because we change where we live. That’s an interesting observation; I hadn’t really consid- ered how that applies. Having come from a more isolated area in Northern Wisconsin myself, moving to a larger city did help to make it better for me. More options, more avail- ability, things like that. I don’t want to take away from the fact that


there are so many more liberal and for that matter conservative people looking at LGBT equality now. And more importantly than any kind of legal issue of marriage or anything else, things like the safety of gay people in schools are being looked at and dealt with now as non-partisan unquestionable issues. I think that is a really important step, a really important progress. You know in Britain, we have the advantage


that we are a lot more secular. I remember the last Republican debate and one of the most interesting things was that, you could not get elected in Brit- ain—and this is not hyperbole—you simply could not get elected in Britain saying some of the things being said about LGBT people in the United States. You could not get elected in Britain saying some


of the things politicians say about black people— Newt Gingrich most notably—you just couldn’t get elected. So I think we have an advantage because we don’t have laws on the books anymore that say gay people are less than human. They still exist in 30 states where you don’t have any employment protection, in 50 states where you’ve got no hous- ing protections. There is still a lot of work to be done legislatively in America. That is an understatement, it is so frustrating to watch the process because it is so polarized—it’s like watching the wheels spin endlessly flinging mud everywhere and nothing ever gets done. I agree with you completely, I think it’s notable


that in the last election that the LGBT community, although they have had some promises made by Barack Obama, that these issues were not wedge is- sues in the last election. And I find it interesting that “family values” have suddenly become the wedge issue again for conservatives, because I don’t think they believe that they can win without it. I think that the hopeful part of the family values wedge though is that the farther to right they go, the more people see that it really isn’t about “values” at all, but more about judgment and condemnation. But the good part, if you look at the most vehe-


mently anti-gay in their rhetoric, not necessarily in who they are, although I am not suggestion that Santorum or Gingrich are in any way friends of the gay community, but the most vehemently, outwardly, openly hostile, or the ones that did the most advertisements against the LGBT community


46 RAGE monthly | APRIL 2012


early on, ended up being the first to leave the race. This brings up another interesting point; have we lost the ability to see each other as individuals? We see what group we are a part of, gay, lesbian, black, white, conservative, liberal not as a person first who is a part of a subgroup. Yup, it is so much easier to dismiss someone


when that is done, I would also add, that one of the interesting things—there is a new marriage/equal- ity push going on right now, the Freedom to Marry coalition (freedomtomarry. org). There are more than 80 mayors from around the U. S. including Michael Blumberg, Denise Parker, Rahm Emanuel (also included is our very own Republican Jerry Sanders of San Diego and Democrat Antonio Vil- laraigosa of Los Angeles) that’s brilliant. Sometimes I am accused of being overly negative and I like to point out that I do recognize that there is positive change, there is progress—I just want it NOW! Your book Man in the Middle was a great read, do you have any new books in process? You know it’s so strange that you should ask that,


I’ve been working on two different books. One with a colleague of mine from Penn State who is an educational specialist and we are looking at creat- ing sort of a self-help book for all those people who were like me when I first started out. Those who felt inadequate and felt that they weren’t strong enough or special enough to be anything great. So that’s on the one hand, and then I am working on a communications book—I am a big fan of helping people to express themselves. I think it is one of the


things that make such a difference in so many ways in your personal life—but also in terms of getting a job, someone who can pull out what’s inside them and put it on a plate for people, so that they can understand them are more likely to advance in the world. You mentioned Penn State earlier, I wonder if you have any commentary on what has happened with the molestation charges and shake down of the program there? You know what, I am a little disappointed at the moment, because I can’t get a reply from anybody. I know it seems presumptuous and I know it seems awkward, like I have this great expertise, but in terms of helping organizations to change, that is my day job—it’s what I do. And I know enough about Penn State as an organization after being there, and I am also far enough removed from being there that I think I could be the perfect type of objective and yet connected person to help change occur. It’s not that I don’t think Penn State wants to change, I think they do, but I think that they are keen to move on as quickly as possible. Some things in life require you to linger—and


this is one of those moments. That is so true… and what a perfect thought to end this with. Thank you John for taking the time to do this, it was very enjoyable talking to you. I look forward to your next book! Thank you Joel it was good chatting with you.


For more of my interview with John Amaechi go to ragemonthly. com.


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