Outrage Page #6

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than a blowj*b--

or block party.

I'm sorry about

that slip up there.

I have no idea

how that happened,

but it won't happen again.

I WAS AT A BAR IN NEW YORK,

A GAY PIANO BAR:

ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE

CALLED "BRANDY'S."

WE SAT DOWN:

NEXT TO THIS GUY

AND IT WAS SHEPARD SMITH

FROM FOX NEWS.

HE STARTED:

CHATTING ME UP:

AND BUYING ME DRINKS.

AND, UH, HE ASKED ME

IF I'D COME BACK TO

HIS APARTMENT...

( chuckles )

AT 3:
00 IN THE MORNING.

A YEAR WENT BY AND HE STARTED

GETTING A LOT OF EXPOSURE

AS THE NEW RISING STAR

OF CABLE TV NEWS.

HE WAS GRANTING:

INTERVIEWS TO REPORTERS

AND BEING PROFILED

IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES"

AND WAS BEING MORE THAN COY

ABOUT HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

BECAUSE IT WAS ASKED,

AND HE WAS EITHER LYING

OR DODGING THE QUESTION.

IT WAS AT THAT POIN THAT I SAID, "OKAY,

TIME TO COME OUT."

I THINK I TO THIS DAY REMAINS

THE MOST POPULAR COLUMN

THAT I'VE EVER WRITTEN.

EVERYONE LOVES:

A GOOD OUTING.

Tom Sheridan:

THIS TOWN IS FULL

OF GAY PEOPLE.

I REMEMBER WHEN:

I FIRST MOVED HERE

THINKING HOW GAY IT WAS.

SOMETIMES I THINK

WASHINGTON'S MORE GAY

THAN SAN FRANCISCO IS.

Birch:

CAPITOL HILL IS PACKED

WITH GAY STAFFERS.

THERE ARE SO MANY

OF THEM.

YOU CAN'T SWING

A DEAD CA WITHOUT HITTING

A GAY STAFFER.

Jose Antonio Vargas:

THERE'S A RUNNING JOKE

THAT GAY MEN MAKE

CAPITOL HILL RUN ON TIME.

THEY DON'T HAVE A WIFE

OR CHILDREN TO GO HOME TO,

SO THEY CAN WORK

REALLY LONG HOURS.

I THINK IF THEY:

TRIED TO FIRE GAY STAFF

LIKE THEY DO BOOTING PEOPLE

OUT OF THE MILITARY,

THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

WOULD SCREECH TO A HALT.

TO THIS DAY, I HAVE NO SEEN ANY PLACE LIKE IT.

SO IT IS PROBABLY

THE MOST GAY PLACE.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S PROBABLY

STILL THE MOST CLOSETED PLACE.

THERE ARE SCORES

OF CLOSETED REPUBLICANS

AND DEMOCRATS,

I MIGHT ADD,

WHO JUST BECAUSE

OF THEIR LIFE JOURNEY,

BECAUSE OF THEIR

GENERATIONAL EXPERIENCE,

BECAUSE OF THEIR DESIRE

NOT TO BE VULNERABLE

IN TERMS OF:

GETTING RE-ELECTED,

HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY

IN THE CLOSET.

( phone beeps )

YEAH?

Frank:

FROM THE DAY I FIRST GO ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE

IN 1972, I WAS CLOSETED

FOR THE FIRST 15

OF THOSE YEARS.

MY ORIGINAL VIEW

WAS THAT I COULD BE

PUBLICALLY:

KIND OF NEUTRAL,

AND PRIVATELY:

I COULD LIVE THE LIFE

OF A GAY MAN.

BUT IT DOESN'T WORK.

BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE

REASONABLY PROMINENT,

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

YOU CAN'T GO TO BARS

TO MEET PEOPLE.

YOU CAN'T--

( stammers )

YOU CAN'T MEET PEOPLE

WITHOUT OUTING YOURSELF,

SO IT'S KIND OF HARD TO BE

PUBLIC AND CLOSETED.

THERE WERE LOTS OF RUMORS

THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND.

AND I WAS ALWAYS CONCERNED

ABOUT WHAT KINDS OF THINGS

WOULD COME UP IN A CAMPAIGN

OR WHAT THINGS MIGHT BE SAID.

SO, YOU KNOW,

THERE WAS THAT KIND

OF THING THAT GNAWS AT YOU.

IT'S JUST THERE.

IT'S SITTING ON YOUR SHOULDER

LIKE A LITTLE TWEETY BIRD

SITTING ON YOUR SHOULDER

ABOUT TO CHIRP AT YOU.

AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN

IT'S GOING TO DO THAT.

IF YOU ARE A LESBIAN

DEEPLY IN THE CLOSE AND YOU'RE HAVING

A CONVERSATION ABOUT,

YOU KNOW, WHO YOU

SHARE YOUR LIFE WITH,

YOU EITHER HAVE TO LIE

AND SAY "HE"

RATHER THAN "SHE"

IN REFERRING:

TO YOUR PARTNER,

BUT ALTERNATIVELY

USING GENDERLESS PRONOUNS.

"WE HAD A GOOD WEEKEND."

AND, YOU KNOW,

JUST SORT OF AVOIDING IT.

