Friday, November 17, 2006
Why I think Matt Foreman is a great leader in our community
When I began this work two and a half years ago, there were heads of gay and lesbian organizations who told their board members to not have any communication with me. (Luckily, many of them disregarded the direction and give me tips.)
It would be easy for a group like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to decry outing. But the good people at NGLTF have never been known for taking the easy path out. When the progressive organization takes anti-war and pro-union stands, it's because they understand that the only way to victory is by building alliances between progressives across America.
New Gay 'Outings' Sign of Gossip Culture (Associated Press):
It would be easy for a group like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to decry outing. But the good people at NGLTF have never been known for taking the easy path out. When the progressive organization takes anti-war and pro-union stands, it's because they understand that the only way to victory is by building alliances between progressives across America.
New Gay 'Outings' Sign of Gossip Culture (Associated Press):
"Many major gay rights groups oppose outing, saying it's a personal choice and should remain so. But there is a difference of opinion when it comes to the idea of outing political figures perceived as harming gay interests.
'When someone is in a position of power and they are using that power to hurt gay people ... it's perfectly appropriate that they be outed,' says Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. 'We don't do it, but we have no problem with it.' (emphasis added)
Foreman notes that the type of 'outing' happening these days shows, in one way, that social progress has been made. 'The stigma around being gay is gradually diminishing,' he says. 'At one point it was a huge scandal to say someone was gay.' Now, he says, what fuels 'outings' is something else: 'It's not, 'This person's gay.' It's, 'This person's gay and can you believe what they're doing with their power?'
By: Michael Rogers
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