Thank God for Dan Savage

I've long been a fan of Dan Savage. Ya gotta love a guy who rose to fame as a no-holds barred sex columnist and now makes the rounds as one of the most articulate talking heads on gay issues. His frankness mixed with his ability to talk to virtually anyone - including D.L. Hughley - is exciting and empowering. Plus, he's hawt.

Here he is somehow finding a way to answer questions that D.L. Hughley can't seem to ask (how did this guy get a show on CNN?) and respond to sweeping generalizations that Hughley doesn't take ownership of. In five minutes, they touch on a whole range of issues affecting Prop 8, and Savage is always able to nimbly place these finer details in a broader context. He raises the level of discourse in every conversation, and in this case, ends up doing Hughley a huge favor by helping him out of the uncomforable corner he seemed to be backing himself into. Watch it, and tell me that Dan Savage doesn't deserve his own talk show on CNN.

Comments

[jbar82]

r_seattle_boi, THANK YOU for dropping some knowledge!

[Vee]

I don't think Mr. Savage is ready for his own show, (really neither is DL)....but the point is this - the founding Fathers were fleeing religious persecution, and YET this is exactly what Americans are doing to Gay people. It is a civil rights movement because in 43 states a Gay person can be fired for being Gay!!! Also marriage was a legal institution to protect land, and WOMEN were just property, AND African-Americans COULDN'T marry and the laws of the land were changed.....it is time for the gay bashing to cease...and if the RELIGIOUS people were REAL - they would love everybody, but they are hypocrites!!! Their religious prohibitions cannot be legislated on Americans.!!!!

[Ryan]

Dan is smart, but shouldn't say things like, "I'm a bitch," which he said on D.L. Hughley. It just doesn't sound professional. He also shouldn't come on to the guests, which he did on Bill Maher with Ashton Kutcher. It's embarrassing to watch this kind of behavior which just confirms gay stereotypes and detracts from us taking him seriously.

[Chris]

Dan Savage was EXCELLENT on CNN, calling out that stupid bigot Tony Perkins and not allowing him to spew more fraudulent religious cant, the same BS they used as lies to get voters to pass Prop. 8 to begin with. But Hughley! Damn! My respect for him is GONE! Imagine him saying to Ellen that he doesn't condone the gay lifetstyle. What an insult for him to diminish the hate, beatings, isolation, murders and pain the gay community has experienced because it wasn't equivalent to the suffering of blacks! So did blacks suffer more than Jews? Jews more than Armenians? Is there a "suffer" threshold that has to be reached on a scale somewhere to be acceptable? Ignorant religious people cling to their religion and bigotry as a flimsy device, to hide their failure to think for themselves. And selectively, as it suits their discriminations. If ANY of these bigots followed the literal pronouncements of the Bible EXACTLY as they are written, ALL of them, there would still be slavery, kids murdered for talking back to their parents, and a hundred other forms of hatred visited on human beings.

[Charles]

I thought Dan Savage did "ok". Civil matter yes, but a religious matter as well, since Jesus does not say anywhere that same gender people cannot marry. But alot is said by Jesus about becoming one and loving others as ourselves and giving ourselves for another is the greatest of loves. By all "inferrence" same sex and opposite sex no matter.....marriage is marriage and not limited to the act of "sex" but a wider range of subjects that take up much more time in daily life than the act of sex.
Mariage being "holy" means that God Blesses it (civil or religious). For everyones information civil marriages are still done "before God" for, "where is He not"

If the "churches" don't want to recognize same gender marriage that is to their detriment. At the same time how can we stand by and just let our persecuted brothers and sisters be decieved by the false doctrine of religionists who say same gender marriage is wrong OR government that persecute by taking away civil rights.

I think Dan was smart in not being over vocal on the "religious" side of the conversation but SOMEONE HAS GOT TO BEGIN GETTING IN THE FACES OF ANTI LGBT PEOPLE WITH THE FACTS THAT THE BIBLE DOES NOT CONDEMN HOMOSEXUALITY!!! .....

just a few of my thoughts on Dan Savage on the D.L. Hughley show.

[Chris]

For all gays and lesbians as offended as I was listening to this discriminatory bigot Hughley diminish the misery that has for centuries been inflicted on us by religious wackos like him, contact CNN.com TV to register a complaint against him. This asshole has NO business having his own show. And to boot, he's a LOUSY interviewer.

