Pete Buttigieg's Life in the Closet

[DonViejo]

July 14, 2019 at 7:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard

New York Times: “Many in his generation and in his college class decided to come out as young adults, whether they were confident they would be accepted or not, and had their 20s to navigate being open about their identity — a process that helped make Americans more aware and accepting of their gay friends, family members and co-workers. Instead, Mr. Buttigieg spent those years trying to reconcile his private life with his aspirations for a high-profile career in public service.”

“Attitudes toward gay rights changed immensely during that period, though he acknowledges that he was not always able or willing to see what broader social and legal shifts meant for him personally.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2019/07/14/pete-buttigiegs-life-in-the-closet/

[Zoonart]

1. I have many many gay friends.

Not being gay myself, I have always taken an interest in their path to comming out and I really think that these articles popping up about Mayor Pete's path to comming out are bulshit. These articles can be compared to the bull we read about Obama's not being black enough...or Hillary not being woman enough to throw Bill out, or that she must be a closet lesbian because ...pantsuits.

Now Mayor Pete is not gay enough... because he lived his life in a way others, many of them gay themselves, do not approve of.

Stop it. No one gets to live another person's life.

[cwydro]

2. I came out at 18, way back before it was cool to do so.

I never expected others to do the same, though I wished they would.

So many things go into that decision. It’s not easy for many.

[crazytown]

3. Do you think it would have made it an easier decision

if there had been an out gay man running for president? That a cheap question - but I hear a lot about role models - can it make a difference? No doubt if would have made a difference for Pete if there were out gay men in high office.

[Zoonart]

4. True.

We are way behind the curve socially in this country.

[dsc]

8. I graduated high school in 1986

and frankly having some idea there were gay people not dying of AIDS would have been very helpful. The fact is I knew only one gay male and he was an ex gay. I did have a lesbian aunt who was partnered. But there were no gay people around in my town, no gay people seemingly anywhere. When I got to college the gay group met under ground. I came out in college and it was terrifying. Now I am a teacher, my kids know, and hopefully it makes it some easier.

[crazytown]

9. The AIDS era was terrifying

walking around the Castro, San Francisco in 1985 was grim.

[dsc]

11. as grim as that must have been

in places like mine they were emptying pools, chasing people from town, refusing to bury people etc. It was downright terrifying. There is a great film called 1985 that was released last year if you can track it down very worth a see.

[crazytown]

14. Thanks I will.

[MBS]

5. well said, thanks.

(though the NYT article didn't seem all that bad to me).

[Zoonart]

7. It's not... but it's that same old drumbeat of

otherness and not other enough-ness. Just the tip of the iceburg as Pete continues to iimpress.

[MBS]

10. well said again!

Yeah, the all-too-usual lame and small-minded stuff, for sure. Especially unimpressive when it comes from the left, or from someone who should be in a position to empathize, or, dammit, to know better or to be, simply, larger than this.

Nevertheless, Pete will continue to impress, and, I believe, prevail.

[Zoonart]

12. Yep!

[NYMinute]

6. I don't care to read about Mayor Pete's gayness or lack thereof

or how committed he is to being gay.

I am more impressed by his eloquence, cerebral approach to issues, his Rhodes scholar status and his decorated service in the armed forces. His being gay or not is not important.

[yardwork]

13. I didn't know that I was gay until I was 45.

I was married to a man for twenty years. We have children. I was already posting on DU when I recognized that I am gay. I was divorced, then in a years' long relationship with a woman that ended, and now I'm happily married to a woman. All this happened in the last 15 years.

Am I gay enough for some gay people? Probably not. I don't care. I'm way past caring whether I meet some gay purity test.

I think these attacks and speculations about Buttigieg are petty and childish.