From GLAAD's new president, Herndon Graddick:
Later, during his remarks to the crowd of more than 1,200 at the Westin Bonaventure hotel, Graddick said he had never met another gay person until he was 19 and that it wasn't until leaving Alabama for California that he learned that 'everything I had been taught was essentially bullshit.'It's been a longtime since we're heard the leader of a mainstream gay group talk like an activist, and it's about time. As a lot of us learned years ago, being an activist and being politically savvy - and effective - are not mutually exclusive, at least not necessarily. GLAAD, and our other nation groups, have always had the ability to blend political savvy with good street fighting instincts, but they rarely have. Perhaps now they will.
'I got pissed,' he said. 'Kids across the country are making themselves miserable and frankly, leading themselves to the brink of suicide because of the bullshit they learned from a bigoted society. And it's the role of GLAAD to fix that.'
'The new GLAAD is going on the offensive and not just sitting back and waiting for somebody to say something negative about us but really fighting back,' he added. 'I'm grateful to have this opportunity and this job because I think, for once, we can really change the way that LGBT people live their lives across the country. ... We're making a difference.'
He's also not afraid to let his language get a little salty.
When introducing Jennifer Tyrell, the Ohio woman ousted as den leader of her son's scout troop because she is a lesbian, Haddick said the situation is 'complete bulshit and it's time we call them on it.'
'You know what? It's 2012. We're sick of this shit and GLAAD is going to do something about it.'