[tara]

I agree with one of the comments saying that gay rights are advanced by winning "hearts and minds," and not "winning arguments." Yes, changing public opinion, challenging stereotypes, etc., have been important -- and they have definitely had an impact, culturally and politically, in changing attitudes toward gay rights. But, this strategy has also shown itself to be a failure, too (e.g., too accommodating, shortsighted, alienating, and so on). This is an accommodating approach that buys into the stigma of homosexuality and asks for straight acceptance out of pity. I don't think that's a sustainable strategy in the long run. And, I think the various issues we've seen with mainstream gay rights groups being irrelant and untrusted by lgbt persons is a testament to that.

[tara]

I meant to say that I DON'T agree with the view that we needly to patiently change hearts and minds vs. challenging the way people think.

[paul.seidell@gmail.com]

Although I found what Hughley said to be rather ignorant I wonder if what he said is truely thought by the voters in California.
Calling gay rights as small in comparison to the black struggle for civil rights is petty, and Mr. Savage agreeing was annoying.
But, I did find myself in the same frame of mind after the election, then learning of the passing of Prop 8 that Savage found himself.... Paul, Massachusetts

[Michael]

Oh Yes!

Dan Savage!

The man who has come to save us all (or at least himself)

As a Gay man who lived in Seattle in the late 80's/Early 90's and suffered through Mr. Savage's kill or be killed rise to TV Talk Show Fame (not to mention several close out tables at any local Bookstore-the embarrASSment of "The Kid").

The one article that will never leave my mind is when Mr. 'Savage' wrote an article which was the cover story of a Seattle based tabloid named The Stranger titled "THE AIDS CRISiS IS OVER!"

An Op/Ed piece (presented as fact) about how the only reason anyone is telling Gay Men to still have Safe Sex is to keep the jobs (and paychecks) of the administrator's of AIDS Charity's coming in.

The premise of his article (in the late 1990's, when HIV infection was on the rise) was that there were so many advances in HIV-AIDS drugs and drug cocktails that there was no reason for Gay Men to continue practicing "Safer Sex" and it was only the money hungry heads of AIDS Organizations who were continuing to spread the "Myth" of the AIDS Pandemic.

Of course, assuming you have insurance which will pay for pills that cost $150.00 a day and there is a "cocktail" that will work for you and that you will restructure your life completely around taking these Pills and Oh! You may have no desire to eat and at the end of the day you are still HIV+ and will probably die anyway.

BUT PLEASE! Fuck All You Want! The Only Reason Anyone Is Trying To Get You To Be Safe Is Because They Need To Keep Their Jobs!

Of course, Mr. 'Savage' nor the editors of The Stranger ever stopped to think that hardly anyone ever actually read the articles in their paper (basically a paper to see what movie is playing when and where - with, of course, some really important journalism in there as well) and by having a headline which read something along the lines of "The AIDS Crisis is Over-why gay men no longer need to have Safer Sex" only led to the to increase of HIV infection.

You can imagine the typical 21 (or so) year old Gay Boy with no one other than Mr. Savage as a role model, seeing only the Headline that tells them to go ahead and bareback . . . you will be OK.

The Odd thing, the year Mr 'Savage' wrote this article, it was nominated for an award by some group like the LBGTQ Journalist's Association (or something like that).

What was never reported in The Stranger is that there was such an outcry by other LBGTQ journalist's that when Mr. 'Savage's article was nominated the entire awards ceremony was boycotted because no one could believe such a shoddy piece of writing could even be considered, let alone, nominated for an award.

So, yes, let the Shit rise to the top. I know he writes a funny column about SEX and is an out gay man on TV sometimes, even on the news, which means he must be really smart.

But, please, he is no more than another "Jack". One more mincing Gay Man with nothing to say other than

"I am Gay-Let's see how far that can get me!"

[Ted Hayes]

"Morality is doing what is right no matter what you have been told. Religion is doing what you have been told no matter what is right." (author unknown)

I believe that those who voted for passage of Prop 8 probably fit more into the latter statement above.

[RJ]

Dan Savage is a thoughtful, bright and funny guy...with a slightly angry core--understandably. I think he's a good spokesman, too.

I don't understand how some people can say so proudly, "Never heard of Dan Savage." It sounds like Bush saying he doesn't read newspapers. Ignorance is ignorance. I'd not be proud of it. I'd try to remediate it.

[sam]

is it my imagination or did DL become a little condescending at the end there with the "march a little while longer" crack?

[Victor]

Hughley obviously just got his show because he's black. He obviously is not qualified to do a talk show.
As far as Savage, he was savaged [pun intended] by Aston Kuschner on Bill Maher's show on HBO last week. Not sure he could handle it either. How about Mykel Board[I know he's not gay, he's bisexual, or wait- is he trisexual?]

