Cheryl Chow calls life in closet a "waste"

[WestSeattle2]

Source: My Northwest.com

Cheryl Chow has a legacy of service to Seattle. But the former teacher, principal, Seattle City Council member and School Board member says the past 60 years have been a waste because she couldn't come out as a gay woman.

"Parents and kids, don't be afraid of saying that you're gay. I was afraid for over 60 years and those 60 years were wasted," she told KING 5.

Read more: http://mynorthwest.com/11/726132/Cheryl-Chow-calls-life-in-closet-a-waste

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Cheryl's mother, Ruby Chow, was a powerhouse in Seattle politics for a generation. I'm sure Cheryl felt tremendous pressure to not bring "shame" on the family. It's sad to think that in 2012 millions of American's are struggling with the same BS that Cheryl was dealing with 30-40 years ago.

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[cali]

2. how sad

I'm so sorry she considers 60 years of her life wasted.

[WestSeattle2]

4. The public certainly doesn't consider her life wasted; she contributes so much to the city and its

citizens. Cheryl is a very wonderful and giving person.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

3. Never been to Seattle but I always heard it was pretty Progressive n/t

[Posteritatis]

6. Lots of progressive places become less so if you're in the wrong group. (nt)

[closeupready]

11. +1000.

nt

[WestSeattle2]

7. It is. I encourage anyone living in an area that may not be welcoming to consider moving to

Seattle. Seattle is a highly educated city; human sexuality does not frighten most citizens.

[mntleo2]

5. Wow. Whuddathunk?

I know Cheryl and she is a good person who "gets it" about things like poverty after being raised pretty privileged. As an activist for people in poverty, Cheryl was one of the main "go to" people for many of us trying to raise awareness of what is happening in the low income community right under (purposefully ignorant) Seattleite's noses. Now I understand why! I loves me some Cheryl!

Cat in Seattle, board member of People Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights ( POWER) . We were the old Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition, WROC up on Cap Hill and are now based in Oly but do a lot of poverty work here in Seattle as well.

[Atman]

8. Seriously, though...you couldn't come out thirty years ago as you can today.

It wasn't a "waste." It was by necessity. Sure, maybe it would have progressed LGBT issues sooner if more people had come out, but it was not the proper climate. Now, in spite of the heinous Right Wing, coming out is not considered a big deal...unless your dad is a GOP Congressman or prominent GOP businessman. But thirty years ago, it was a whole different world.

.

[WestSeattle2]

9. Absolutely. The fact that the nation collectively yawned when Anderson Cooper came out,

spoke volumes about how far we've progressed since the late 1960's. There is still a long ways to go however, for millions of gay and lesbian American's stuck between the two coasts.

[rocktivity]

15. Oh, now you've done it! Now I've got to find the DU thread from when Cooper came out

While a nation yawned, DU-ers snored!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002891459


rocktivity

[Blue_Tires]

21. I think because AC was like the worst-kept secret on Earth

But I confess I didn't know...

[closeupready]

14. This is an important point. If everything happens for a reason,

there was a reason (and good ones) why gay people stayed in the closet years ago - because to come out entailed so many huge personal costs.

While everyone who is in their later years wishes to be remembered as Mother Teresa, Cheryl didn't need to come out in order to achieve some semblance of Saint Teresa's record - she did it in other ways.

The fact that she came out now is icing on the cake, IMO, and shout-out to her here!

[rocktivity]

10. "I can't imagine why I thought being out would be harder than being in."

That's what a gay co-worker told me.

I've tried to assure myself that if I were gay, I wouldn't spend a second of it in the closet. I'd be brave enough; I'd stand up to my family and risk losing friends and jobs. Tough talk indeed, but I also know that if it really were that simple, everyone would be out.

I'm so glad I was listening the day Stephanie Miller came out -- all she said was "I'm a gay lady," and when not fielding congratulatory phone calls, simply continued with her show. Maybe I should have had a clue when she was named grand marshal for a gay pride parade, but I thought it had simply been her reward for being so gay-supportive while playing the role of a desperate, frustrated, aging spinster.

Maybe, like my co-worker, Stephanie got to the point where being out HAD to be easier, regardless of the personal and professional consequences. At any rate, if SHE was too afraid for so long, then I guess ANYBODY can be.


rocktivity

[WestSeattle2]

13. In most parts of the country there is still a high price to pay professionally for being out. For

some reason the medical and legal professions are particularly homophobic. And make no mistake; Seattle is an island of sanity in regards to human sexuality. In almost every other part of Washington State it's still not easy being out. You don't have to drive far outside the city limits either - 20 miles in any direction and you'll arrive in areas that are far less welcoming to gays and lesbians. Those areas may not be openly hostile to gays and lesbians as they were 20 years ago; but they're a far cry from Seattle.

[closeupready]

17. That's what I heard from my landlord here in New York years ago -

he and his partner were talking with me and my partner over a brunch, and they told us about a former tenant of theirs who was from Oregon, and apparently, as this tenant related, Oregon can be a really homophobic place.

As someone who has little connection of any kind to the Pacific Northwest, I found that shocking, as Seattle was supposedly so countercultural and grunge-y and 'drugs, sex & rock& roll' sort of place.

On the other hand, as someone upthread states, all kinds of progressive places become less progressive to you personally if you become recognizably a member of hated minority groups.

[maxsolomon]

19. Oregon's a big place

And the S part of the state along i-5 (Medford, Grants Pass) is very conservative. Portland tips the scales.

[rocktivity]

23. UPDATE: According to Stephanie Miller's "Sexy Liberal Tour" doumentary on Current

She said she'd gotten to the point where "cheering from the sidelines" for was no longer enough -- it was time for her to "get down on the field."



rocktivity

[Emit]

12. As a mother of a gay child, this issue hits close to home for me. When my daughter came out to me,

to our family and to the world, I celebrated her being every step of the way and I still do. I never, ever want my daughter to feel she has to hide who she is.

[WestSeattle2]

16. Right on - you should host online parenting classes! Why any parent would want their child

to pretend to be someone they're not, is crazy.

"Don't lie, cheat or steal; but it's okay to lie about who you are."

What kind of messed up parenting is that?!

[yardwork]

25. Bless you. You are a good mother!

[dipsydoodle]

18. I read that as Sheryl Crow

and thought blimey what a stunning 60 year old.

[crimson77]

20. +1

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

22. HA! Your not the only one

I kept reading and something just didn't seem right. I mean, Sheryl Crow 60?!? Where did the times go? Then you pointed it out.

Now I feel dipsydoodle

[truthisfreedom]

24. Me too.

[loli phabay]

26. Me too, and the reference to AC above i thought was alice cooper.

[TlalocW]

27. Same here!

Time for eyechecks?

TlalocW