It was all over the swimming websites yesterday that Ian Thorpe is coming out today on Australian TV. My initial reaction is, finally. He's been so obviously gay for so long that the more he denied it, the sillier he appeared. Waiting this long and then finally coming out to confirm something everybody knew anyway doesn't really make him look any less foolish.
At the same time, it's hard not to feel some sympathy. He grew up in Australia, which is both a swim-crazy and macho culture, and he's been a public figure there pretty much from the age of 14. He's never really known anything else, and it must have been difficult for him to keep that "shameful" secret all those years.
Every time I'd read about his alcohol/prescription drug/depression problems, I'd think, if he'd only come out of that self-imposed closet, a lot of pressure would be lifted off his shoulders, and he might have a chance of healing. I hope he does.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Search Box
Followers
Posts
Blog Archive
-
▼
2014
(208)
-
▼
July
(26)
- How sociopaths excuse their sociopathy
- Filial respect, Part III
- From a woman who knew Fred Baer in middle school
- Parking as narcissism meter
- "How a 'weird' Chelsea Clinton is getting in on th...
- Fred and Bill
- "I cry when a freakin' butterfly hits the windshield"
- Maria Putin
- Appreciating others' intelligence
- Even therapists get fooled
- Why don't the gorillas rule?
- James Garner
- One sure sign of sociopathy
- Signs of narcissism
- Why you should never envy a sociopath
- College girls vs. strippers
- The "empty eyes" of a sociopath
- Ian Thorpe
- A sociopath who actually looks like one
- On second thought…..
- Brazilian pride, Part II
- Brazilian pride
- Chance couplings vs. arranged marriages
- Facebook and narcissism
- Wildly inappropriate comments
- How to flatter a 9-year-old.
-
▼
July
(26)
About Me
- John Craig
- Virtually everyone who knows John finds him completely tactless and insufferably opinionated. He sees himself as refreshingly honest. That said, this blog is still an excellent way to kill time while putting off work. If you're a newcomer, you might find browsing through the older posts an amusing waste of time as well. John is the author of "Holy Bible Part II: Heaven" under the pseudonym John Morgan.
9 comments:
Therein lies YOUR problem John. 'Coming out' (don't say coming out of the closet, that is deeply hurtful for queers for some reason) - doesn't take any of the pressure off, really.
These people are still sullen, angry and deeply unhappy with themselves. They know on some level - even if you don't - that they aren't right and that homosexuality is the hallmark of the degenerate.
Good grief - you social engineers have been trying to make queers comfortable for over a decade now. You've successfully subverted hard science and common sense to push the gay agenda - and still, most of these people are loathe to admit what they are.
Just my two cents... but that should tell you something.
Glen --
I use "coming out" because it's shorthand, not because I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings by saying "of the closet."
I agree that many of these people are unhappy with themselves, but I don't think they should have to feel that way, given that they have no choice about being homosexual.
I wouldn't call myself a social engineer who's trying to subvert science, much of this blog is devoted to talking honestly about differences between the races and sexes, and also about differences between gays and straights, as I have in the past (see "Gay men," from April 2010).
I hate the kind of political correctness which denies these differences; but I also don't think people should be scorned just because of what they are.
hi John,
when I sent you the article about Amanda Knox, I was reminded of another really interesting article I read about Bill Clinton that I think you will like.
Its amazing how intensely they were attracted to him but one of them could see through him.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2553535/How-feels-fall-spell-Seducer-In-Chief-Vain-amoral-yes-But-four-women-briefly-succumbed-reveal-sheer-power-Bill-Clintons-charm.html
This is really interesting too.
http://askdrrobert.dr-robert.com/sociopath.html
Steven --
Just read both pieces, thanks, both were excellent. There's been a lot written about Bill clinton's seductiveness and the way he makes everyone feel as if they're the only one in the room. There's also a lot o literature about how women are attracted to men of power and influence. And also a body of liberator on how sociopaths are seductive. So Clinton seems to have everything going for him with people too naive to see through him.
That Dr. Roberts in the second piece knows his stuff, he understands them perfectly. I like that picture of the limo with the banner "I feel your pain" attached to it. He also uses James Bond for one of his pictures, something a lot of people don't understand. And he understands how sociopathy can help you in your career.