[MJH]

Dan did a fine job. At least he speaks out in public for what he believes. So many "married" or partnered same sex couples have too- soon (in my opinion)taken for granted their comfortable lives in many communities (esp. in large cities/metro areas) where they have "escaped" persecution in small towns. Gess what though? There more small towns in this country and a lot of coupled and single homosexuals live, work and contribute to vibrancy of those towns with their talents, commitment and love to their communities, but still in every day in small and big ways come out and ask for equality. Hey - "gAy"-listers don't forget about them! You need to speak up and out for what you have, or want and what we all deserve. So, put the baby down, get a sitter and drive off the cul-de-sac and march, make calls, attend GLBT events and show your solidarity - equal rights don't just happen. We DO all have to educate (not solicit fear, blame or more bigotry) and educate our straight brothers and sisters on the thousand (1000+) or so rights the word marriage gives couples under law and then as I see with so many they start to "get it" and understand with compassion what we really want, need, deserve and will get.

[david john]

DL apparently thinks gay people havent suffered as much as blacks? Why the comparison? Gay people have suffered in different ways. There's a psychological oppression that straight people (esp. straight men) dont seem to get. And I seriously doubt if a black straight guy can understand (esp. a media guy) just how oppressed homosexuals have been over the centuries. Is it too much to ask a straight black media guy to have some awareness of us? Gay people have been pathologized and stigmatized for thousands of years making it near impossible for most to adjust or be healthy and happy. And yet they were blamed for it....they were hapless feminine men who couldnt get their lives together at best and evil sinners who should be eliminated at worst. This was psychological abuse on a mass scale and it affected everyone...gay and straight just as racial oppression affected everyone.
What a relief this era of oppression is coming to an end.

[ShannonB]

I think that Dan Savage representing anyone but just the G in LGBT is a BAD idea. Dan and his weekly paper have shown themselves over and over again to be completely uneducated on bisexuality and transgender and I would even go so far as to say that Dan is a transphobic bigot. I will fight to the death to let Dan say whatever he wants in print or online, but he in no way represents the views of anyone in the communities I inhabit.

[Chuck Kass]

The problem is with monotheistic religions. Christianity was enforced on Native Peoples by the white man and white missionaries. Along with this came the subjugation of women and sexual minorities.

[PC]

Dan Savage is smart, witty, articulate, great looking, telegenic . . . WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT??? (Oh, and by the way, he and his spouse are raising a kid together.)

Just take a look at the collection of bitchy comments below, however, and you'll understand why we as a "community" can't get our s**t together to fight our enemies: we're too busy fighting ourselves.

[Lecrad]

Just watched the CNN show with DL Hughley and Dan Savage. Horrible!! As much as I have liked commedy in the past (not really fond of DL Hughley), cause he has always been a bit dry to me (my own personal opinion as this comment is). Truly I agree with most of the comments about he and Savage and neither one should continue voicing opinions about topics they are clearly unfamiliar with. JKennedy, please continue to spew fact about history. Thank you!! Bayard Rustin was there with Martin Luther King until others caught wind of it and begin calling him a communist. Ignorance is the ability to speak without having fact and substance. Please AMERICA wake up!! Too many people (of all races), have shed blood, fought and died for us to still be sooooo far behind the eight ball. Take that back, we (AMERICA), aren't even on the pool table. For all of you that talk about the religious aspect, I challenge all of you to come to Atlanta, Georgia to visit my church, Tabernacle Baptist Church and get the message of Love and Acceptance. If you can't come, go online www.tbcatlanta.org and see where we are going to try and free not only those gays and lesbians in the closet but AMERICA as well. We are a church on the move and will not stop for the foolishness.

[HeidiAH]

Dan Savage has come a long way since I first saw him as a 6'+ drag queen hosting gay bingo in Seattle in the early 90's.

Good for him. H

[Scott]

Interesting statement by D.L. Hughley where he says, "I've never met a black atheist." No matter how true he probably is, it points to the fact atheists, like gays, often keep their views to themselves. A kind of viewpoint closet.

[Mike]

As someone who lived in Seattle for several years and regularly read The Stranger, the newspaper for which Savage serves as executive editor, sorry, I don't wanth him as the leading commentator for the gay community.

He's good in small doses and he's good when you need righteous anger. But all he knows is sarcasm and snark. That's all he knows. By the third or fourth time you hear him drone on about an issue he is drowning in his own snark. It is quite tiresome. Cynicism for its own sake only carries you so far.

[Mike]

Oh and one more thing. Back in 2005, when the state of Washington had a smoking ban on the ballot for bars and restaurants, Savage tried to come up with all these ridiculous reasons to oppose the ban. Like once, he tried to claim the Seattle polic would use it to discriminate against gays (as if all gays smoke, or something). But he never once in the runup to the vote bothered acknowledging that his newspaper had tons of cigarette ads. That's the level of intellectually dishonesty he'll stoop to. You're having your 15 minutes in the national spotlight now Dan, use 'em up and go away.

