Karen Ocamb on GLAAD's new executive director Herndon Graddick.
Graddick noted how important it is to tell LGBT stories. “Because of the media, because of Hollywood, because of the people in this room, because of the difference all of you make,” he said, “we’re changing America, bit by bit, story by story. And because kids can see Glee and Modern Family and hundreds of frankly positive stories on the news, they’re not like me. They know there’s another alternative. And for once in America, there’s optimism. I’ve been doing this job for two years at GLAAD, and what I feel for the first time—really, for the first time in my life—is wind at our back. The tide is changing. America is sick and tired of gay people being treated like a punching bag, and so are we.
“And so the new GLAAD is going on the offensive—not just sitting back and waiting for somebody to say something negative about us, but really fighting back, because we’ve got America on our side,” he said. “People know that it’s not OK to fire somebody for being gay or transgender. Hard-working people should have the opportunity to support themselves. And before the laws can be changed—because, frankly, in the majority of states it’s OK to put on the dismissal paper that ‘He’s gay. We’re getting rid of him.’ And that’s completely legal. Most people don’t know that. Our campaign about Ellen [DeGeneres as JC Penney spokesperson] was supporting Ellen, but it was also pointing out to the rest of America that our laws are antiquated and they’re out of step with how people feel about America.”
Under Graddick’s leadership, it appears that the ‘new’ GLAAD is back to its original watchdog mission of taking names, kicking ass and reclaiming family values for LGBT people.
