George Takei Comes Out

Apparently this is news. I thought the guy came out years ago. Guess not. So, congratulations to George Takei for bravely going where few actors have gone before and publicly announcing that he’s gay. Like half of the queers I knew in college, starring in Equus prompted him to come out of the closet.

Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.

"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said.

There’s something deeply touching to me about a man who spent four years of his childhood in an internment camp being more in touch with the notions of basic decency and genuine American values than many Americans who never had to face anything as difficult as one the ugliest expressions of racism sanctioned by the government or a lifetime of homobigotry. Prejudice against gays is against basic decency and what American values stand for. Such a simple truth. Thank you, Mr. Takei.