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New Biography: Young Obama ‘Considered Gayness’
The Daily Caller ^
| 04/26/2016
| ALEX PFEIFFER
Posted on 04/26/2017 7:37:17 PM PDT by MaxistheBest
President Barack Obama considered being homosexual as a young man, according to a forthcoming biography of the president.
The biography by David Garrow, Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama, is set to come out on May 9. Garrow wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr., and is a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Washington Post.
In a chapter about the former presidents two years at Occidental College, Garrow reveals a close relationship Obama had with an openly gay assistant professor named Lawrence Goldyn.
-------------------------------------------------
Three years later, Obama wrote somewhat elusively to his first intimate girlfriend that he had thought about and considered gayness, but ultimately had decided that a same-sex relationship would be less challenging and demanding than developing one with the opposite sex, Garrow wrote. But there is no doubting that Goldyn gave eighteen-year-old Barry a vastly more positive and uplifting image of gay identity and self-confidence than he had known in Honolulu.
Garrow recently spoke about his book on The Jamie Weinstein Show. When asked about Obama experimenting with homosexuality, Garrow paused and replied, I think anyone and everyone, no matter what their role in life deserves a certain basic degree of privacy, in that context.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: biography; bookreview; davidgarrow; duplicate; homosexualagenda; obama; obamabio; obamabook; obamagay; risingstar; searchworks
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To: LucyT; GregNH
Garrow reveals a close relationship Obama had with an openly gay assistant professor named Lawrence Goldyn.
Lawrence Goldyn 73
In April 2009, the Advocate, a leading gay and lesbian magazine, asked president Barack Obama who had most profoundly influenced his ideas about gays and lesbians. The first person on Obamas list was his mother; the second person was his political science professor at Occidental College, Lawrence Goldyn 73.
He was a wonderful guy, Obama said. He was the first openly gay professor that I had ever come in contact with, or openly gay person of authority that I had come in contact with. And he was just a terrific guy. He wasnt proselytizing all the time, but just his comfort in his own skin and the friendship we developed helped to educate me on a number of these issues.
For Lawrence, the remark confirmed something he had long believedin theory, at least. This is great consolation to anyone who has ever been a teacher, he says. You never know whom you are going to influence.
As Lawrence spoke to Reed from his office in Fort Bragg, California, it was easy to imagine him as a dynamic lecturer. He was observantly precise at one moment and bitingly off the cuff at another, and his New York accent was deliberate, measured, and tough.
This style gave Lawrence a high profile at Occidentalhe describes himself as a magnet for outsiders at the college. His roguish references to sensitive issues undoubtedly contributed to his popularity among independently minded students in the 70s. Marginalized groups flocked to him: gay men, gay women, women of colorand Obama.
Obamas presence was exceptional, Lawrence says. Most straight men did not want to be seen associating with gays because of the social stigma, but Obama was not concerned about what people might think.
Lawrences willingness to serve as mentor stemmed from his own undergraduate experience. He arrived at Reed uncertain about his own sexual identity at a time when most gay men kept their sexuality firmly locked in the closet. Dissatisfied with this furtive existence and the limits of social support on campus, he took a leave of absence and traveled around Europe. There he crafted a new identity, developing a greater comfort with the tag gay with each new destination.
When he returned to Reed, he resolved to be upfront about his identity, but the response was underwhelming. Nobody cared in the slightest, he says. Thats the flipside of no supportnobody cares. I realized, this is what happens when theres no mentor. So halfway through grad school I decided to become a mentor. I sort of forced my way though this, and since then Ive encouraged gay men and women to use me as a mentor.
Despite his popularity among studentshe was nominated for a teaching awardLawrences career suffered from his open sexuality. After teaching for two years, he was denied tenure. The reason I didnt get it is because I was too stuck in sexual politics. I took it as them saying, Youre gay, youre too publicly gay.
When I was at Occidental it was an extremely straitlaced white Protestant school, and for anyone who didnt fit that mold, you clearly stood out, said Lawrence. Occidental has changed a lot [since]. That makes me feel good because I think I probably contributed to it. But the price I paid for it was that I lost my job in the process.
Disillusioned with academia, Lawrence retrained himself for a career in medicine. He earned an MD from Tufts University and now practices in Fort Bragg, where he is the medical director of the Mendocino Coastal Clinics, specializing in HIV.
For many years, he considered his teaching days as a wasted decade. But the rise of his old pupil has given him fresh perspective. Though unwilling to take credit for the presidents path in life, Lawrence remembers that he used to advise students to get their first taste of experience through community organizationObamas political starting ground.
Obama actually speaks the words gay and lesbian, in itself a turning point for the national conversation, and has asked Congress to repeal the Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy.