Apologies, John - my post may have sounded like an angry troll and was not meant that way.
My beef with you and the psychologists is that psychology is not a hard science at all. Combine that with political correctness - and any kind of objectivity is impossible. You say "I agree that many of these people are unhappy with themselves, but I don't think they should have to feel that way, given that they have no choice about being homosexual."
a. Who says they have no choice? We know this is false. Men that go into prison become homosexuals and revert when they get out. To me that would imply that many homosexuals DO have a choice.
b. Other sexual deviants can't help themselves either. Should we 'tolerate' and forgive rapists and pedophiles? Please don't give me that crap about consenting adults in the privacy of their own home. These people are spreading HIV/AIDS in the privacy of their bars and bath houses and fully expect us to foot the bill when they come down with the disease.
c. You can't even tell me with any degree of scientific certainty whether homosexuality is the result of genetics or environment.
I don't think these people should be hounded or assaulted or mistreated either - but a huge majority of them have OTHER serious psychological problems and it is my scholarly opinion that we should consider homosexuality to be a strong indicator of mental illness.
I admit that some queers MAY be able to function as any other rational adult outside the homosexuality...but the trannies? Those people are not women trapped in men's bodies, they ARE mentally ill.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with your assessment of this mental illness. I want to see the queers treated well too - but making scientifically unsound and politically correct concessions to them is not the way to do it IMO.
Glen --
No apologies necessary, but I'm about the last person who should be accused of political correctness. I make no bones at all about differences between straights and gays, am merely saying that gays should be made to feel comfortable with what they are, and shouldn't be discriminated against. In order:
(A) Whenever anyone tells me that being gay is a matter of choice, I always ask them, could you just will yourself into liking sucking cocks if you wanted to? No? The thought nauseates you? See, it's not a matter of choice. As far as the guys in jail go, that's a whole different thing; a lot of them are animals to begin with, and a world without women is a very unnatural world where unnatural things happen.
(B) Rapists and pedophiles are infringing on others' rights, that's a whole different thing. Of course I don't condone anything where people are taken advantage of like that.
© True, no one has isolated a "gay" gene, and the roots of homosexuality remain murky. Nonetheless, it's usually pretty obvious that from an early age there's something very queer about guys who turn out to be homosexual, and often there's a strong correlation with hormones. I always thought that "queer," was a much better description of homosexuals than "gay," although whenever I've seen gay guys in large groups, they usually do seem to be quite festive.
Glen, I think you have to reflect on your own experience. You probably felt a natural and strong attraction to females from quite an early age (I did). And then it just carried on and became more sexual after puberty and you got a lot of pleasure out of thinking about girls and you had a lot of desire for them. Now consider:
1) if everybody is naturally straight and to be gay is a choice (is this your contention?) why the hell would anybody abandon such a great and natural source of pleasure and deny such a strong natural attraction and instead choose to kiss and have sex with their own gender, which they aren't even really attracted to? It makes no sense at all.
Nobody would do that unless they genuinely do experience that strong attraction to the same sex. And that's not something you can force yourself to feel is it? Its something you just feel and don't choose.
2) many gay people say they had a strong attraction to the same sex which just came naturally or spontaneously to them but they weren't attracted to the opposite sex.
3) why would anybody make a choice that makes life difficult for them?
Clearly it is not a choice. Also
4) this swimmer went through mental problems because he had an inner struggle going on due to his reluctance to accept or admit he was gay, probably due to a worry about how people would react or what they would think. Clearly people don't choose this and the very fact that they can't help but feel it is what causes them turmoil and suffering, especially in a society where it is not accepted.
The only reason Thorpe has come out is to get some publicity and $400K in cold hard cash.
Ian Thorpe has totally failed at EVERYTHING except swimming (even then he was probably doping.)
Bris --
I hadn't realized he'd been paid for that interview, interesting. (It wasn't as if he was fooling anyone anyway.)
I honestly don't think he was doping, and I'm the first to point fingers about that. Thorpe was great from an early age, he had a great stroke, he never showed unnatural improvement at a late stage of his career, and there was nothing about his build which said doping. (He was just big, he didn't have the kind of muscles which screamed steroids.)
Post a Comment