October 31, 2014

"I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple."

Writes Tim Cook.

77 comments:

chickelit said...

I'm not at all sure why we have to know this and why it has to be broadly cast.

Imagine if Steve Jobs had wasted time saying "I'm proud to be straight, and consider being straight among the greatest gifts God has given me."

Doesn't compute.

Anonymous said...

So it good to discriminate against and tease minorities, because that gives them a tougher skin?

chickelit said...

Nietzsche might call it Der Triumph der fröhlich.

MagicalPat said...

He would only be in a minority if he had been public about it the whole time.

He was always able to appear as your average, straight, white guy any time it suited him.

George M. Spencer said...

Just so long as he doesn't screw his shareholders.

Scott said...

Personally, I don't care if he buggers wildebeests, just so long as he makes good gadgets

Wince said...

Cook saying that is, if there ever was one, an example of "White Privilege".

Michael K said...

It's interesting how homosexuals think who they sleep with is so important.

RecChief said...

strikes me that this would have been courageous 10 years ago. Now... it's looks like an act of narcissism.

chillblaine said...

"Just so long as he doesn't screw his shareholders."

He wants to become an activist. Leveraging his influence to affect social causes is fine, but he should step down. Otherwise there will be a material effect on the share price.

rhhardin said...

Gays, who used to be interesting at work owing to their antiauthoritarian humor, are more into enforcement today.

Revenant said...

Damnit, now when I say how much I dislike Apple I'll be suspected of homophobia.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Cool story. Why is this at the top of my news feed? I'd never heard of this person before, nor will I hear of them again.

Totally orchestrated story.

Anonymous said...

I suspect the silliness of people talking about his sexual preference in speculative terms was getting a bit awkward, and this is a way of putting an end to that gracefully.

Moose said...

Pretty much a press release story.

Paul said...

I just don't understand how he puts God in the equation considering..

God, in virtually every religion's 'Bible', condemn homosexuality. Many of which like the Old Testament say to slay them as an abomination (or at least if a 'man lay down with another man as if with a woman."

Strange thing is I see no reference of if a 'woman lays down with another woman as if with a man." Guess lesbians are ok with God.

The Brit's even call these 'gays' shitstabers, for uh, reasons (well male gays at least.)

So, anyway its somehow one of God's greatest gifts?

Ok... sure.

Tarrou said...

Sell your Apple stock. In today's society, there is no reason whatsoever to "come out" unless you desperately need three months of uncritical knob jobs from the mainstream media.

I expect some serious scandal involving Apple to kick off shortly. Serious, but not devastating, otherwise Cook would have had to come out as a transgender biracial albino trisexual.

Rocketeer said...

Other than the "proud to be gay" part (I consider it to be a manifestation of disorderedness brought on my our separation from God, but believe we are ALL disordered in our own unique ways, and therefore find it odd to be "proud" of it), that is a profoundly Christian statement.

rehajm said...

One more way he is not Steve.

David said...

"'I'm not at all sure why we have to know this and why it has to be broadly cast."

It's an "everybody shut up now" press release. For a while he was able to avoid having people talk about his sexual preferences by remaining silent. That changed to an idiotic clamoring that he should "say something." (It was common knowledge that he is gay.)

So now he has said it, and the clamor is likely to end. Which is the way he wants it and the way it should be (but wasn't.)

Now, boys and girls, back to bashing someone else.



Ann Althouse said...

"Imagine if Steve Jobs had wasted time saying "I'm proud to be straight, and consider being straight among the greatest gifts God has given me.""

Yeah, it's like white pride as a response to black pride. It doesn't work that way. Not if you like social acceptance or don't know how to play jackassery well.

Bryan C said...

"So it good to discriminate against and tease minorities, because that gives them a tougher skin?"

Tim Cook's real name is Sue.

Titus said...

You guys response is similar to Russian politicians reactions to this story

Oh and the Chinese too.

kiss kiss

Anonymous said...

Anyone who cared knew he was gay, so this is more along the lines of Jodi Foster finally acknowledging her orientation publicly, most likely to put an end to all the nagging from pro-gay quarters about why she *hadn't* acknowledged it. Cook has taken flak for years for being a powerful gay man, and therefore role model, and not being completely public.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

He just came out?

I thought this had been public knowledge for at least 2-3 years. That is how long ago I first heard about it.

I don't use Apple products. I'd go back to tin cans and string before I would use an I-Phone. And scratching notes on rocks before a Mac or I-Pad.