AND REALLY, THAT TAKES

A LOT OF ENERGY TO DO

TO MAKE SURE:

YOUR STORY'S STRAIGHT,

SO TO SPEAK.

Neil Guiliano:

WHEN YOU'RE LIVING

IN THE CLOSET,

THE FEAR IS THAT SOMEONE'S

GOING TO EXPOSE YOU

FOR THEIR POLITICAL GAIN

TO TAKE YOU DOWN.

AND SO YOU'RE ALWAYS

WONDERING,

"IS THIS THE CONVERSATION?

IS THIS THE PERSON?

IS THIS THE SITUATION?"

WHEN I RAN FOR MAYOR

THE FIRST TIME,

I RECEIVED THREAT LETTERS

AND THREAT PHONE CALLS.

I'VE SAVED THE LETTERS

AND ONE OF THEM SAID,

"WE'RE COMING

TO THE PUBLIC FORUM

AND WE'RE GOING

TO EXPOSE YOU:

SO ALL YOUR SUPPORTERS

WILL KNOW:

THAT YOU'RE

REALLY A GAY MAN."

FOR ANYONE TO KNOW

THAT YOU'RE GAY,

TO BE THE GAY "ANYTHING,"

WOULD BE THE WORST THING

IN THE WORLD TO HAPPEN TO YOU.

YOU COULD LOSE YOUR FAMILY.

YOU COULD LOSE YOUR JOB.

YOU COULD LOSE YOUR POWER

OR POLITICAL POSITION.

YOU COULD LOSE YOUR SEA IN CONGRESS.

I'VE HAD MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

CRYING IN MY ARMS

BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW

HOW TO COME OUT.

WHEN YOU TRY:

TO COMPARTMENTALIZE

ALL THESE PARTS:

OF YOUR LIFE:

AND IF YOU TRY TO SHOVE YOUR

SEXUAL ORIENTATION INTO A BOX

AND KEEP IT FROM

YOUR CONSTITUENTS,

IT HAS VERY DEADLY

CONSEQUENCES.

McGreevy:

Good afternoon.

Throughout my life,

I have grappled

with my own identity--

who I am.

As a young child,

I often felt ambivalent

about myself,

in fact, confused.

From the first words out

of his mouth this afternoon,

it was clear Jim McGreevy,

the governor of New Jersey,

was making

very big news indeed.

At a point

in every person's life,

one has to look deeply

into the mirror of one's soul

and decide

one's unique truth.

And beyond the facts

and allegations and anguish

immediately

surrounding his story,

what the governor

said today

also becomes part

of a larger story

at a turning point

for the country.

And so my truth is that

I am a gay American.

Anchor:

Another boundary

of American politics

has been crossed today.

With his wife by his side,

the governor announced

that he is gay,

that he had an affair

with a man, and that he

would resign.

His announcement

makes him the highest-ranking

American politician...

McGreevey:

I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND

THAT EVEN IN GRAMMAR SCHOOL

THAT SOMEHOW I WAS

PROFOUNDLY DIFFERENT.

NO ONE COMES UP TO YOU

AND TELLS YOU THA YOU'RE AFRICAN-AMERICAN,

OR JEWISH-AMERICAN

OR IRISH-AMERICAN.

YOU DISCOVER YOU'RE GAY

BY YOURSELF.

AND I WAS GOING:

TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

AND LOOKING FOR:

"WHAT IS HOMOSEXUALITY?

WHAT ARE ITS ORIGINS?"

AND HOW IT'S DESCRIBED.

IT WAS ALL HORRIFIC.

IT WAS ALL APOCALYPTIC.

IT WAS A CURSE.

I ACCEPTED ALL THOSE

MESSAGES OF SHAME

AND MESSAGES OF HATE,

MESSAGES OF IGNORANCE.

BUT YOU REALIZE:

IT'S INTRINSIC.

IT'S WHO

AND WHAT YOU ARE.

AND SO YOU DENY:

THIS THING,

BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS

IT COMES OUT.

AND IT COMES OU IN DARK PLACES.

YOU BEGIN TO BELIEVE

THAT IT IS SHAMEFUL

BECAUSE YOU WERE ACTING,

FOR ME, IN SHAMEFUL WAYS.

I MEAN,

WHERE AM I HAVING SEX?

I'M HAVING SEX IN BACK ALLEYS

OF ABANDONED SYNAGOGUES.

I'M HAVING SEX

IN REST STOPS.

THE FACT IS:

MY STRAIGHT FRIENDS

WERE PICKING UP:

THEIR GIRLFRIENDS

IN BARS AND AT PARTIES

AND DOING IT WHEREVER.

I DIDN'T HAVE

THAT OPPORTUNITY

TO DO IT IN PUBLIC WAYS

THAT WERE HEALTHY,

THAT WERE SAFE:

AND THAT WERE ACCEPTED.

AND SO BY DOING I IN SECRET CLOSETED WAYS,

I BELIEVE IT IS UNHEALTHY

FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY,

IT IS UNHEALTHY:

FOR THE BEING:

AND IT WAS UNHEALTHY

FOR MY SOUL.

Dave Karsnia over tape:

All right, so let's start

from the beginning.

- You went in the bathroom.

- Craig:
I went in the bathroom.

I got in a stall,

sat down

and I started to go

to the bathroom.

Did our feet come together?

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