Outing

A while ago there was some buzz in ye olde gay blogosphere about a conservative politician who may have been involved romantically with another man in his past. These rumors are a dime a dozen, but it provoked discussion over the ethics of outing someone.

The consensus (among blog commenters, at least) seems to be that you should not out someone closeted. The big exception to this is if the person in question is actively harming lgbt people through their actions. There are also plenty of people who believe there is no harm in outing someone in the “transparent closet.” That is, people who are “obviously” queer in some way but have not acknowledged it publicly. I disagree with this vemiantly—the closet may not be a dignified thing, but for many people it is viewed as a necessity to maintain their life. “Transparent” or not, that person has their reasons.

As for those who harm people, like anti-gay conservative politicians, I am more open to the concept. In my mind, if I choose to view it as acceptable, it is a negative act that benefits the greater good. The thing is, I am very uncomfortable with this. A bigoted hypocrite may “deserve” to be outed, but there is something unsettling about weaponizing someone’s sexuality. In a way, it is reinforcing that to be openly lgbt is a negative thing that should avoided except when employed as punishment. By punishing people with something that most open minded people would claim is a positive thing (coming out), you are affirming that it is a bad thing to be feared.

On the other hand, some people may deserve it. I really am not sure how I feel about it, except that the only situation in which I am even open to outing someone is if they are a menace to the lgbt community.

A Confession of Optimism

I am very thankful to my parents for the way that they raised my sister and me. There has always been a strong sense of neutrality. Not in the sense of never backing any side of an argument, but in the sense of being impartial and evaluating the situation before forming an opinion about something. It has led to complicated, if interesting, scenarios when friends and I have fought—I do my best to avoid taking a stance against the person mad at me. This just seems to frustrate the other party and makes me sound smarmy as I describe it now, but I believe it is the right thing to do if you can appropriately distance your emotions in order to make a rational decision.

Because of this, there is a sort of centrist streak running through my family. Religiously speaking, I was taught to revere the Dalai Lama as much as the Pope and to shun fundamentalism. Politics were also subject to this; my parents never shared with us who they voted for. They will discuss who they plan on voting for now that both my sister and I are of age, but they showed no desire to imprint their political beliefs on us the way so many people seem to do. (We were indoctrinated, but with views that are more flexible, in my opinion.) Whenever I can glean something about their beliefs, it reinforces the idea of choosing sides based on their merits instead of voting straight ticket; my father is a registered Democrat, but Reagan was his favorite president.

But there is more to this post than bragging about Mom and Dad. The centrism is alive and well whenever we talk about the upcoming election. My whole family, it seems, has adopted the strategy of voting for neither Obama nor Romney, citing problems with both. As with the previous election, I agree with them that there are problems with both (though I think neither would run the country into the ground, Bush-style). But every time my sister extols the merits of the Green Party, there is a part of me that shrinks as I remember my true feelings.

I like Obama.

There. I wrote it.

I have yet to admit this to my family, for fear of deviating from the consensus they have come to. Even with an intentionally-open belief system, there is a set of norms to which one must adhere.

I certainly have my issues with the President. The bill he signed “with reservations” bugs me, for example. But when I learned a friend was involved with the Obama campaign, I actually had a slight desire to do something myself.

I missed my chance during the “hopey changey” era. I lost my absentee ballot, so I did not vote. But even then, despite professing that both Obama and McCain were worthy contenders, I clandestinely harbored Obama sympathies.

I know that supporting a candidate in an election is not something to be ashamed of, but still I worry. I have found myself increasingly to be a liberal democrat over the years, and I just do not want to be one of those people that are part of the partisan train wreck that is most of our politics. And yet I drift to the left (or maybe I have always been there—I am a bit of a Socialist at heart).

I know who I am voting for this November. I just hope it is for the right reasons.

If he's good enough for her, he's good enough for me.

Flip Flop

Last night I was watching CNN while at work, as usual. On AC360's "Keeping Them Honest" segment, they featured Paul Ryan's criticism of an economic bill, which he later took advantage of once it passed.

I want to make clear that what follows is not an assessment of Ryan or his capabilities. It is generalization. That said: I find it frustrating that this is viewed as a bad thing.

Do not get me wrong—him lying about it after the fact is wrong. But he should not have felt the need to hide it. Why is it so taboo for a politician to change their mind as more information emerges or pertinent events occur? Why can't we accept a leader admitting that they were wrong about something in the past? Why can't Ryan take advantage of the new law while saying that he made a mistake opposing it, but acted based on what he knew at the time.

Why? Because politics in the United States has been overwhelmed by partisan views. Instead of people arguing for ideas based on their merits, they pick a side and stick with it, regardless of any future developments. The whole thing has the mentality of a sports rivalry. One side hates the other on principal.

As I said, this is not a defense of Ryan. It is more that this incident reminded me of my opinion which pertains to all politicians. Frankly, I have seen nothing to make me a fan of the guy.

This video sums up my views on politics in general: