British actor Warren Clarke dies aged 67

It’s only a matter of time before “coming out” will be announcing that you’re straight! (Gasps of horror)

Nah we won’t have stronger people under the “gay agenda” . Tots soz bbz :(

So is It a Guyphone now.

I just opened the post and was going to sau who cares, so yes I feel people have come a long way over the last 10 years, I personally could not give 2 fecks if a person was guy, trans gender etc, if that’s what makes you happy, then good for you

I think he’s an idiot…………..he said he believes in god.

“A gift from God”. Sweet Lord, stop the world, I want to get off. Next thing it’ll become compulsory.

I don’t know how he is painting this as such a fantastic gesture – I’m not sure it’ll be an inspirational or instructive event for anyone out there…..

….Why not come out like me, Tim Cook – at the ripe old age of 53 and at the tail end of the pinnacle of my career…..

Hardly blazed a pioneering trail there in all fairness.

Meh.

I’ve been reading stories like this on the Journal for a while now. Someone comes out, and the inevitable ‘so what’s’ insue. This is the first time I’ve ever replied to these kind of people. I didn’t reply for someone as bigoted as you (I think we’ve all seen your previous posts on anything related to gay stuff) to call me self righteous, just because you literally have no argument against what I said. Go form an intelligent thought and come back to me.

i can relate to that Laura. i was once a 14 year old kid struggling with my sexuality. months of struggling, not knowing what to do with myself, should i tell my friends, family, teacher about my situation, when finally, one day i picked up the courage and revealed to people that I am straight, and cannot wait to have a girlfriend any longer. No one cared. People just ignored me. I didn’t even get a side piece in the local paper. The inequality is society is horrible.

Karen, did you ever consider it’s the homophobes that make a big deal out of it? While homophobia still exists, this will always be a news story.

Actually Laura the “so what’s” are the best people on here. Proof that a person’s sexuality isn’t an issue, heck it’s not newsworthy. Wheather your a homophobe or in support, either side making a big deal out of it are the reason the 14 year old may be struggling to come out. If everybody didn’t care then maybe just maybe it’d be a better place to be yourself.

Laura in fairness I don’t think many 14 year olds struggling with there sexuality are interested in the news or a CEO of any company.

I’m sure if a member of one direction or there favourite football team was talking about there sexuality it would be more encouraging and helpful to them.

Role models and all that!

Laura

You will always have haters. The world is full of homophobes racists anti this that and the other.

Only in an ideal world these people wouldn’t exist.

If younger generations are to believe that straight gay bi lesbians are to live in harmony we have to make it the norm but “coming out” isn’t the norm. Straight people don’t need to address their sexuality and so gay people shouldn’t either.

Laura is right, sadly there are many people who still don’t get it. That’s why it is publicised so much. 95% of people are straight so it’s easily understood and is the status quo. It is easy to hold many prejudices against a minority that’s why ” normal man is gay ” can be a big headline.

But Karen the point of the matter is you are assumed straight until you say otherwise. That’s why straight people don’t have to come out! Take the Rose Of Tralee for example. If she hadn’t have come out, she would have been bombarded with journalists asking about her boyfriend, or what type of man she falls for. Or else some tabloid would have run some trashy story on her ‘secret lesbian past’. Why shouldn’t she come out and just clarify who she is?

The only possible way for this to not be a news story, is if, as a society, we stop working on the assumption that everyone is straight. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so alas, coming out stories will continue to makes news.

There you go again Laura with the media!

I didn’t sit at home and presume she was straight as I’m sure almost everyone who watched it didn’t presume she was either.

Had that idiot that presented it asked a question like have you got a significant other or are you dating anyone etc etc their would be no need to come out afterwards.
I dont watch that tripe but I remember in an interview afterwards she said she didn’t talk about being gay because nobody asked? Nobody asked was she straight either though?

Karen, your faith in society is heartwarming but a little optimistic.

People regularly ask do I have a boyfriend, presuming I am straight. Rumours circulate in the workplace about a woman who ‘looks straight’ but isn’t becausr they used to assume she was straight until they found out otherwise.

I’d love if nobody made any assumptions, and that is becoming more common, but there is still the majority that does assume.

@ Laura

This is news because the journal is telling you its news which of course it is not.

And the reason the journal is telling you it’s news is because everytime there is a story on equality, it has bigger reader numbers, because people like you @thejynxeffect come in and comment. Muppet.

Well by your logic and the way the country is gone at the moment I can’t even assume you are a woman for fear of offence. You could be transgender or a bloke dressed up on a frock for all I know. You can hardly say anything anymore without someone getting offended. How about the next time someone asks you tell them to mind their own bloody business say no I don’t have a boyfriend or tell them you have a girl friend and who cares what they think.

@aibhe

How about I ignore what you think and have faih that people are beginning to learn not to assume? Yup, sounds like a plan

While I agree that coming out should not necessarily be greeted with an instant parade and mass fanfare, I don’t agree that ‘so what’ is the best reaction either. The problem is that while coming out is not very interesting to some people, there are others with a vested interest either way, which makes coming out a very scary process for any individual, with potentially disastrous repercussions: whether that’s a drop in stock for someone like Tim Cook, or being kicked out of your home and/or killed for many youths across the world.

It’s not ‘either side’ making a big deal that makes people reluctant to come out: it’s one particular side having particularly nasty reactions. The problem with ‘so what’ is that it doesn’t do anything to counteract these reactions, and so isn’t a helpful response for the person actually coming out.

There needs to be a distinction made between people being gay and people coming out as LGBTQ. I agree that there shouldn’t be a big deal made out of people being gay, but coming out is a very intense, often scary process. (Also long. For us regular folk, we don’t get a press release, but the ongoing process of coming out in stages nearly every time we meet someone. Fun!) It will be wonderful when the response to “I’m gay/bi/trans/queer” is “okay” but right now, an acknowledgement of the courage it takes for someone to face the potential repercussions of coming out is helpful and caring.

Personally, my response to Tim Cook being gay = okay, nbd. To Tim Cook coming out? Good for him.

why would you guess he is white? I think people of any skin colour should be allowed to feel like eoin

Laura, do you have something against heterosexual white males?
Are you hetrophobic?

Popcorn time. Over to you Laura.

Dave, his name is Eoin and he’s posting on the Journal. There’s literally no chance he’s not white.

very narrow minded view David.

are u suggesting that thejournal.ie, an internet based news site is exclusively read by ethnically Irish people?
are u suggesting that people with Irish or celtic names are exclusively white?

FYI I have direct family that are mixed race. They have names like sean, fionn, and eoin etc.

Explain your logic in your above statement please

I don’t know if you’re serious or not…I’m going with not…

His name was Paul and he played for Ireland – there’s no way he was not white …

I’d march with you lads. I’m very proud and glad of the support and friendship of my heterosexual pals over the years. No reason at all why straight people shouldn’t celebrate their sexual orientation

Straight Pride day happens every day!

Brendan I would,but I’m in the closet about being straight not ready to come out yet

Ah so your not out and proud then. How’d that happen? People discriminating against you ? Beat you up for holding a girl’s hand ? Call you straight as you walk past them? Be told not to promote “straightness” to children, if that’s possible?

Relax Brendan

Troyman, you don’t get spaces in web addresses, so factuallyincorrectjoke.com.

Because I have never once in my life heard of someone getting beaten up or arrested or forced out of their family or murdered because they like porridge.

You should research the history of soup kitchens during the famine Mrs.

“He knows more about a fictional character than I do? How does that work?”
What on earth are you saying? Last book I read was Three Feet Of Sky. Unless you’ve read the book too, I know more about Adam Eden (the main fictional character) than you do.
Are you saying you don’t understand that?

You’ll have to take it Leviticus with Tim Cook. I’m not Tim Cook’s PA. I don’t know.

If you’re talking about the opinions of a guy who believes in God, then yes, to understand those opinions, then yes, you’ve to assume that to him, his God exists. Otherwise your conclusions about that person will be b*llshit.

Just because God thinks it’s wrong to be gay, doesn’t mean people aren’t allowed to be You’re allowed to disagree with self-proclaimed supreme beings. This is a free democracy.

God doesn’t think it’s wrong to be gay. No where in the bible does it say that. It does say that soodemy is a sin.
By the way, seexual active gay people aren’t the only sinners. Everyone’s a sinner.
If you believe that stuff…

Because he believes that he doesn’t hate his lifestyle.

So is the Bible true or not, James?

(p.s. I neither believe in a god nor believe that any god deserving of worship would hate gay people, Probably should have added that for clarity)

@Neal – then he believes something that the bible contradicts. The bible states that God absolutely hates his lifestyle. Numerous times. So is he contradicting the word of god, whom he believes in?

Is the Bible true? Like the Pope, I’m sure Tim Cook doesn’t believe that every word in the bible is literally true.

Andy: use google. I did. Look up the wikipedia: “Christianity and homosexuality”
Are there people who believe that being gay and christian are compatible? There are indeed.

Yeah, I suppose cherry picking would be the best way to rationalise a book full of bullsh*t to yourself.

What a strange world you live in, Andy.

Tim Cook is a gay Christian.
Some people will condemn him because he’s gay.
Some people will condemn him because he’s a Christian.

I can’t see the difference between those people.
Both should leave him alone. It’s his business if he wants to be a gay Christian.

Okay, James, so would you say then that the people who organise organised religion (and also a fair proportion of those who are followers of organised religions) hate gays ?