I am guessing that this is just a marketing ploy to get me branded as a homophobe unless I switch from Android and Windows.

John Henry

RecChief said...

It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple."


This seems liek an odd way to prep people for a reduced earnings report.

chickelit said...

Yeah, it's like white pride as a response to black pride. It doesn't work that way. Not if you like social acceptance or don't know how to play jackassery well.

There's a difference between white pride, white guilt, and white don't give a shit. It's like the difference between positive, negative and neutral.

I like neutrality.

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of when Senator Al Franken stands in front of the mirror and says, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and people like me."

You don't have to stand and say these things unless you're not convinced they are true.

donald said...

What a Putz.

Anonymous said...

Much like my desire to be selfish is a "gift from God."

Megaera said...

Wait--I thought the Silicon Valley crowd was supposed to be so much more tolerant, more accepting ... so much, well, BETTER than the rest of us ... is he saying they're really just a bunch of regular bigots, only with super PR?

Michael said...

Good. I like the statement, although I might amend it to think that life itself is the greatest gift bestowed by God. But he mentions God and gives credit to God and that should be enough for the bible thumpers who give his statement the slightest moment's thought.

It is not a bad thing either to have a major CEO come out. To the extent there are those closeted gay executives who believe they cannot advance if their sexuality were know Cook's statement should be a help and perhaps a comfort.

gadfly said...

CEOs with narcissistic tendencies should have public remarks screened by staff with sensitivities attuned to public sentiment.

Why would little-known Tim Cook want to put Apple into the middle of a political or societal controversy that doesn't help sales. I guess having AlGore on the Board has its disadvantages.

Sam L. said...

I don't care. No interest. Meh.

etbass said...

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."(James 1;17)

So this is one of them and not only that, but the best of them?

AlbertAnonymous said...

iDon'tCare

Anonymous said...

When will we ever stop hearing that someone we don't care about has come out?

Clayton Hennesey said...

Wait till Siri says the same thing. Then you'll have a story.

Tank said...

How is being born gay an accomplishment to be "proud" of?

Mark said...

"I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

So you consider it a great gift that you will NEVER be able to have a child solely with the (same-sex) person you love? It is a great gift that your gay union is, by its very nature, destined for extinction because it cannot reproduce?

You consider it a great gift that if either of you do want children, it will only happen through technological means, not soley through an act of love, that you will necessarily have to bring in at least one third party and that it will happen only through heterosexual means?

Why would God do that to you?? And how is that a "richer" life?? It sounds awfully impoverished to me.

PB said...

Tim lives in California and works at Apple. I really don't give a damn what he sticks his thing in. His job is to run the company and produced the best shareholder and customer value possible. People could really give a crap about his sexuality. He's leveraging the mythology of the Steves and he better not screw it up over his insecurities.

Chuck said...

Althouse: "Yeah, it's like white pride as a response to black pride. It doesn't work that way. Not if you like social acceptance or don't know how to play jackassery well..."

And so once again, it is time to refer to Justice Scalia's dissent in Lawrence v. Texas:

"Today’s opinion is the product of a Court, which is the product of a law-profession culture, that has largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda, by which I mean the agenda promoted by some homosexual activists directed at eliminating the moral opprobrium that has traditionally attached to homosexual conduct. I noted in an earlier opinion the fact that the American Association of Law Schools (to which any reputable law school must seek to belong) excludes from membership any school that refuses to ban from its job-interview facilities a law firm (no matter how small) that does not wish to hire as a prospective partner a person who openly engages in homosexual conduct. See Romer, supra, at 653."

It isn't just "social acceptance," professor. It is now a form of social thinking that is now something of a matter of professional enforcement. And I find that extremely disturbing.

Unknown said...

"I’m proud to be
-- PICK ONE: {idol worshiper, adulterer, homosexual, kidnapper, liar, and all others who do things that contradict the glorious Good News of our blessed God} --
I consider being that among the greatest gifts God has given me."

dbp said...

Let's think a little more deeply about "gifts from God". A hardship can be a gift since you become stronger in the process of overcoming it. By the same token, a special talent is also a gift since it eases your way in some area.

In general, I take pride in things accomplished and give thanks for gifts. How can being gay be something to be proud of and also thankful for? Seems like one or the other. I am envisioning the proud part as someone born straight and through some effort, became homosexual.

Unknown said...

If that's the BEST gift God gave him, I'm wondering about the worst. He should complain.

Anonymous said...

Tarrou: Sell your Apple stock. In today's society, there is no reason whatsoever to "come out" unless you desperately need three months of uncritical knob jobs from the mainstream media.

Lol. Yeah, that was pretty much the first thing that popped into my head when scanning the day's headlines.

gerry said...

It isn't just "social acceptance," professor. It is now a form of social thinking that is now something of a matter of professional enforcement. And I find that extremely disturbing.

Scratch a progressive and you'll find a fascist immediately beneath.

RecChief said...

His job is to run the company and produced the best shareholder and customer value possible. People could really give a crap about his sexuality.


Dude, you need to get on the train. Your kind of corporate fiscal responsibility thinking could lead a company to nominally move its headquarters to another country in order to reduce its tax burden thereby increasing shareholder profitibility.

Howard said...

Translation of Chuck:

"I'm afraid if the gay become open and mainstream, it will swallow me whole"

Jupiter said...

Apparently, the nature/nurture train has left the station. Cook clearly believes that being "gay" was not a choice he made, it is a "gift" he received from God, presumably at some indeterminate time prior to birth. And no one is questioning that belief.

Homosexuality does not, of course, run in families, because most homosexuals do not reproduce. The major current theory is that the genes resulting in homosexuality are so powerfully selected in females as to compensate for their strong non-selection in males. That is perplexing, at the least. Do male homosexuals really behave like very attractive women? Or do the genes express themselves differently in females?

His reasons for regarding it as a gift seem far-fetched. Try to think of a congenital defect that would not be a "gift" by that reasoning. But what parent would hope for a child with such "gifts"? If it becomes possible to test for homosexuality as it is for Downs Syndrome, I suspect it will become a lot less common.

Bob Ellison said...

Someone is going to have to bring up Norm MacDonald here.

Chuck said...

Howard said...
Translation of Chuck:

"I'm afraid if the gay become open and mainstream, it will swallow me whole"


Translation of Howard:

"Chuck isn't in agreement with our view on homosexuality. Let's not hire him. If we've already hired him, let's find a way to ease him out. If he's already left our employment, let's force him to take on gay clients and gay employees of his own."

Chuck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Titus said...

I sometimes say to my hubby (who is younger, richer and better looking than me-yet pays for everything):

"Daddy, it's sonny. I have been very very bad and need to be disciplined. I also will put my hand in circle and stroke your hog just like last time. I promise not to tell mommy though; it's our secret. Am I a good sonny, Daddy"

Unknown said...

GIFTED: having exceptional talent or natural ability.

Urban Dictionary: Gifted -- Getting your period.

Gifted and Talented/Learning Disabled (GT/LD), similar to LGBT?

Titus said...

Hi Daddy (in a child like voice)

October 31 is my hubby's birthday and the day we met-he was dressed as a shirtless vampire.

Indira Ghandi died on this day and they cancelled his Birthday party when he was six...so sad.

When I was 6 my mom gave me a present for Christmas-Donna Summer's Hot Stuff. My sister was 16 and she received an album by Foreigner. My mom took a picture of us holding are records; I had my hand on my hip.

My hubby has bigger pecs and bis an tris but I have a bigger cock, so it equals out.

Indian's are not known for big hogs. They are in the "asian" category for EEOC.

kiss kiss

Marty Keller said...

Whatever.

lgv said...

Why is one proud of something they had nothing to do with? He was born that way. It is not an accomplishment for which to be proud.

It's like saying, I'm proud to be left handed.

There are two types of people: Apple shareholders, people who are not Apple shareholders. Neither cares that much.

Revenant said...

Homosexuality does not, of course, run in families, because most homosexuals do not reproduce. The major current theory is that the genes resulting in homosexuality are so powerfully selected in females as to compensate for their strong non-selection in males. That is perplexing, at the least.

It isn't perplexing at all. You've just made the mistake of assuming "most homosexuals don't reproduce" implies "most homosexuals didn't reproduce". Historically there were powerful incentives for male homosexuals to marry and have children (female homosexuals, like female heterosexuals, seldom had any say in the matter one way or the other). It could well be that a "gay gene" was passed down simply because the lack of opposite-sex attraction didn't substantially harm the reasons for having children.

Another possibility is that the gene is active in the mother's body, not the child's, and "creates" homosexual children congenitally. Why would such a gene exist? Well, it is easy to think of scenarios in which having a lower birth rate is advantageous to a population, especially in the years before birth control. There are animals which respond to overpopulation with physical changes; humans may do the same (yes we're not *actually* overpopulated, but our population density is one which would have signaled imminent disaster for most of our history).

