CNN ANCHOR STANDS UP STRONG AND COMES OUT

We were so excited about this discovery we had to repost…..

CNN Anchor Comes Out

 Margaret Hartmann — One of CNN’s news anchors has decided to come out, but it’s not the one you’re probably thinking of. In his upcoming memoir, Don Lemon, the network’s weekend prime-time anchor, reveals that he’s homosexual.

Lemon’s book Transparent won’t go on sale until next month, but he discusses his sexual orientation in a New York Times article that appears in today’s paper. The memoir is mainly about his career in TV journalism, but he says he knows what’s going to get the most publicity: “People are going to say: ‘Oh, he was molested as a kid and now he is coming out.’ I get it.”

Though he’s been out among friends and co-workers for years, he says he’s still scared about the reaction people might have. “I’m talking about something that people might shun me for, ostracize me for,” he said. He told the paper that he’s particularly concerned because of his race:

“It’s quite different for an African-American male,” he said. “It’s about the worst thing you can be in black culture. You’re taught you have to be a man; you have to be masculine. In the black community they think you can pray the gay away.” He said he believed the negative reaction to male homosexuality had to do with the history of discrimination that still affects many black Americans, as well as the attitudes of some black women.

“You’re afraid that black women will say the same things they do about how black men should be dating black women.” He added, “I guess this makes me a double minority now.”

Lemon was originally approached about writing a short inspirational book, but wound up going into his personal life. He struggled with whether or not to leave passages about his sexual orientation in the book, but ultimately decided it was time to come out publicly. In response to the inevitable question about whether he thinks other journalists should come out of the closet, he said:

“I think it would be great if everybody could be out … But it’s such a personal choice. People have to do it at their own speed. I respect that. I do have to say that the more people who come out, the better it is for everyone, certainly for the Tyler Clementis of the world … I think if I had seen more people like me who are out and proud, it wouldn’t have taken me 45 years to say it, to walk in the truth.”

In a Tweet late Sunday night, Lemon shared a link to the article with his 90,000 followers,writing, “wanted to be the first to share with u. thanks for your support!!!” He also released a statement saying the book is dedicated to Clementi and other young gay people who feel they’re alone. From LGBTQ Nation:

“Today I chose to step out on faith and begin openly living my own truth. And let me say right up front that I hope many of you will be inspired to do the same thing in your daily lives. Some of the things I’ve chosen to reveal in my book Transparent were very difficult to share with even those closest to me.

There was a time when I was terrified of revealing these things to the person I love most in this world – my own mother. But when I finally mustered the courage to tell her that I had been molested as a child and that I was born gay, my life began to change in positive ways that I never imagined possible. Yet I still chose to keep those secrets hidden from the world. I, like most gay people, lived a life of fear. Fear that if some employers, co-workers, friends, neighbors and family members learned of my sexuality, I would be shunned, mocked and ostracized. It is a burden that millions of people carry with them every single day. And sadly, while the mockery and ostracizing are realized by millions of people every day, I truly believe it doesn’t have to happen and that’s why I feel compelled to share what I’ve written in Transparent.

As a journalist I believe that part of my mission is to shed light onto dark places. So, the disclosure of this information does not inhibit in any way my ability to be the professional, fair and objective journalist I have always been.”

It’s depressing that Lemon had to add that last line, but hopefully his decision to come out will make it so one day homosexual people can be honest about who they are without fear of risking their professional reputation.

Gay CNN Anchor Sees Risk In Book [NYT]
@DonLemonCNN [Twitter]
CNN News Anchor Don Lemon ‘To Walk In The Truth’ – Reveals He Is Gay [LGBTQ Nation]

MY SECRET……the Hippo and the Tortoise, a love story.

“Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed.”

– Rachel Naomi

After a hurricane in South Africa in 2007. a displaced baby hippo found it’s way into the life of a Giant Male Tortoise. The phenomena was that the animals sought to create “family” and bonded. Tortoise adopted Hippo…..Love is amazing like that.

---

 

My Secret

What they thought is true, they are not mistaken.

I had neither the courage nor the strength for confrontations,

But now is the right time to face your opposition.

I know this may seem drastic, but such a necessary step

To wrestle my demons and deal with your judgment.

Someday even without my consent you may find out the truth,

But just like you I am also a man of integrity,

Both honor and nobility reside in me.

So with this, I prefer to tell you face to face.

I would rather that you hear my own words than rely on the possibility.

What I feel for you is not hearsay. It is in fact very real.

I am not the brother you want me to be,
not the partner in boyish antics.

Our fate was not solely sealed by friendship,
but of something more profound.

Never wanted to be just a companion,
I secretly aspired for something more.

My true motives have been suppressed,
carefully hiding my doting stares.

It may seem of me selfish, it was purely out of my control

I am not making excuses trickery was not my intention.

If after this, you decide to change and speak to me never again,

I would try to understand.

If you resolve to cut me off and remove me from your view,

I would attempt to comprehend.

If you choose to forget about me and remove my traces from your memory,

I would sadly accept my destiny.

The choice is yours completely, your verdict it is out of my hands.

