John's Blog

OK, I am in JFK Airport, keeping my fingers crossed that the snow storm that blew in this morning isn't going to count my flight amongst it's casualties. I need to go home, I need to lock myself in my house , turn off all phones and email devices and take a day for me. I am back in less than two weeks of course, hitting the road working business as usual trying to spread the good word!

I was invited to an event last night - the NLGJA annual get together, where a who's who of the GLBT news world showed up. Wasn't sure why I was invited, other than I have chatted to most of the room at some point in the last four weeks! But I enjoyed it and I can report that as of yesterday I am in love. With a woman. I stood towards the back of ABC's Good Morning America studios, trying to blend in to the furniture, whilst not straying too far from the bar when like the red see she strode through the crowd which parted ceremoniously. She walked directly to me and put out her hand to shake mine. My jaw dropped - as it hasn't since the APLA Oscar party and rather embarrassingly for a somewhat reserved individual I threw my hands around her. I have been talking about her almost every day since I came out - citing her courage, dignity and grace under extreme adversity. She knew my name! She told me she had been watching what I had been up to. Truly it made my day - I even strong armed the official photographer into taking my picture with her (thanks!) and I can't wait to have that as my screen saver!
I am not a man who is easily impressed, not often am I truly staggered by the presence of a person, but meeting Martina made me feel like I was wearing training wheels...I could go on, but I fear I have lost far too many "cool points" in this entry. Wow. Martina. Wow. I want to be that good.

On other fronts, I need you guys to interact - I am not a professional blogger so I need inspiration! What do you want to hear about? Let me know so I ca do this more often so those nice people at Queerty will stop making fun of my scarce posts!

Yesterday, Ann Coulter, in a speech before the Conservative Political Action Committee, used the 'F' word that has long been used as a hateful and harmful slur against gay people. I have worked as a youth mentor since I was in college, and in the weeks since I publicly came out I have heard from young people from all over the globe. Coming out and living openly can be challenging - and that challenge only grows when people like Ann Coulter mockingly use it as a cheap joke.

Words have power - and this word in particular has a ricochet effect, as it emboldens bullies in the school yard, in the work place, and on the streets, and tells them that this kind of hate speech is ok.

Ann Coulter knows better, yet continues to disparage the GLBT community.  The people in the room with her yesterday would do well to speak out loudly against her remarks and more importantly her sentiment and send a message that harmful slurs never have a place in the public discourse

Watch the video

I know, I know … it’s taken me forever to bring you my first blog entry. I know!

I’ll warn you now that I tend to ramble in these things, and jump around from point to point, so you’ll need to be paying at least a little attention.

It would be redundant to try to tell you how crazy it’s been these last few weeks. I think it might be getting to the point where even people who like my voice are getting tired of hearing me talk everywhere they turn. I am on a plane as I type this, heading to New York to film “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” I have been interviewed by some fantastic people, from Gayle King and Paula Zahn to Bill Maher. I have had to be on my toes, but being on “The Daily Show” is going to be a treat. Many of my friends in the U.K. think he should be running for office. For a spoof news show, he certainly seems to get to the heart of a lot of issues, and certainly in England he is fast approaching cult status. I just hope I can keep up.

“Is a weight lifted from your shoulders?” I get this question daily, and the answer is an emphatic no. The last page of my book speaks about there being a lot of work to do, and the more I have spoken and tried to educate people about diversity in general, as well as the GLBT community, the more I realise I have more partnerships to forge, more people to reach out to and a new set of responsibilities. I think I thrive on a challenge, and I am really looking forward to living up to all the praise I have received. I think it’s important for all of you to recognise that I know I haven’t done anything yet, but I also want you to realise that I will. I have been an activist or youth advocacy causes, social justice issues and the civil rights of minorities for what feels like most of my life, and I am not going to shy away from any new challenges. I have always felt like I was built for these types of challenges. In a very real way, my mother prepared me for just these types of tasks, wanting me to be prepared to stand up and be counted. And that time has come for sure!

I should mention that I have been to a few Human Rights Campaign events in the last weeks. I made a very brief appearance at the New York dinner and then spoke at the Philadelphia dinner. If anything, meeting the lifelong activists and allies at these events has given me a great barometer for the levels of dedication and resolve I will have to show to catch up with some of the award winners I saw — people who had come out in hostile workplaces 40 years ago, people who forged partnerships to create positive change in the policy and personality of regional and local politics — the really courageous people. I want to say thank you to you for being an inspiration to me when I think I can’t take one more ignorant question about the locker room!

Also — and this is a personal highlight — I went to the AIDS Project Los Angeles Oscar event at the Abbey in West Hollywood a couple of nights ago. I was honoured to be invited, and a complete fish out of water on my first red carpet. A litany of pictures were taken of me staring blankly at a camera like a deer in headlights! I must get better at that whole “Look at me, I am cool, I have done this a million times” look. I’ll keep you updated on my progress there.

I have been debating mentioning this as it makes me sound like a star-struck teen, but … I met Wilson Cruz. OK, enough of that.

OK, I am about to land, appreciate your patience, I’ll be back in a week (or maybe a bit less) with more.

John Amaechi will be blogging from the road throughout his upcoming nationwide tour. Check back for his perspectives on the sites he sees, the people he meets and the experiences he has along the way.

John’s time on the road kicked off with a bang when he attended the HRC Philadelphia Dinner – here are some of the highlights from Fox Philly.

 

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