Congressman Aaron Schock outed?

[PJ]

Ugh. I sincerely hope he loses his seat (not that I would've supported him.)

[Ogre Mage]

I am also gay and would have no problem outing Schock.  Secretly engaging in gay sex while actively harming the rights of LGBT is hypocrisy of the first order.  The moment Schock chose to become a politician (and pose in Men's Health and GQ) he gave up his right to keep his hypocrisy private.  He is a public figure by choice, not by accident or circumstance.

[tmthforu94]

I have sympathy for him - this is surely a difficult position to be in, emotionally.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Also gay. Out this f**ker and make him travel around in shame, personally apologizing to every single gay person in his district.

[All Along The Watchtower]

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Schock#Media_appearances

[Mr. Illini]

You all are being way too tough on him. As someone who is fully supportive of LGBT rights, I find it absurd to be slandering him and even using slurs. Assuming he actually is gay, he has clearly been in quite a bit of denial and this cannot be easy for him emotionally. Leave him alone; you're oppressing this guy in the same way he does by voting against their rights when you harass him.

[Хahar 🤔]

Leave him alone; you're oppressing this guy in the same way he does by voting against their rights when you harass him.

...no?

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I'm not really an authority on this topic, but aren't there gay people out there who actually believe being gay is a choice? I was having this discussion with a bisexual friend of mine, and he compared liking men to "liking broccoli"—he can't recall actively choosing to like broccoli, but he doesn't think he was born liking it. He says his sexuality is similar, and that comparing sexuality to vegetables only seems inappropriate because society has attached undue importance to the type of people we're interested in. He thinks everyone is bi. I don't know if I agree, but I think it's a credible line of thought.

So as much as it seems horrible that Schock has voted the way he has, I think he's entitled to that. If he believes sexuality is a choice, it hardly makes sense to lump it in with something like race when it comes to hate crimes. Same for marriage. The fact is, I don't know what he's thinking and I've never lived a day in his shoes. I'll cut him some slack. And you know what? If these rumours are true, there is obviously some... nuance... to his identity that this story cannot account for. It's not fair to out him and bring his world crashing down.

[Horus]

I'm not really an authority on this topic, but aren't there gay people out there who actually believe being gay is a choice? I was having this discussion with a bisexual friend of mine, and he compared liking men to "liking broccoli"—he can't recall actively choosing to like broccoli, but he doesn't think he was born liking it. He says his sexuality is similar, and that comparing sexuality to vegetables only seems inappropriate because society has attached undue importance to the type of people we're interested in. He thinks everyone is bi. I don't know if I agree, but I think it's a credible line of thought.

So as much as it seems horrible that Schock has voted the way he has, I think he's entitled to that. If he believes sexuality is a choice, it hardly makes sense to lump it in with something like race when it comes to hate crimes. Same for marriage. The fact is, I don't know what he's thinking and I've never lived a day in his shoes. I'll cut him some slack. And you know what? If these rumours are true, there is obviously some... nuance... to his identity that this story cannot account for. It's not fair to out him and bring his world crashing down.

There is a sizeable portion of the gay community who does their sexuality is a choice. Personally that portion disgusts me, but hey to each his own.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

You think the conclusion someone has come to from their own "lived-in" experience is "disgusting?" Those are strong words...

[Ban my account ffs!]

If they "chose" to be gay... they're either confused, or not really gay.  It's as simple as that.  If any gay guy said to me "I chose to be gay" I'd confidently say "no you didn't."  End of story.  Period.

[Ban my account ffs!]

You think the conclusion someone has come to from their own "lived-in" experience is "disgusting?" Those are strong words...

If they "chose" their sexuality, then I question their ability to have a sexuality at all.  That just screams "sociopath"...

Sociopaths often don't have a preference for either, thus making a "choice" much easier.  Choosing to be gay in such situations may be beneficial for whatever purposes they're working towards.

And I don't sympathize with sociopaths.

So again... yeah, it is disgusting.  If a "gay" guy says he "chose" it, cut that guy out of your life.  He's probably trying to take advantage of you or manipulate you somehow... as sociopaths are wont to do.

[Likely Voter]

It will be ironic if this ENDA opposer ends up losing his job over being gay

[Holmes]

I have sympathy for him - this is surely a difficult position to be in, emotionally.

Are you a gay? Because it's hard to understand from a heterosexual position.

[pbrower2a]

You think the conclusion someone has come to from their own "lived-in" experience is "disgusting?" Those are strong words...

If they "chose" their sexuality, then I question their ability to have a sexuality at all.  That just screams "sociopath"...

Sociopaths often don't have a preference for either, thus making a "choice" much easier.  Choosing to be gay in such situations may be beneficial for whatever purposes they're working towards.

And I don't sympathize with sociopaths.

So again... yeah, it is disgusting.  If a "gay" guy says he "chose" it, cut that guy out of your life.  He's probably trying to take advantage of you or manipulate you somehow... as sociopaths are wont to do.

Give him a break on this -- there are no allegations of illicit or abusive sexuality. If he is outed he is outed as much for hypocrisy as for homosexuality, and he is no more hypocritical than the antisemite with a Jewish grandmother. Even if one is anti-gay but homosexual one has shown a huge gap between beliefs and actions. The beliefs are unsupportable but the actions are supportable. I have no problem voting for an out-and-out homosexual or for a rumored homosexual who does not bash gays rhetorically. 

Voters will get to decide whether they want a hypocrite representing them in Congress. I'd find it just as difficult to vote for someone who campaigns on "family values" yet appears on the regular customer list of a whore.  In the Prohibition era I would have found it possible to support a politician who stood on either side of the issue of alcohol -- but I would have found it impossible to vote for a "Dry" exposed as a regular heavy drinker.

It is hard to respect humanity or needful institutions if one hates oneself.   

[You kip if you want to...]

At the end of the day, he's an ambitious politician and as many here have said, if he was out he wouldn't have won in the first place, and if he comes out now, he'll get primaried.

[Brittain33]

At the end of the day, he's an ambitious politician and as many here have said, if he was out he wouldn't have won in the first place, and if he comes out now, he'll get primaried.

I wonder. I believe he could survive outing, even as a Republican, today. It just means he'd never rise about Congressman.

[Thomas D]

I don't know, it's Illinois. He could run for Senate or Governor in a crowded primary field and win with 35% of the vote.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's always hard not to think of all those closeted Tory MPs (and there were a lot) marching through the division lobbies to vote for Section 28...

I find it absurd to be slandering him...

If it's true it ain't slander. Technically it isn't if written (would be libel), but that's a less important quibble.

[bedstuy]

At the end of the day, he's an ambitious politician and as many here have said, if he was out he wouldn't have won in the first place, and if he comes out now, he'll get primaried.

I wonder. I believe he could survive outing, even as a Republican, today. It just means he'd never rise about Congressman.

I wouldn't assume anything about whether being gay would doom his chances at reelection.  Until 2006, there was an openly gay Republican congressman and he seemed to have no problems getting reelected. 

[DINGO Joe]

I'm not really an authority on this topic, but aren't there gay people out there who actually believe being gay is a choice? I was having this discussion with a bisexual friend of mine, and he compared liking men to "liking broccoli"—he can't recall actively choosing to like broccoli, but he doesn't think he was born liking it. He says his sexuality is similar, and that comparing sexuality to vegetables only seems inappropriate because society has attached undue importance to the type of people we're interested in. He thinks everyone is bi. I don't know if I agree, but I think it's a credible line of thought.

As a straight male, I find bacon and cheese to be delicious, and can really only tolerate broccoli if it's smothered in cheese, or asparagus if it's wrapped in bacon.  Also, as a child I wouldn't eat rhubarb pie, because I knew what rhubarb looked like and the thought of it being in a pie was appalling.  Of course, I eventually discovered that rhubarb, especially with strawberry or blackberry or blueberry, is delicious in a pie and will go to great lengths to obtain such even in a region where it's not readily available.

Hope that clears things up.

[pbrower2a]

If one is gay and has done none of the following:

1. Running on a 'family values' platform that insists upon heterosexual families with male dominance

2. Denouncing homosexuality

one can win. America is becoming increasingly tolerant of homosexuality while it is becoming harsher on sexual violence and child sexual abuse.  Such used to be strictly a liberal position. Now it is becoming more commonplace among moderates and conservatives.  

"I am gay, and so what!" doesn't hurt.

Think about it. What is less threatening to a heterosexual marriage between a very straight man and woman than homosexuality? Would a man feel troubled hiring an aggressively-straight male interior decorator who would have access to the house while his wife is in it?



    

[All Along The Watchtower]

Also from  Schock's Wikipedia article:

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[All Along The Watchtower]

You all are being way too tough on him. As someone who is fully supportive of LGBT rights, I find it absurd to be slandering him and even using slurs. Assuming he actually is gay, he has clearly been in quite a bit of denial and this cannot be easy for him emotionally. Leave him alone; you're oppressing this guy in the same way he does by voting against their rights when you harass him.

Why is he an anti-gay Republican Congressman? He doesn't seem to have difficulty making the lives of the rest of the LGBT population worse. Screw him (not literally, of course! ).

[Kushahontas]

lol