I would step aside, honor you wish while regaining my dignity.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

LOVE is amazing and splendid. It is full of differences and diversity. It is imperfect and flawed and so very perfect and flawless all at the same time, but regardless of the relationship, be it lovers, or parent-child, the relationship and the emotion is unconditional if its real. Be authentic and genuine and real. Be true to yourself, and be honest with those around you, because when you do, you are set free.

STAND UP STRONG!

 

 

 

Dear Mr. President……Sincerely, EVERYONE

 

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

In February, you made a powerful statement about the law.

Invoking guarantees enshrined in the Constitution, you and the Attorney General determined that federal discrimination against gay and lesbian couples in marriage is unconstitutional. Thank you for taking a principled stance and an important step toward equal protection under the law for all Americans.

Today we ask you to take the next step and join the majority of Americans who support allowing loving and committed gay and lesbian couples to legally marry.

Mr. President, marriage matters. In law, in love, in life, marriage says “we are family” in a way that nothing else does. Marriage is the coming together of two lives, marked by a public promise of love and responsibility in front of friends and family. And marriage brings not only public respect and personal significance, but also a safety net of legal protections, rights, and responsibilities for which there is no substitute.

Like so many Americans, you have spoken of your personal journey toward support for the freedom to marry. You have talked about the gay and lesbian people in your life, their commitment to each other and care for their kids, and their families that aren’t so different from any other family.

We ask you now for your leadership on ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, an exclusion that harms millions of Americans each day. Whether to end discrimination in marriage is a question America has faced before, and faces again today. With so many Americans talking it through in heartfelt conversations, it is a question that calls for clarity from the President.

You can offer hope to millions of young gay and lesbian Americans who are facing discrimination. You can tell them that their future is bright, that they, too, will be able to grow up and marry the person that they love, that the pursuit of happiness truly belongs to all of us. You can put government on the side of those seeking to care for their loved ones, instead of those standing in their way. You can affirm that for all of us, gay or non-gay, love is love and commitment counts – and that we Americans should treat others as we all want to be treated.

Mr. President, the time to end exclusion from marriage is now. We ask you to complete your journey and join us and the majority of Americans who support the freedom to marry.

Sincerely,

Brendon Ayanbadejo
Julian Bond
Helen Fabela Chavez
Ellen & Portia DeGeneres
Jack Dorsey
Melissa Etheridge
Scott Fujita
David Geffen
Anne Hathaway
Chris Hughes & Sean Eldridge
Tony Kushner & Mark Harris
Jane Lynch & Lara Embry
Eric McCormack
Rev. Peter Morales
Mya
Sean Parker
Mark Pincus
Frank Selvaggi & Bill Shea
Martin Sheen
Rev. William Sinkford
Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner
Zach Wahls
Rufus Wainwright
Evan Wolfson
Bob & Suzanne Wright

(http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pages/letter)

NEW YORK — Hollywood celebrities, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, NFL stars, and business, clergy and civil rights leaders launched Freedom to Marry‘s “Say I Do” campaign today urging President Obama to support the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples.

“My wife and I were married in May of 2010, and I can say without a doubt that marriage matters,” Emmy Award winning actor Jane Lynch said. “As President Obama continues his journey toward recognizing our right to equal taxation, protection and dignity under the law, I encourage him to listen to gay and lesbian couples and families so he can better understand how marriage equality affects us all.”

Freedom to Marry’s “Say I Do” campaign kicks off with a letter to the president signed by a diverse set of VIPs and open to Americans from every walk of life to sign. The letter calls for “clarity from the President” and urges him to “join us and the majority of Americans who support the freedom to marry.”

The letter will be delivered to the White House by same-sex couples and families later this spring.

“Freedom to Marry is proud that such a diverse and talented group of people is joining us to ask the President to ‘Say I Do’ to loving, committed gay and lesbian couples who want to marry,” said Marc Solomon, National Campaign Director for Freedom to Marry.

“We appreciate the President’s journey towards supporting the freedom to marry and the concrete steps he’s taken along the way. Now we call on him to complete that journey on the side of fairness for gay and lesbian Americans and their families.”

Signers to the letter include actors Anne Hathaway, Jane Lynch, Eric McCormack, Martin Sheen and Lily Tomlin; television host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia DeGeneres; musicians Melissa Etheridge, Mya, and Rufus Wainwright.

Also, high-tech entrepreneurs Jack Dorsey (creator of Twitter), Chris Hughes (co-founder of Facebook), Sean Parker (co-founder of Napster), and Mark Pincus (co-founder of Zynga); media/entertainment execs David Geffen (co-founder of Dreamworks SKG) and Bob Wright (former chairman and CEO of NBC Universal).

Also signing were NFL players Brendon Ayanbadejo and Scott Fujita; playwright Tony Kushner; civil rights icons Julian Bond, Chairman Emeritus, NAACP, and Helen Fabela Chavez (widow of Cesar Chavez and founder of Cesar E. Chavez Foundation); and the Rev. Peter Morales (president, Unitarian Universalist Association).

