Why Cooper's Admission is a Big Frikkin' Deal

I hate it when I disagree with someone I respect.

It happens at my new job every day. I really dig my boss and think she’s one of the sharpest, most compelling individuals I’ve ever met. She’s also domineering and has no problem reminding me in word and deed that she’s the boss and what she says goes in each and every instance from now until the end of time amen.

So I’m conflicted because part of me really wants to bond with her and learn from her and another part thinks being myself is more important than submitting and kowtowing and restraining. So far I’ve resolved my inner conflict by reminding myself that she signs my paycheck but who knows how long that’ll work?

Hayden and Hoffman et al

I’m also conflicted by a conversation I had yesterday with a guy in Facebook whom I respect a lot. This dude traveled in the same circles as Tom Hayden and the late Abbie Hoffman – two in-your-face radicals who stood up for their beliefs when not doing so would have been a hell of a lot easier – and was a member of Students for a Democratic Society or the Weather Underground or one of those leftist terrorist organizations of the 1960s. In my view, if someone’s marching in the streets for a better world while I’m still sucking a pacifier in a crib in metro Detroit, that person deserves my respect no matter what position they take on a particular issue. Not deference, perhaps, but respect.

So when I posted a status update declaring that I’m not even a little interested in Anderson Cooper’s revelation that he prefers men to women and this guy disagreed with me, insisting that this was a big frikkin’ deal, I wasn’t sure what to think.

My wise elder wrote, “Ignoring sexual preference is in the same category with ignoring race. We’re not living in a post-homophobic America anymore than we are in a post-racial America. Hatred is alive and well and gaining steam. So every little bit helps. If this has a positive impact on the thinking of any clueless closet homophobes, it’s a good thing.”

I responded with, “As long as we justify giving a sh*t about who someone gets naked with, people are gonna think that’s an issue worth exploring. I’m not making any grand statement about a post-homophobic, post-racist society. I’m saying I don’t care one iota about Anderson Cooper’s sex life. Period.”

I added, “Did you hear they’re dying in the streets of Syria at the hands of their own country’s soldiers? Did you hear that radiation from Japan’s destroyed nuclear facilities is threatening the world? What about how Mitt Romney wants to reverse the tepid gains we’ve made with health care reform? These issues are all being overshadowed by a television personality’s anti-climactic disclosure that he prefers to date people of his own gender. I’m sure the starving children of Georgia and Darfur are thanking their lucky stars that this assumption has finally been confirmed.”

Then Mr. I-Probably-Smoked-a-Joint-With-Timothy-Leary-While-We-Were-Levitating-the- Pentagon-But-I-Don’t-Remember wrote, “Most of the problems you mention have racism or sexism or xenophobia as a major component, so the overall issue is one that is worth raising. I also don’t think we have to ignore Issues 5, 6 and 7 just because Issues 1, 2, 3 and 4 are very important. Also, we have a lot more power to challenge homophobia in the U.S. than we do to stop a civil war in Syria, for example. Mitt Romney’s campaign is being fueled in large part by racism and homophobia. It’s all connected. But I’m sure Cooper would be the first person to say that we should focus on Syria over Kim Kardashian. I guess people can only take so much grim news.”

He makes some good points, doesn’t he?

This is why I’ve decided, obviously, to devote some space here in “What’s the Diehl?” to Mr. Cooper’s public disclosure of his sexual orientation. If this post or my Facebook conversation with my sage pal impact positively on the thinking of any closet homophobes who happen to visit my blog, it’s a good thing.