AP is reporting that long-time anti-gay legislator, Mayor Jim West, is not a happy camper. Seems he has been "brutally" outed:
In an e-mail sent to nearly 140 people affiliated with a race relations task force, West wrote that the group is responsible for making Spokane a community where "harassment, intimidation, discrimination" are unacceptable.Um, Jim, when you are getting around as much as you did, and playing constantly on gay.com, you're kinda putting yourself "out" there. You brutally outed yourself. There are so many other things that come to mind, but it was said best by a fellow Spokane resident:
"Does that include people who have an internal struggle with who they are sexually and are searching for a way to come out ... ?" wrote West, who is co-chairman of the task force. "Do others who desire to be out but are having similar struggles now live in greater fear because of a brutal outing?"
Mike Kress, vice chairman of the Spokane Human Rights Commission, suggested that West's plea for understanding rang hollow because of West's many votes against gay rights as a politician.Jim, Jim, Jim, you really don't get it. There are a lot of gay men and women in Washington State who don't have simple basic guaranteed rights because of Jim West's legislative history. You were in a position to make things happen.
"The hypocrisy, cynicism and lies upon which Mr. West built his political career harmed homosexuals in our state, and his sexual orientation is thus a legitimate topic for discussion," Kress wrote in an opinion piece in Wednesday's Spokesman-Review.
See, Jim, it's like this, you not only didn't help...you aggressively worked against the GLBT community -- and seemed to relish it. You don't like the gay community. You've said that over and over. So, now, don't come asking for sympathy.
