I am not sure if the date is tonight or next Monday, 5/21, but if I recall correctly, this marks 15 years since I first spoke on WSEE TV 35 as a gay male. To the best of my knowledge, I was the first person in Erie County to use my full name and face in Erie mainstream media.
What had happened was that in December of 1991, Donald Kremer was murdered when he gave a ride to 2 guys when leaving the Silver Slipper. In February of 1992, I had sent a notice to local TV stations about a potluck get together at the UU that the League of Gay and Lesbian Voters was having. When the case came back with a second degree murder conviction for both defendants, I got a call from Randy McIlwain, asking me if I wanted to speak. I figured, "Why not?" He then said that they could disguise my face and voice, since no one had ever used both locally before. I thought that I could hardly whine about other people being scaredy-cat closet cases if I wasn't willing to do the same. So we went for it.
I remember feeling really really nervous. I was worried that I would be fired (although I probably knew deep down that things were okay) or that I would be kicked out of where I lived or my tires would be slashed. Absolutely none of that happened. I did a few media things after that, and it is now no big deal. I am always taken aback when folks act like there is some huge horde of angry villagers just waiting to pounce. It's sort of like hearing concerns about indoor plumbing.
All in all, being honest about who I am was one of the best decisions I ever made. There's no dark secret hanging over me, and I get to be the same person all the time. Oddly enough, it means that I don't have to think about it as much since it isn't a charged subject. It just feels like one of any of the other elements that are part of me.
