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Coming Out
2 min

Even Perez Hilton gets to exist

Jun 22, 2009, 9:17 PM EDT

It seems everyone's had a shot at Perez Hilton this past day, following his scuffle with The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, his Twittering for help and his subsequent hissy fit on his website.  If a straight man punches a gay man for calling him a "faggot," is it a hate crime?

None of this should matter much to anyone else — much less make national news — but Hilton is one of the most famous gay men in North America.  He's very visible — even more so when, well, black-eyed.  Like it or not, when he speaks, people pay attention — even the ones with cum dribbling out of their mouths.

And visibility is what's it about. I'll take insufferable Perez any day over the people who wish he'd be silent, people like US politician John Eichelberger, who says gay people don't need equal rights because those in charge "allow them to exist."  Here's the gory details:

 
Sure, this dreadful goon is just another right-wing creep, like the ones who beat their children on Father's Day or can't spell worth a damn while hating Mexicans, but studies show that homophobia is widespread and very deep, like Perez's desperate need for attention.
 
This is why we come out, why we make noise, why we celebrate Pride day (week, month, etc.) — it's about refusing to be silent, to show we exist and maybe, once in a lovely while, to change an opinion or two.  I may not like Perez Hilton but at least he's not hiding.  Now if only he could be as smart as Rachel Maddow: