Trolls pop malformed heads above bridge to sling abuse at Tim Cook Apple boss Tim Cook has been bombarded with homophobic abuse after revealing his sexuality to the world on Thursday. Cook spoke out yesterday to say he considered "being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me". Trolls, religious nuts and plain old homophobes from the four corners of the internet immediately took to …
"so you now say you're gay and your point is?"
If you had actually read the original article you would know:
"I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others," Cook wrote in an open letter published in Bloomberg.
"So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy."
You obviously didn't read his statement, or you would know exactly what his point was.
Tim Cook has stated that he has benefitted from the hard work and courage of many gay people, which helped him to get to the place in life where he is now, and he thinks he can pay back a little bit by officially stating that the CEO of a huge US company is gay, which might serve as encouragement especially to young gay people who still have to find their way through life.
@Phil.T.Tipp
I half agree - we shouldn't have to have high-profile people discuss their sexuality publicly.
We shouldn't but, unfortunately, we are not yet in a society where that is unnecessary. In such a society, an individual's sexuality should not matter one bit to anyone and should simply not be a factor in they way they are treated or valued or promoted or discussed.
Young homosexual people are still disproportionately represented in suicide statistics and I that is because they are made to feel like they have less worth than other, heterosexual people. The same goes for the entire LGBT community.
When you have an actor or sportsperson or leader or CEO or similar stand up and say: "I am gay", what they are saying is really: "it doesn't matter that I am gay; I was able to accomplish all this anyway because my sexuality is not the measure of my ability or determination or intelligence or goodness or creativity or, most importantly, my worth."
There are people out there in the religious right that believe - and preach - that 'god hates homosexuals' and will punish not only them but any who help them or even tolerate them. Showing someone who has risen to the top of one of the most valuable and important technology companies in the world who also just happens to be gay goes some way to dispel that ridiculous notion.
The same is true of other groups traditionally and to this day considered inferior by some sectors - people of different colours or races (or religions) and even women, who make up fully half the population of the world.
So no, it shouldn't, in an ideal world, be necessary to have people say they are gay, publicly, but unfortunately it is still necessary.
He must be thinking something like "I worked hard, studied some of the classics, went to the debate team, loved, lost, wrote some poetry, admired art. I helped build the pinnacle of technology for the masses, I lead virtually a nation of talented people and the biggest splash I've made to date is about my sexual preference". I say never underestimate the stupidity of a fool with a tool (like Twitter). Carry on.
What i don't understand is why anyone have anything to do with the way anybody live there lives.
Those homophobic must be afraid that Tim Cook or some other gay are going to fuck them. But i don't understand why they would do that.
I mean, gays are everywhere in fashion, design and showbiz and is known for there good taste.
Why in earth would a gay make a move on a fat, ugly, stupid homophobic who can't even get laid with a prostitute without paying double fee?
So let's spread the word. There is no hope for you homphobics to get laid and absolutly not with a gay.
Maybe all those commentards who yesterday were posting "iYawn" and "Why is this news" on Reg's story about this should take note.
Unfortunately, although I agree it shouldn't be newsworthy when someone mentions their sexual orientation, this is the reality: a large part of the world's population are still bigoted homophobes.
Here's one of the most appropriate xkcd's I could find :
Just because all these people have a different opinion doesn't mean we have to sit back and let them spew all this bullsh*t all over the internet...
My guess is that you were too lazy to read the comic. The point is that Free Speech is a two-way street. In fact, to shout the idiots down, sully their reputation, and destroy their business through boycott is the price they pay for the hate and garbage they spew.
So yeah, the reality is that if you open your mouth in a public square, the public square can and will respond. And the response might nott be flowers and chocolate but a destruction of your online persona.
Free Speech is not protection from your stupidity; it's an invitation to be a moron so we know how to handle you in the future.
Freedom of Speech / Expression does not imply Freedom from Offence: in fact, the two are broadly incompatible. However, it also does not imply Freedom from Consequences.
However, the Internet is 90% privately-owned infrastructure, so those freedoms and rights are not as relevant. You agree to abide by the private owners' rules and regulations when posting on forums and the like, many of which explicitly ban offensive statements and remarks. Because—contrary to popular belief—they're perfectly entitled to do so.
Private entities (including individuals) are entitled to do this for the same reason people are allowed to call the police if some nut-job decides to stand in my front garden and shout obscenities at their family day and night.
The whole "Freedom of Speech" (and "Right to bear arms") stuff is intended to protect us from *bad government*. They're primarily political rights and responsibilities.
> Just because all these people have a different opinion doesn't mean we have to sit back and let them spew all this bullsh*t all over the internet...
Yes. Actually it does. Otherwise it's not free speech.
It's not free speech if it's only the things you personally approve of.
This stupid sh*t is why we had to flee to another continent.
All those who went to great pains to tell us that Tim Cook coming out publicly wasn't news on yesterday's story - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/30/tim_cook_writes_open_letter_gay/ now understand that, while it shouldn't be a news story, it unfortunately is. Just because you don't care doesn't mean there aren't those who do.
"now understand that, while it shouldn't be a news story, it unfortunately is. Just because you don't care doesn't mean there aren't those who do."
Yes Don, but if you want to know all about those sorts of stories you need to read Heat and not the Reg.
That's the beginning of the extinction for the west civilization.Thanks allah we r Muslims
— Dr.mohammed alhakeem
Yeah, 'cos we all know there are no gay muslims right? ROFL. I guess it just goes to show that even if you're smart enough to earn a doctorate, you can still be utterly ignorant.
I personally greet Tim Cooks announcement with absolute ambivalence. His personal sexuality has no relevance to me at all, so while I'm unsuprised that we have trolls on one hand, and supporters on the other, I am disappointed that as a world we haven't progressed to the stage where homosexulaity isn't considered good or bad, but simply irrelevant.
I am disappointed that as a world we haven't progressed to the stage where homosexulaity isn't considered good or bad, but simply irrelevant.
- - -
There are some people saying the same about their sexual preferences which other people find unacceptable even while tolerating homosexuality. I expect they also call people who disapprove of their sexual leanings bigots as well. Most of us would rail at them for what they do as being totally disgusting, perverted, depraved, sickening, against god, and a whole lot else.
What is acceptable is in the eye of the beholder. As is bigotry. Something to always bear in mind when criticising bigots and bigotry.
As much as I couldn't give a flying fuck one way or the other as to Tim Cook's sexuality - who or what he decides to shag in the privacy of his own bedroom is nothing to do with me, as long as it's not children or animals - I thought his statement (other than thanking 'God' for the 'gift') struck the right note. He basically said that he was announcing it now in case it helped those people who weren't clear on their own sexuality be more comfortable with it, or to try to show support for those who were taking stick as a result.
That neatly matches my own opinions on religion - I think it's a crock of horseshite, but I'm not about to decry it as totally worthless if it helps some people in some way to deal with their own pain and loss and suffering (and before anyone points it out, yes, of course I am aware that in a lot of cases, the pain and suffering is often CAUSED by religion - YMMV).
This level of uninformed, uninspired, rampant bigotry in trolling is sadly unsurprising in this day and age of keyboard warrior dickheads spouting off behind a veil of anonymity. Like your mum always said - "If you can't say anything nice..."
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