I saw references to these YouTube interviews with gay Mormon Clark Johnsen a few weeks ago, but didn't feel a strong desire to go see them. Yesterday Ron Schow suggested I watch them for a perspective on the whole gay men courting straight women issue, and I'm glad he did. I don't actively advocate gay people dating and marrying heterosexually (nor do I get the sense that Johnsen does), but if you're going to do it, this seems like the most honest way to go about it--Johnsen told her before asking her out the first time.
While I was popping around on YouTube, I also came across this interview with Lester and Barbara Leavitt, a couple I've heard of before but never looked into too deeply. They are former Mormons and he came out as gay a few years ago, after they'd been married for more than twenty years. I'm not entirely clear on their current marital status--I get the feeling that the video was made during a transitional stage in their relationship, but it appears they've now separated to pursue other paths while remaining friends. Apart from some overgeneralizing they've done in making statements about "the Church" when referring to stupid things local church authorities and members have done or said, what strikes me most about the video is the love they have for each other. Their strong relationship shows in how they talk about each other and how they interact. They seem like good folk to me.
Oh, and did you know I'm on YouTube? I am. It's nothing new--just last year's Fox13 interview with me and FoxyJ. It's nice to know it's on YouTube now so more people can make mean comments about us. It's okay, though--ignorant criticism is much easier to take than educated criticism.
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4 comments:
You're on YouTube? That's huge!
My only claim to fame is being a reference in a Wikipedia article (check it out, I'm #62).
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But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll get you when you get your picture
On the cover of a YouTube vid
btw, it seems the guy who posted the video has made it a hobby to find anything remotely negative thing he can find about the LDS church. And, many of the comments on the video are disturbing.
Oh, I wouldn't take a Wikipedia reference lightly. That's big stuff. Assuming, of course, you didn't put yourself in there. :)
No, I didn't put myself in there :)
But, I did correct the reference. Originally, it referred to me as being openly gay - and I'm about as closeted as you can get.
I should not have read those comments on the You Tube thing. The comments on both sides make me want to throw things. People.
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