After all the commotion a previous diary of mine found on some kossacks and some right wing trying the waters with the homophobia, I decided to pass on this article from The Atlantic from a couple of weeks ago that resonated with me as a gay man.
I want to preface this by saying that I have been a huge critic of the shameless state of the US for not having had a female President as of yet; as a Latino Chilean-American I have seen women rise in the public arena and higher offices in my ancestral country and in many latin american countries. I supported Hillary in 2008 and 2016. I was all in, and still am, with a one of the female candidates, but I feel like I just can't deny my heart and brain when talking about the first (actually second), openly gay presidential candidate.
It's about role models, projecting our own bio, and hoping the new LGBT youth can see that it DOES get better.
We all know that he is very smart, funny, his academic pedigree, and his polyglot prowess. As a sapiosexual gay man han hadde meg på hallo.
Anyone who knows me or read my 10 year anniversary bio diary, might know what is was growing up gay in a country where it was illegal, had a Pinochet as a Dictator, and a very conservative society.
Growing up the only references I had of what gay was ( not even what gay was but what people referred to as maricón or feminine), were hair stylist, the token "gay" character in sitcoms/movies, and the rumoured banished friend/family member (nothing against any of them, just the reaction you heard towards them behind their backs).
So, as someone who knew something was "differente", and who wants to stand out for the wrong reasons while you are in your forming years. I came out late 20s with so much guilt that We (family) and I decided to move back to my birth country.
Back in the USA:
In my lifetime, it has been illegal for me to serve in the military, illegal for me to marry, illegal for me to adopt children, and even illegal for me to have sex. Society barred me from the first three; until 2003, the fourth meant risk of a fine or a prison sentence in some states. This discrimination did not just happen in a history book—it happened to me, and it happened to Buttigieg, too.
The AIDS crisis arrived a little later in Chile, in my 20s and in Med School. I actually was informed but saw how these "hombres mayores" who had welcomed me when I first went to THE only gay bar in Santiago, now AIDS diagnosis was in the official medical chart, just Pneumonia. I also was in Chile during my aungst of coming out and learning about the murder of Matthew Shepard.
You can internalize all those events, you really never get over them.
During an interview with an LGBTQ magazine, Buttigieg described himself as “somebody whose marriage exists as a function of a single vote on the U.S. Supreme Court.” Our position in society is hardly secure. The fight for equality isn’t won. It still matters that I am gay, so it matters to me that Buttigieg is gay.
besides all the advances, we still can't donate blood without being abstinent for a year, I can be fired just for loving another man in many states and cities, somebody can refuse service for my wedding and a landlord can deny me accommodations for my sexual orientation.
Identity matters. Like most Democrats, I have not yet decided who to vote for in a primary that is still months away. But I believe it matters that Cory Booker is a black man, that Kamala Harris is the daughter of an Indian mom and a Jamaican dad, and that Buttigieg is gay. These facets of their identities mean that they can understand the powerless, as victims of power, and that they can understand the alienated, having been marginalized.
Beyond questions of empathy, Buttigieg being out is germane because he’s a role model to those who want to come out.
Sometimes I do wonder, Just as The Atlantic author does, if my life would've been different if I had more positive role models.
“I can’t even begin to quantify the transformative power of visibility in belonging,” Uritus said.
Yes, it does matter that Mayor Pete is gay.
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It is not my personality to open up like this and leave it there… so here are some interesting clips so the conversation can be deep but not dark
he has a fun interview with his husband with unintended political humor
He mentions gun control in a tweet yesterday