Why can't we have a gay president? | Boy Abunda | TEDxADMU

I am NOT an LGBT activist I don't qualify neither do I identify myself as an advocate because I'm afraid I may not be able to live up to the expectations of the label I'm a proud gay man and I'm one with my community in our fight against oppression bigotry discrimination and for equality yes my name is Boy Abunda and I was born and raised in a small town called Barranca in eastern summer it's now a small city it's still beautiful I had a happy childhood not perfect but a wonderful childhood as a child as a young boy I was told many things I was told to be a good boy and I was as also told to love Lana and that I I was told to love my country the Philippines I was also told to love and honor God above all you know a kapu yang I did all those as a young boy I was also told to play basketball I tried I tried with all the bones in my body but I just didn't have the rhythm I didn't have the timing the alacrity of basketball players I was a failure as a young boy I was also told to like a young normal girl because young normal boys played basketball and like young normal girls again with bravery with a lot of prayers I tried to like a young normal girl again I was a failure there was a street in my town called royal street from where I lived you had to go through this street to be able to go to church to the town plaza to the public market there was another way but it was a longer route and there were more stray dogs and it was darker so we had to go through royal street it was horrifying it's terrifying to walk through royal street because young normal boys would bully us they were mean they were wretched were obnoxious they would call us names we would fight back I would fight back once in a while but we would always be outnumbered they would call us names shout at us they would holler byah byah byah that's the where I word for back lap and a Royal Street broke me in a way that I became so defensive about my posture I became very defensive about my sexuality in my youth royal street was equivalent to hell as a young boy I started to ask so many questions some I have answered others I'm still trying to figure out now I have another question why can't we have a gay president why can't we have a gay president I wanted to test this question so I spoke to some friends acquaintances strangers teachers students because I wanted to see how people react to a provocative question like why can't we have a gay president somebody told me boy I have so much respect for you I love gays you're just so funny I can't imagine a world without gays you're just the best comedians in the world and you excel in the creative endeavors you're the best hairstylist or the best eyebrows i list s-- you're the best fashion designers i said excuse me we can be many and we can do anything i told her the story about alan turing father of computer science he was the lead scientist that decoded the german enigma that paved the way for the victory of great britain in the second world war against germany Alan Turing was a computer scientist we are computer scientists we are biologists we are physicists we are basketball players we are pool dancers we are many we can do anything and then another one told me but aren't gays supposed to be cowards you you guys back off from fights debonair arenak na hoona tiene medallas Pegeen decal uma bond apart buk laka anybody who backs up from the fight is supposed to be gay I said no we're not cowards Recker ages were brave like the Stonewall Riots in 1969 in New York trans women queer young people a drag queens LGBT people who fought valiantly fearlessly the cruel brutal violent police of New York we are courageous were brave we're not cowards and then somebody said but boy I guess supposed to be Half Men and half women and you're supposed to be trapped in somebody else's body I said no we're not half half we're whole and we're not trapped in somebody else's Island for you to know you have to be me but since you cannot let me tell you that we are not half we're whole and then someone said after I asked why can't we have a gay president isn't homosexuality supposed to be a disease a disease I said no dibban Aravena Cunha 10 or and Salma karin-sama Sahaba by Han democratical McGinn back laka are you enough more penis Arabic Lanigan baklava Louie some time ago a father douse boiling water on his sleeping son in exasperation because he cannot he could not cure the homosexuality of his sleeping son some parents actually allow the young lesbian daughters to be raped because they believe that rape can cure lesbianism in 1973 homosexuality has been stricken out from the diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders we are not an ailment we're not a disease so I called another friend and I said why can't we have a gay president and my friend said because gays are supposed to be promiscuous they salivate at the sight of flesh the Predators they prey on young boys I said excuse me some gays are from skewers some women are promiscuous some men are promiscuous promiscuity is not a gay monopoly and then even beauty queens drink and then somebody said but isn't homosexuality a curse I said no we're a blessing before my mother before Nana was a debilitated by mild dementia she used to tell me a narc you're a blessing to me uh and if naughty were strong enough it should be here today standing beside me and she will tell you my son is a blessing he's not a curse if only mothers and fathers of LGBT people can be here today they will stand up for us and they will say we are a blessing and we're not a curse and then somebody said isn't homosexuality a sin don't you commit a sin when you express your homosexual lava I said I'm sorry as far as I know I'm not a sin I'm a child of God and I was also created in the image of God why can't we have a gay president because in 2010 the Commission and elections ruled that gay people promote immorality abnormality and error threats to the youth in the same year the Supreme Court reversed this decision this homophobic barbaric decision why can't we have a gay president why can't we have a gay president let me borrow some words from the great Martin Luther King because sadly we are still crippled by the