Apple CEO announces he is gay

[mrbios]

Annoys me that something like this is felt it needs "announcing"..... who cares? It's the overstating of things like this that even makes sexuality an issue.

[abillybob]

Annoys me that something like this is felt it needs "announcing"..... who cares? It's the overstating of things like this that even makes sexuality an issue.

 

+1 a million times this in all seriousness! I can't understand why someone would have to mention this purposely, if it's brought up in conversation for whatever reason then yes by all means don't be scared of telling people the truth but he really didn't need to make an announcement about it! I can't speak for anyone else but it really doesn't bother me and I'm sure it's mutual amongst the majority of the population!

[Arthur]

who cares?

 

Thank you, Tim Cook

 

The breathtaking spread of marriage equality this year has obscured the fact that for too many people, being gay is fraught with economic and personal peril. In 29 states, as Fortune noted, you can be fired for saying what Cook did today. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers, according to the Trevor Project. It appears to be these facts, more than anything, that moved Cook to act. "If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy," he wrote.

 

And that’s the thing. It is one thing for the media to whisper to one another, or to post on their blogs, that the CEO of America’s most valuable company is a gay man. And it is a quite another for the man himself to step up to the microphone, with confidence and grace, and tell us himself. We knew Cook was gay; what we didn’t know is how he felt about it. Or, at a time when being gay is still very much a political act, what he planned to do with it.

 

Now we know.

 

There was a time when I struggled to come to terms with myself; when I felt alone; when I scanned the horizon looking for someone to point the way forward for me. There was a time when the only other gay men I knew were the ones I saw in TV and movies, and they seemed nothing like me. It feels embarrassing to say now that what I wanted back then was a role model — someone confident in himself, powerful, a real leader — to give me permission to be myself. But I very much did.

 

And many still do, particularly younger people, and particularly younger people growing up in the more rural and religious parts of America. Someday, maybe someday soon, we’ll hear about how Cook’s essay today helped someone there through a difficult time. And then we’ll hear it again, and again, and again.

[GrumbleDook]

Annoys me that something like this is felt it needs "announcing"..... who cares? It's the overstating of things like this that even makes sexuality an issue.

 

It needs announcing and supporting because there is still a significant amount of homophobia, anti-equality and plain closed-mindedness all over the world, with people using pathetic excuses to try and justify it.

 

To combat this you do need champions ... the noted names ... folk who will stand up and say "Hey, look at me! Guess what, the world didn't end and we can all carry on as normal!" and then they can do that ... carry on as normal. Those that don't carry on as normal, such as the removal of the iPhone statue, etc ... that highlights those who need challenging because of their attitude. I'm almost glad the removal of the statue was done, to be honest. At reminds the rest of the world about the idiotic laws in some countries ...

 

After the pressure of the Winter Olympics, something else was needed to continue to raise the profile of the plight of gay rights with Russia.

 

Let's hope that attitudes are challenged and continue to change.

[hardtailstar]

What has made it also bigger news is that he runs Apple, if it was a company like Olympus for example, I don't think it would be big news.

 

As far as I am concerned it wasn't needed to be said but if it helps people or even just one person to be true to themselves, friends and work then well done Tim.