A Hero Comes Out
jewel March 21st, 2010
I don’t have many heroes, especially still living, but one of my greatest heroes is James Randi. His tireless work in the skeptical community is inspiring and he’s cute and funny, too.
Today, he posted at Swift, that he is gay. I can’t say that it does or doesn’t surprise me. I never thought about it one way or the other, to tell you the truth. I am very happy for him that he finally feels, after 81 years, that he can be open about himself.
Well, here goes. I really resent the term, but I use it because it’s recognized and accepted.
I’m gay.
From some seventy years of personal experience, I can tell you that there’s not much “gay” about being homosexual. For the first twenty years of my life, I had to live in the shadows, in a culture that was — at least outwardly — totally hostile to any hint of that variation of life-style. At no time did I choose to adopt any protective coloration, though; my cultivation of an abundant beard was not at all a deception, but part of my costume as a conjuror.
Gradually, the general attitude that I’d perceived around me began to change, and presently I find that there has emerged a distinctly healthy acceptance of different social styles of living — except, of course, in cultures that live in constant and abject fear of divine retribution for infractions found in the various Holy Books… In another two decades, I’m confident that young people will find themselves in a vastly improved atmosphere of acceptance.
His hope for the future of young gay people is encouraging, too. I hope he is right that in the near future it will simply be no big deal.
Cheers to you, Mr. Randi!