manacles of homophobia transphobia discrimination bigotry why can't we have a gay president because some people believe and some people preach that we are creatures lower than animals let me tell you we are not creatures lower than animals we are human beings so today on TEDx I ask you why can't we have a gay president why can't we have a gay president when the Constitution allows it the Philippine Constitution allows it natural-born Filipino registered voter can read and write forty years of age ten year resident it doesn't say there that you have to be a straight man or a straight woman to be president of this country in my opinion we are living in the new age of enlightenment this is the best time for exploration this is the best time for discovery observation and provocation this is also the best time to challenge to challenge prejudicial discriminatory cultural common beliefs this is also the best time to correct the wrongdoings of colonialism this is also the best time to ask why can't we have a gay president Belgium had a gay Prime Minister allude Aruba Iceland had a lesbian Prime Minister but you want a cigarette here my argument is if Iceland and Belgium had gay Prime Minister's I asked you why can't we have a gay president let's go to the black slavery movement yes there was a certain part in our history as human beings when blacks were treated like beasts they were animals they were invisible to be black was to be a sin they were marketed they were sold in town plazas and marketplaces they were bartered they were given as gifts but the black slavery movement the civil rights movement persevered and persisted in 1963 in Washington DC the great March happened where dr. Martin Luther King delivered his I have a dream speech that dream came true in 2008 44 years later in 2008 the United States of America elected its first black president in Barack Obama my argument is if blacks were treated like beasts like animals in the past and today the president of the most powerful country in the world is black why can't we have a gay president the black slavery movement inspired the women's liberation movement the women's rights movement the women's suffrage movement there was a time in our story as human beings when women were nothing there were second-class citizens there were third-class citizens they were invisible they had no voices they could not participate in public debates they could not even walk beside their men in some cultures because women were shadows and extensions of their men and other fathers today women's movement against violence continues but women have become Presidents and Prime Minister's you have Merkel of Germany Thatcher tae-hwan just elected his first woman president trying when partying hey now is president of South Korea this country has had two presidents President Corazon Aquino and President Gloria macapagal-arroyo my argument is if women who were shadows if women who were extensions of their men and fathers have become presidents and prime ministers I ask you why can't we have a gay president I wanted to understand what makes a great president I researched and I found the most insightful in size of discourse written by Karl Rove policy advisor to George W Bush and in that discourse he enumerated some traits of what makes a great president what makes a great president clarity of vision consistency of purpose emotional intelligence a healthy respect for public opinion a great team nowhere in that discourse will you find that you have to be a straight man or woman or LGBT to be a great president it just have to be a human being to be a great president ladies and gentlemen indulge me here a bit let's have a little fun imagine what a gay president of the Philippines would do he would probably appoint somebody like big Hong Duterte - ambassador of the Vatican he would have a lot of fun with Pope Francis a gay president would not be afraid to convince Archbishop Cruz to come out of retirement and ahead the Bureau of Customs he will clean up that agency in less than 24 hours Archbishop Cruz loves trouble he loves getting into the fray a gay president would probably create an anti corruption department headed by the impervious by the incorruptible women of be CIJ a gay president would probably appoint somebody like Senator little Lapidus permanent representative to the United Nations so that people may know that as a people we are quiet and we don't talk a gay president who would probably appoint somebody like Miss Universe 2015 Pia wurtzbach ambassador to Colombia so that people may know that we don't bear grudges and remember the table and the P DAF are natural enemies of the badeff seriously now a gay president will nurture and strengthen the Filipino family a gay president will be a servant leader a gay president will subscribe to the concept of politics being the art of impossible and not the possible vaclav havel specially if the impossible is for the good of all a gay president will prioritize the FOI the freedom of information bill the anti-discrimination bill a gay president will not be afraid to be a great president ladies and gentlemen we have some of the most passionate some of the most driven some of the most brilliant intelligent some of the most qualified and some of the most inspiring some of the most transformative leaders in the LGBT community one of them is just waiting in the wings waiting for his turn to be the next president of this country one of them in conclusion allow me to rephrase my question from why can't we have a gay president so can we have a gay president can we have a gay president yes we can can we have a gay president yes we can because like every woman like every man in this theater in this country in this world the presidency is our destiny it is our birthright can we have a gay president yes we can yes we will yes we must and why do I say this with impregnable clarity ladies and gentlemen towards towards history and common sense thank you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 246,949

Rating: 4.7176204 out of 5

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Philippines, Global Issues, Gender, Politics

Id: bhRooc33szU

Length: 17min 10sec (1030 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 22 2016