To see this article visit:http://sdgln.com/news/2011/03/14/hollywood-stars-silicon-valley-execs-nfl-stars-urge-president-support-gay-marriage

From this link you will be able to link through to sign the letter as well.

This blogger loves all the people coming together to STAND UP STRONG because these courageous people are making the world a better place for my child and so many LGBT kids like him!

 

 

I told my friends at school; I’m Gay. Now What? LGBT YOUTH COMING OUT

What happens when you come out to your friends in school?  Depends on the kid, but in  the big picture, there are a multitude of dynamics that affect this situation. Usually the first instinct is the straight kid thinking that now the gay kid is attracted to him/her! While not too far fetched in theory, unlikely in probability. Unfortunately the straight kid, no matter how close the relationship was or is before coming OUT, is going to go through 100 questions, assumptions, chaos and confusion in the span of less than 20 seconds. Rest assured that while he/she is on guard and is now looking at you as though you have two heads, horns and flames erupting from your mouth, there is going to be an awkward moment or two while everyone collects their wits!

You already know you are Gay, and you have come to some terms with it. You don’t need time to assimilate the information but your friend does. Take a step back  from your own personal feelings and communicate with calm. You need to remind them that nothing has changed about you in the few minutes or seconds it took to impart the information, you are still the same person they know and have been hanging out with.  They now know something far more intimate and life altering about you, but your sexual preference has nothing to do with the friendship, and does not define your character.  This conversation and experience requires taking great stock and inventory of yourself and assessing the value of the relationship, how you percieve yourself and the other person, and how they percieve you and what each of you benefits from the relationship. That is the key to any exchange between people.

Its a common idea that straight guys are wanted by gay guys, and therefore the relationship poses a threat. The probability and truth here is that the relationship didn’t change, there is likely to be no attraction and this only breeds contempt and fear unnecessarily.

Teenagers are subject to hormonal changes, chaos and confusion and anxiety that is all normally associated with being 13-20. They are emotionally painful years in which a child learns to navigate relationships that are not familial, and learns the meaning of intimacy, while at the same time assuming more responsibility in the world. Girls lose their minds and become uglier versions of themselves with alter egos that roll their eyes, stomp their feet, whine, fuss and carry on, and resemble something from The Exorcist such as head spinning and speaking in different tongues.  Boys grow secretive, solemn and spend increasing time alone or absorbed in their sports/activities. Music is introduced as a way of life and the genre and content of what they are listening to can set a mood. Both genders dissappear into an abyss commonly known as social media, social life and friends, never to be seen unless needing to be fed, or after a long sleep on the occassional Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Imagine going though these adolscent rituals with the complex understanding that your preference in relationships and partnerships is the taboo “same sex version”? This complicates the process and makes it even more difficult and in some cases seems hopeless and overwhelming without support.  The child who is fearful of coming out is the most homophobic and can be the cruelest. This is the kid that goes to extremes to appear straight and will do anything to keep up the appearances.  His communication is full of derogatory comments and insults, because he is protecting himself.  Or thinks he is…..

So there you are, you have blurted it out to someone important. You have told a friend and now anything can happen. Its frightening and unchartered territory, and comes with it possibility of social disorder, and becoming an outcast where social hierarchy and acceptance determine the enjoyment of school and life.

Stay real to the moment. Be honest be authentic and genuine and respect the other person regardless of the perception they may or may not have on you. Your strength in the situation is defined by how you carry yourself, and the method in the communication. Setting the example through your own communication, body language and tolerance (YES there MUST be tolerance for the straight person in this scenario) will set the tone moving forward. Keep in mind a gay teen can be more homophobic than anyone, because he is trying to behave as thought straight, afraid to come OUT.  In truth the gay factor has no more affect than the car you drive the way you spend your time, academic performance or music choices.  Helping your friends understand this, and move forward without costing you the friendship is the key to whole equation.

Strength is defined as having a mental power, force and vigor, establishing a moral power, firmness and courage.  It takes strength to stand up strong in what you believe in, and not bow down in shame. It takes infinite bravery to come OUT and the younger kids doing it today should be applauded with a standing ovation.

I have watched my son blossom as a person since coming OUT two years ago. I have seen him combat becoming a victim with greater strength than a man twice his age, taking control of his life and destiny and becoming a leader in his community. I have watched him take pride in who he is with a clarity and understanding that there is NOTHING wrong with him, and he is nothing short of perfect because as parents we STAND UP STRONG behind him and champion for him.  We open doors, seek solutions and educate him in how to go about living his life in full authenticity.

Words only hurt if you allow them to. In truth every person comes with a flaw or imperfection by social standards. Once upon a time, being a Jew was horrific, dirty and shameful. Millions of Jews were persecuted and murdered for the basic “crime” of being different and socially deemed inferior. Later Afro Americans fought for their rights of freedom and equality where once the drinking fountains and bathrooms were segregated.  Being Gay and OUT is the final frontier on bias, predjudice and equality.  Being Gay is not shameful, nor regrettable nor imperfect. Just as great leaders in history had to STAND UP STRONG to educate the masses and take up their cause to inspire change, so must we today, take a stand for the LGBT youth, and strengthen their foundation and authenticity by educating the masses.