I once went to an interview for a company, that I did end up working for, and on the 3rd interview, I had to speak with the director of the company. He was young, very fit, goodlooking. As soon as I layed eyes on him, I thought to myself "Well, If he isn't as gay as a three dollar bill." He had pictures in his office of his wife and kids. So, I just thought my gaydar was on the fritz. As I worked at the company and begain to climb the corporate ladder and had more, and more contact with him, I became more and more certain that he was gay. When I became supervisor, It was relaid to us not to distrub his as much as possible as he just filed for divorce and was terribly distraught. Once the divorce was final, the whole story came out as to what really happend. He had come from a family that was very wealthy and was "expected to marry a family of equal status and produce children". And if he did not, then his life would be distroyed. So, he did. He had married and produced children and lived the life that he was expected to. Once his Father had passed away, (his mother had died about the time I started with the company)he filed for the divorce, got himself a boyfriend and moved to a luxury condo on the beach.
Am I saying that I condone what Harrgard has done?? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!. However, we also don't know the entire, exact story. I am just as angry and sad as many of you are. Yes, Like many of you, growing up gay was not a walk in the rose garden, and was very painful, and stressful. However, We as a gay community, stress, and preach, equality, and want people to except who and what we are. Yet, within the gay comminity we discriminate against ourselves by judging each other on what part of town we lived in, the clothes we wear, and what we drive, and how our bodies look to each other, and how much money we make.
I agree that Haggard preached his hate and distain for the gay community and then came off the pulpit and did the complete opposite of what he just preached against. That is just not right. Obviously, there is some real disfuction there. There are still people out there that truly believe that being gay is a choice and you can choose to change and be straight. Those are the people that I feel most sorry for. These are also the people at say "they have found Jesus and are re-born". They should be very careful about using that statement, because if it were true they wouldn't be judging anyone.
Everyone has skeletons in their clossets, or atleast has made decisions that they are not proud of and don't discuss. People enter into bad relationships and marriages or "arrangments" of convinence each and everyday. And yes, eventually they all end and people get hurt. They hypocrocy of telling people that something is bad, give me money so I can continue to show you it is bad, then do the opposite is totally ill-reprehisible. People have gone to prison for that,and I think, and correct me if i'm wrong here, that's called fraud.
It is a total shame that he commited this fraud to his wife and children. The worst fraud is what he committed to the "general public" if you will, and that they bought into it.