[Oh Really]

So D.L. Hughley doesn't CONDONE homosexuals and our lifestyle. Well DL go fuck yourself.

[Scott]

Not a great conversation, actually. Blacks ARE homophobic on the whole, which needs to be addressed. And the answer as to why is not based only on "religious" issues, but also a turf battle wherein Blacks don't want ANY other group stealing their mantra. Just listen to Hughley say "Being Black, I can tell you, you need to march a little while longer." How absurd?! As far as the lies from the Radical Right about churches and pastors being "forced" to condone gay marriage if Prop 8 didn't pass? Well, like I said-- LIE! No gay group is seeking anything other than the right to CIVIL marriage before the STATE. The religious ceremonies surrounding marriage is not STATE-sanctioned and is NOT necessary to have marriage. Therefore, if a church or pastor wants to grant access to gays to hold a ceremony, that is and always will be their call. Just as any couple has the right to have a ceremony in a church, before a justice of the peace or other state official, or not at all. So, all in all, I thought this conversation between Savage and Hughley was awkward and off-point. I agree with some of the other commentators that it's unclear whether Dan Savage "deserves," but Hughley certainly does NOT. CNN needs to stop putting Black men on TV just because they are Black (i.e., Hughley and Martin Roland! What a joke!).

[Diane, PA]

How about something more important and useful than a question about the opinion changing ( his own, that is) Dan Savage? A more useful item would be a list of Mormon owned businesses so we could stop putting money into the wallets of those who funded much of the anti-gay vote on Prop 8? Many of us would like to boycott Mormon owned companies - we could use a comprehensive list!

[Jeremy]

There's nothing wrong with Dan Savage. He's a little extreme sometimes, but never in the wrong way. I believe he's already nationally syndicated, and people listen time...I've never heard him say anything offensive, so let him continue. Maybe it's time for a promotion. The thing is, let's stop being so divided. Let's work togther for the next year or so, people. Is that so outrageous. Why are you attacking a gay celebrity who is speaking out for your rights. Attack the people who have been attacking you and me and the men we love for as long back as any of us can remember. Otherwise, we're never gonna win this thing.

[Peter]

I've been a fan of Savage's columns for years, but I think this is first time I've seen or heard him. DL was a jerk, and I think Savage handled him nicely, with kid gloves.

I don't understand why people are referring to Savage as an asshole. On Derrick and Romaine last week, Derrick was digging him a new one, stressing he would never have Savage on his show. Yeah, Derrick doesn't like Dan, I got that, but he gave no explanation why.

Guys, we're all entitled to our personal opinion, but if we're going to lambast and name-call over the public air-ways, at least explain yourself. I appreciate if you do not want to divulge a confidence, but if you can't justify your beef, keep your mouth shut.

Sure, give Dan Savage his own show. When did Derrick say his contract was up?...

[Headstrongguy]

The post from "Griff" is absolutely, misguided and misinformed. It was not a racist attitude that made some gay people angry at black people for voting "Yes" on Prop 8. It is simply because black people have had such a terrible history of being persecuted, that one wonders how "the oppressed became the oppressors? Apparently, they never read anything from "Coretta Scott King" who praised gay people for being instumental in fighting for black civil rights when they had none of their own.
If anything, it is reverse racism. Black preachers keep repeating how those overprivledged, wealthy, decadent, white people were trying to co-opt their civil rights movement(ignoring of course, other minority groups)
And it is a false equivalent to compare why we did not go after white republicans who did just as much to damage to gay marriage as blacks did.
Well, the white republicans were not the ones who had been so discriminated in the history of this country! Black people had rationlized their discrimination and even though it was merely 7 percent of the vote, it is still symbolic how history repeats it's own inhumanity.

[adamant2007]

I don't know enough about "Dan Savage" on whether he should have his own talk show or not, but I like the fact that he says things and makes comments that the so-called liberal media seem sometimes to afraid to make comments on.

[Aaron]

Dan Savage is a joke! You really think this person who consistently is being called for reporting lies in his articles should be representing the gay community on national television. Do your research people. This man is about as typical gay drama as they get. He does not think before he speaks and lacks fact. Just because he can use his speaking ability for his own benefit does not mean he is smart or in anyway qualified to speak for the gay and lesbian population. If you honestly believe he does you live in a cave and you have only seen this video.

[Chemosh]

Hooray for DAN SAVAGE. I like his interviews, his humor, his looks....hell I just like him.