by lil

When rich powerful people come out as gay, it makes gay more universal -- at least in my thinking -- which seems like a good thing. The more people who come out, the safer the world will be.

Other hubskites see it differently:

What exactly is going to happen to Tim Cook, CEO of arguably the most popular manufacturer of consumer electronics in the world, for coming out as gay? Compared with the meek twenty-something kid working as an intern/junior for a startup in their local hub, you can hardly call the situation the same or even similar. Like, of god-damn course the celebrities and rich-personalities of the world are able to come out safely. They have safety nets so huge, they might as well not even bother with the tightrope act. How are the downtrodden queer folk, aka the real people of the world, supposed to relate to some rich guy who could probably buy his way out of any scrutiny anyway? It certainly doesn't make me any more relieved or willing to be open about myself. I can't afford to take that risk.

Someone else put the tag #whocares on the announcement.

My question to hubski is this: Can a rich powerful person's coming out make a difference? I'd like to know what you think.