitch was regarded as impressively perverted, having “zipless” sex with anyone who could promote her.
My God...you guys are criticizing others for their geography skills? The capital of Long Island is Fire Island,a place where Miss Copper is often spotted.
do I really have to say it???
I’m straight as an arrow and I don’t run around saying “I’m proud!”
When I went to church I NEVER heard the minister call for a homosexual’s death.
Isaiah 3:9 is dead on.
These homosexuals have brought disaster on themselves in the form of HIV/AIDS and numerous other STD’s,some of which are not known to infect heterosexuals.
Egads!
Median age at death of a homosexual male in the U.S. is 47. Why do the leftists celebrate a risky, sexual perversion that shortens life as “normal?” Almost as though they wish them to die.
“When I went to church I NEVER heard the minister call for a homosexual’s death.”
I’ve been going to them for fifty years...and I have yet to hear one call for homosexuals’ death. This guy is living in fantasy land. Nothing more than an agent of disinformation—but then again, that’s typical.
These enlightened ones, like Cooper, love to herald Islamic values and claim they’re peaceful, try to sell you a fraud—my challenge to him still stands—sashshay on down that way. See how they will “love” you.
We live in one of the largest Christian countries on the planet—and yet he still lives?? Go figure. I thought all these blood thirsty pastors were roaming the streets—looking for him.
Sheppard Smith needs to come out of the closet also.
“Sheppard Smith needs to come out of the closet also.”
—
Why?
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