I'm not saying any of these stories are true. I don't even know how you'd test them. I'm just pointing out that it isn't as simple as "gay people don't have babies".

Bob Ellison said...

There is a history of gay men in art.

The common explanation, nowadays, is the Tim Cook one: I'm better because I'm gay, because being gay hurt me, because it made other people mean to me, and it gave me my rhino skin, and that made me prouder, more artistic, more...whatever.

Jews have a similar story. So do blacks and gypsies.

I'm just a straight, white male. I got nothin'. I play the piano, but not like Ray Charles did. I used to play trumpet, but I could never do what Bix Beiderbecke did.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

A marketing ploy.

I've heard it said that God wanted his Mini-me's to go forth and procreate. Kinda calls into question that He would "gift" someone with homosexual preference.

Quaestor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quaestor said...

I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

If being homosexual is just a fact of one's birth, rather than a lifestyle choice (some gays will say it's both without irony) then Cook's statement is just jackassery (h/t Althouse for a nice all-occasion word)

Read the quote again aloud, just substitute "tall" for "gay."

Revenant said...

Jews have a similar story.

Well, there is presumably *some* reason for their completely disproportionate degree of success in the western world.

Quaestor said...

OS X is the world's best UNIX, but we have Steve Jobs to thank for that.

Tim Cook is not a visionary, he's a salesman. He's got a damned good product to sell, and he's lucky to be in such a good position to sell such a good product. That's what he should be thankful for.

Quaestor said...

Well, there is presumably *some* reason for their completely disproportionate degree of success in the western world.

2000 years of evolutionary pressure (among the Jews only the smart survive) will do that.

n.n said...

To paraphrase Martin Luther King:

I have a dream that "four little children" will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by their dysfunctional, unproductive, or fetish behavior but by the content of their character.

Gender and sexual fluidity or its selective discrimination.

Michael K said...

I've seen an estimate that only about half male gays are born that way. The rest are sucked in as teenagers.

Jupiter said...

'It isn't perplexing at all. You've just made the mistake of assuming "most homosexuals don't reproduce" implies "most homosexuals didn't reproduce".'

My assumption is that homosexuals are less likely to reproduce than heterosexuals. I don't think that is a bad assumption, or that it only applies to the present. Of course, there appear to be degrees of homosexuality, or perhaps different kinds. I have known men who felt zero interest in women, and I have also known men who were attracted to both sexes.

Jupiter said...

Michael K said...
"I've seen an estimate that only about half male gays are born that way. The rest are sucked in as teenagers."

Hmmm. Why do you assume that it is the homosexuals who were "sucked in as teenagers"? Maybe us straights were "sucked out" as teenagers?

When I was a teenager, in the early seventies, I was slender with blond hair halfway down my back. Quite few homosexual men tried to "suck me in", and do other things to me as well. I was more than once in danger, but not of being "sucked in". Of course, they always told me that if I tried it, I'd like it. Perhaps there's truth in that, although I found the whole idea repellent.

William said...

If I were richer or better looking, I would take more pride in being straight. As it is, it has been nothing but a never ending hassle.

Revenant said...

I've seen an estimate that only about half male gays are born that way. The rest are sucked in as teenagers.

Well, that's a conveniently impossible-to-test estimate. How do you tell the sexual orientation of an eight-year old?

Revenant said...

My assumption is that homosexuals are less likely to reproduce than heterosexuals.

Well, that's not what you said. You said "most homosexuals don't reproduce". Being less likely to reproduce is a much more reasonable claim.

However, having a larger number of children isn't an inherent survival advantage, and thus isn't automatically selected for. An apex predator like humanity has to self-regulate its population somehow to avoid overwhelming the food supply.

Take two primitive farmers, one gay and one straight. Both will marry and have kids, because you need the labor to work a farm, but the gay guy will quit once reaches the limit of the number of kids he needs and/or can support. The heterosexual guy will tend to keep having kids, because sex is something *he* can do for fun and humans are bad about foregoing fun.

Which means that the gay guy's kids actually have better survival chances, because the hetero guy's kids will be less well fed and more prone to disease.

Whitey Sepulchre said...

Tits.

furious_a said...

Didn't you know, the whole company is gay.

Rusty said...

chickelit said...
I'm not at all sure why we have to know this and why it has to be broadly cast.

It certainly doesn't raise my opinion of him as a CEO. He's there to sell ipads.

Jupiter said...

"Take two primitive farmers, one gay and one straight ..."


OK. Do they walk into a bar?