Rep. Phillip Hinkle has been caught cheating on his wife. He has been caught trying to cheat on his wife with a very young man. His wife tried to pay off the young man to keep him quiet so I am guessing she knew of his orientation.
Now the folks he works with wants him to step down after serving 6 terms.
The LGBT population has not called for his head on a plate....yet. We may not.
The way I see it, this man is either Bisexual or Gay. He has been forced to live a life of quiet desperation because of our nations distrust and misinformation of anything LGBT. He grew up, got married, had kids, and found he did well in politics just as expected. At some point he came out to his wife who, being the good wife, tolerated his desire for male companionship now and then. This is not an unusual scenario for a man of his generation.
The problem is that while him and his wife are living a private lie, they are both continuing to misinform their community and lawmakers about LGBT folks. He has helped to push forward laws that hurt LGBT people and their families and keep them as second class citizens.
So why is it news that he got caught? It is not like other politicians haven't fooled around on the side, some getting caught. They don't seem to make the news as often. Is it because he was caught with a man? That part is surly in the news but seems to be almost a footnote in most reports. Why are his coworkers asking him to step down? Are they embarrassed or ashamed of working with a closet case, the fact that he worked so hard to keep others like himself down, or maybe they just don't care to be lied to? Why has the LGBT population not jumped on this?
Lots of questions. I may have a few answers.
It is news because he got caught. Had it been an 18 year old female, it still would have been news just under reported.
Are his coworkers embarrassed? Maybe. Shocked? Maybe. Do not want to be implicated? Definite maybe. Come on...do you really believe that this guy has worked all this time with friends and has not been discovered, caught, or come out to anyone? I am willing to bet my Gay dollars that someone knew and now that his secret is out they want to put some distance between him and them.
As for the LGBT's, well...we are just going to add him to the ever growing list of self hating gay men that preach one thing and do another. These men started out in the closet like us. They hid from society and themselves much like us. They did what was to be expected of men by getting married and raising a family. Our Nation was not ready for open gays.
To vent some of the frustration of living a lie they became the very thing that perpetuates the problem. They tell everyone how bad gay people are. They feed the lies that keep us down because they hate themselves and don't want us happy while they must continue to breath moth balls. They have created a catch 22 for themselves.
The LGBT population holds that those who protest often and loud are most likely self hating LGBT's themselves and we just added one more name to the list of proof.
Should Rep. Phillip Hinkle step down? Yes. He needs to get some much needed counseling from a REAL doctor, NOT try to "pray away the gay". He needs to thank his wife for sticking by him then let her go to find a life free from his self hate. He needs to get on with his life as an open and honest person. He needs to make amends to his fellow LGBT's for making life hard for them.
Maybe he will meet a man more his own age and find the happiness he should have had all along.
But then we will never know because happy LGBT's are not news.
Now the folks he works with wants him to step down after serving 6 terms.
The LGBT population has not called for his head on a plate....yet. We may not.
The way I see it, this man is either Bisexual or Gay. He has been forced to live a life of quiet desperation because of our nations distrust and misinformation of anything LGBT. He grew up, got married, had kids, and found he did well in politics just as expected. At some point he came out to his wife who, being the good wife, tolerated his desire for male companionship now and then. This is not an unusual scenario for a man of his generation.
The problem is that while him and his wife are living a private lie, they are both continuing to misinform their community and lawmakers about LGBT folks. He has helped to push forward laws that hurt LGBT people and their families and keep them as second class citizens.
So why is it news that he got caught? It is not like other politicians haven't fooled around on the side, some getting caught. They don't seem to make the news as often. Is it because he was caught with a man? That part is surly in the news but seems to be almost a footnote in most reports. Why are his coworkers asking him to step down? Are they embarrassed or ashamed of working with a closet case, the fact that he worked so hard to keep others like himself down, or maybe they just don't care to be lied to? Why has the LGBT population not jumped on this?
Lots of questions. I may have a few answers.
It is news because he got caught. Had it been an 18 year old female, it still would have been news just under reported.
Are his coworkers embarrassed? Maybe. Shocked? Maybe. Do not want to be implicated? Definite maybe. Come on...do you really believe that this guy has worked all this time with friends and has not been discovered, caught, or come out to anyone? I am willing to bet my Gay dollars that someone knew and now that his secret is out they want to put some distance between him and them.
As for the LGBT's, well...we are just going to add him to the ever growing list of self hating gay men that preach one thing and do another. These men started out in the closet like us. They hid from society and themselves much like us. They did what was to be expected of men by getting married and raising a family. Our Nation was not ready for open gays.
To vent some of the frustration of living a lie they became the very thing that perpetuates the problem. They tell everyone how bad gay people are. They feed the lies that keep us down because they hate themselves and don't want us happy while they must continue to breath moth balls. They have created a catch 22 for themselves.
The LGBT population holds that those who protest often and loud are most likely self hating LGBT's themselves and we just added one more name to the list of proof.
Should Rep. Phillip Hinkle step down? Yes. He needs to get some much needed counseling from a REAL doctor, NOT try to "pray away the gay". He needs to thank his wife for sticking by him then let her go to find a life free from his self hate. He needs to get on with his life as an open and honest person. He needs to make amends to his fellow LGBT's for making life hard for them.
Maybe he will meet a man more his own age and find the happiness he should have had all along.
But then we will never know because happy LGBT's are not news.
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