[Re-posted from earlier today.]

Last week, Entertainment Weekly ran a story on an emerging trend: gay people in public life who come out in a much more restrained and matter-of-fact way than in the past. In many ways, it's a great development: we're evolved enough not to be gob-smacked when we find out someone's gay. But it does matter nonetheless, it seems to me, that this is on the record. We still have pastors calling for the death of gay people, bullying incidents and suicides among gay kids, and one major political party dedicated to ending the basic civil right to marry the person you love. So these "non-events" are still also events of a kind; and they matter. The visibility of gay people is one of the core means for our equality.

All of which is a prelude to my saying that I've known Anderson Cooper as a friend for more than two decades. I asked him for his feedback on this subject, for reasons that are probably obvious to most. Here's his email in response which he has given me permission to post here:

引言回復 :

Andrew, as you know, the issue you raise is one that I've thought about for years. Even though my job puts me in the public eye, I have tried to maintain some level of privacy in my life. Part of that has been for purely personal reasons. I think most people want some privacy for themselves and the people they are close to.

But I've also wanted to retain some privacy for professional reasons.
Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often
found myself in some very dangerous places. For my safety and the safety of those I work with, I try to blend in as much as possible, and prefer to stick to my job of telling other people’s stories, and not my own. I have found that sometimes the less an interview subject knows about me, the better I can safely and effectively do my job as a journalist.

I've always believed that who a reporter votes for, what religion
they are, who they love, should not be something they have to discuss publicly. As long as a journalist shows fairness and honesty in his or her work, their private life shouldn't matter. I’ve stuck to those principles for my entire professional career, even when I’ve been directly [您必需注冊并登錄才能查看本圖。]asked
“the gay question,” which happens occasionally. I did not address my
sexual orientation in the memoir I wrote several years ago because it
was a book focused on war, disasters, loss and survival. I didn't set
out to write about other aspects of my life.

Recently, however, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended
outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional
principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain
aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken
impression that I am trying to hide something - something that makes me
uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it
is simply not true.

I’ve also been reminded recently that while as a society we are
moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of
history only advances when people make themselves fully visible. There
continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as
well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on
their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear
where I stand.

The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.

I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life
with my friends, my family, and my colleagues. In a perfect world, I
don't think it's anyone else's business, but I do think there is value
in standing up and being counted. I’m not an activist, but I am a human
being and I don't give that up by being a journalist.

Since my early days as a reporter, I have worked hard to accurately and fairly portray [您必需注冊并登錄才能查看本圖。]gay
and lesbian people in the media - and to fairly and accurately portray
those who for whatever reason disapprove of them. It is not part of my
job to push an agenda, but rather to be relentlessly honest in
everything I see, say and do. I’ve never wanted to be any kind of
reporter other than a good one, and I do not desire to promote any cause
other than the truth.

Being a journalist, traveling to remote places, trying to understand
people from all walks of life, telling their stories, has been the
greatest joy of my professional career, and I hope to continue doing it
for a long time to come. But while I feel very blessed to have had so
many opportunities as a journalist, I am also blessed far beyond having a
great career.

I love, and I am loved.

In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God’s
greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and
share love with the people in my life. I appreciate your asking me to
weigh in on this, and I would be happy for you to share my thoughts with
your readers. I still consider myself a reserved person and I hope
this doesn’t mean an end to a small amount of personal space. But I do
think visibility is important, more important than preserving my
reporter’s shield of privacy.

Me too.

Update: The Beast created a video tribute to Anderson's work - watch it here.

(Photos courtesy of Anderson Cooper and CNN)


原文

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