Lawrences tone turns stern when he criticizes the presidents support of the Federal Family Protection Act and reticence on Californias Proposition 8, but livens again when he thinks about the future of gay rights.
Scratch the doctors surface, and the political scientist in Lawrence shines through. He says of Obama: I think hes been a little conservative on gay issues, but Im sensitive to what kind of compromises he has to make.
Brandon Hamilton 10
41
posted on
04/26/2017 8:32:07 PM PDT
by
Brown Deer
(America First!)
To: jazminerose
Right! In the “immortal” words of Lady Gaga...wasn’t he “born this way”?
42
posted on
04/26/2017 8:34:10 PM PDT
by
proud American in Canada
(May God Bless the U.S.A. (Trump: I will bear the slings and arrows for you, the American people))
To: LucyT
43
posted on
04/26/2017 8:35:43 PM PDT
by
Brown Deer
(America First!)
To: drewh
From the articles:
“Barack Obama is a liar and a fraud”.
How bow da.
44
posted on
04/26/2017 8:36:26 PM PDT
by
SaveFerris
(Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for ... some have unwittingly entertained angels)
To: LucyT
45
posted on
04/26/2017 8:37:51 PM PDT
by
Brown Deer
(America First!)
To: adorno
Yes, and l believe there was another androgynous character named Chris. :)
46
posted on
04/26/2017 8:38:44 PM PDT
by
proud American in Canada
(May God Bless the U.S.A. (Trump: I will bear the slings and arrows for you, the American people))
To: MaxistheBest
I never bought that “body-man Reggie Love” nonsense
To: MaxistheBest
I truly don’t care one jot if Barry is gay. The fact that he is a muslim-(sympathizer)/USA-hating/Freedom-hating/scheming/lying-sack-of-pig-excerement is why I find it hard to pray for him.
To: MaxistheBest
No Straight men “Considers” being Gay, to a Straight Male other males are disgusting. If he “Considered’ it he is at the very least bi-sexual.
49
posted on
04/26/2017 9:03:15 PM PDT
by
heights
To: MaxistheBest
Before or after he ate a dog?
50
posted on
04/26/2017 9:12:15 PM PDT
by
stillfree?
(Don't let illegals turn your state into California.)
To: MaxistheBest
What he ACTUALLY considered was whether to stay in the closet.
51
posted on
04/26/2017 9:15:49 PM PDT
by
matt1234
(Jan. 20, 2017: the national nightmare ended.)
To: MaxistheBest
52
posted on
04/26/2017 9:16:32 PM PDT
by
paulk
( If one fails to learn self discipline, Don't worry; there will be others to boss you around. -kps)
To: TigersEye
53
posted on
04/26/2017 9:16:34 PM PDT
by
dynoman
(Objectivity is the essence of intelligence. - Marilyn vos Savant)
To: TigersEye
54
posted on
04/26/2017 9:18:37 PM PDT
by
dynoman
(Objectivity is the essence of intelligence. - Marilyn vos Savant)
To: matt1234
Obama does not just consider gayness, he defines it.
55
posted on
04/26/2017 9:18:52 PM PDT
by
rdcbn
(.... when Poets buy guns, tourist season is over ...)
To: MaxistheBest
Does this mean that the “Born This Way” mantra isn’t true?
Paging Lady Gaga, paging Lady Gaga, please pickup the Pink Courtesy Phone.
56
posted on
04/26/2017 9:22:07 PM PDT
by
Kickass Conservative
(The way Liberals carry on about Deportation, you would think "Mexico" was Spanish for "Auschwitz".)
To: MaxistheBest
“No, we aren’t homosexual, but we are willing to learn.”
57
posted on
04/26/2017 9:41:39 PM PDT
by
Southside_Chicago_Republican
(If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.)
To: MaxistheBest
I was really, REALLY hoping that when he finally emerged from his “vacation,” that he would be totally transitioned ala Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. For a while there, it seemed quite plausible. I’m kind of disappointed, in fact. First president to cut off his peen. How historic!
58
posted on
04/26/2017 9:45:37 PM PDT
by
ponygirl
(An Appeal to Heaven)
To: dragonblustar
LOL...my stereo was playing “Hey Yah!” and was at the “shake it sh-sh-shake it!” part when I scrolled past that gif...and it was perfectly in time! “Shake it like a polaroid picture...”
59
posted on
04/26/2017 9:47:44 PM PDT
by
ponygirl
(An Appeal to Heaven)
To: MaxistheBest
60
posted on
04/26/2017 10:02:15 PM PDT
by
Slyfox
(Where's Reagan when we need him? Look in the mirror - the spirit of The Gipper lives within you.)
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