Could everyone stop shoving your logic agenda in Paddy’s face.

@ Ailbhe O’Nolan
Firstly Ailbhe, the only way for you to know I comment on the redefinition of marriage issues, is that you are right in there with me. Secondly, I normally confine myself to discussion on marriage.
But I thaught this article contrasted very well with the plight of the ex CEO of Mozilla, Brendan Eich, who was hounded out of office.
As for why I comment, simple; I respect marriage, fatherhood, motherhood, and the rights of children to be aware of their parentage, and to live with both of their parents, whenever possible.

You also support the legal idolation and neglect of children with same sex parents. Far from honourable but you won’t acknowledge that…..

Why should I stop? He keeps coming into these stories trying to push his ignorant agenda on us. So no.

Paddy – could you please explain how Tim Cook coming out means that children will be taken away from their parents?

I literally just got the sarcasm there. my bad @john turkey.

Ailbhe, there is no such thing as “single sex children”. Those are biologically impossible.

(Not that I’d have anything against them or their parents if it was possible or if medical science ever finds a way)

Neal – stop shoving your controversial “every child is intersex” agenda in our faces.

Neal, where did I say ‘single sex children’? I said same sex parents I.e. parents (plural) of the same sex

Lets hope all the homophobes stop using Apple products in protest… It should get very quiet on the web while they search to find smartphones and computers not developed through the “gay agenda”. They better go and ask the CEO of samsung if he is gay too.

Paddy Scully – Zealot mouthpiece for Catholic Comment! Defender of the Church regardless of the charge or crime!

Paddy post’s under the guise of faith but it’s really just bigotry.Just pious arrogance parading as humility.
A puppet on strings dancing to an indoctrinated tune.In the end Mr Scully you do more damage to the very Church/Faith you allegedly love.How Ironic!

The best defence against Zealots is giving them enough rope and let them show how deluded and nasty their agenda is.Let people of reason and decency point out the hypocrisy and venomous undertones even reasonable people of faith distance themselves from that sort of believers.

I am always reminded of Orange is the New Black when Pensatuckey tries to infiltrate the gay agenda! People are funny.

John Turkey, you tell me who the “Gay Community” are, and I’ll tell you about the “gay agenda”…

The “gay community” is a subset of gay people who hang around together.

Now, what’s the gay agenda?

The gay agenda is the common gay-related opinions of the a subset of gay people who hang around together.

Stop talking about “the agenda” until after the election guys. They can’t know yet!

Ok so, what is the specific “gay-related opinion” that the Journal is trying to “push” in this article, as alleged by thejynxeffect above?

No specifics James?

There is no Gay Agenda’ the LGBT community and their allies campaign to have the same rights and treatment as everyone else, not preferential treatment, because at the present they are often discriminated against just because they are not straight.
Calling that aim an ‘agenda’ is just an attempt to make it sound slightly sinister and conspiratorial. Why on earth would anyone think there is something sinister behind a group of people simply wanting the same rights as everyone else and to be treated as equals?
The only reason I can think of is that they are insecure, like the status quo and are afraid of having to share any of their societal privilege. You tend to see similar comments, often from the same commenters on articles about women’s rights, asylum seeker rights etc.

Hi Ailbhe,

I said “The gay agenda is the common gay-related opinions of a subset of gay people who hang around together.”
And the specifics of those gay-related opinions are in Kelly Davis-jordans post above.

Can’t see what’s sinister about the word “agenda”. Most work meetings I go to have an “agenda”.

Just to say that SOME (not all) do want preferential treatment. E.g. those who advocate hate-crime legislation (like the Ivana Bacik’s recent call). Those that say that someone who beats up someone because they’re gay should be treated more severely than those who beat up someone for another reason. I don’t call that Equality, do you??

So you believe the gay agenda is preferential treatment?

Nope.

I’m gay. I want two things:

- Equality (take the good with the bad)
- People to not give a $hit about my sexuality

Is my agenda in any way wrong?

No, I don’t believe your agenda is for preferential treatment.

And no, there’s nothing wrong with your agenda.

Cheerio…

I suggest you email the editor and ask him to remove the reply button in the comments section (they are unlikely to oblige as it is a major revenue generator)

@Laura Behan
Gay community, how else would you have me say it, it’s not a lifestyle if your born gay.
As for touching a nerve I commented on what I see and there are numerous replies to every comment that doesn’t fit with the article, some are pisstakes but some are real views and their entitled to have them.

Pat, I was asking what your statement about it “fitting” the gay community meant.

You cannot pick and choose what comments are replied to. Nobody is forced to comment nor do they have to read the replies. There’s a report comment for a reason, if someone is being abusive or inappropriate then use it.

Pat if it don’t glorify gayness it will be deleted the the journal.ie which claims to be unbiased