Anyone heard of this man? He used to live in my home town and ran an LGBT youth group which ended shortly after he left. He now occasionally comes to town to do stuff like this: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/salmonarmobserver/lifestyles/93559579.html
I've met him. He's a douche. I should qualify that. In my opinion, he's a douche. That is, there are lots of people who do or have done the types of work he does but not all of them are self-absorbed people intent on promoting themselves. Okay, many of them are, but not all. You see this a lot in the gay community--some people help out because it's the right thing to do and are quite publicity averse... except where it will help the cause. Many others help out because it enables them to feed their own egos and then hide this selfishness under the guise of doing good. It's like... "Well I'm doing all this great stuff so just ignore anything else about me that might be unpleasant." I've always been of the opinion that you have to consider a person in their entirety in determining their worth, not just the good they've done. For instance, it's undeniable that the Catholic Church has done a lot of good in the world... does that mean we should turn a blind eye to the misery they're also responsible for? My answer is a resounding no. Although I suppose making an analogy between Ryan Clayton and the Catholic Church is a bit ridiculous.
I think it's great what he's doing, and I think the message is more important than the messenger. Sure, there are gay men who are self-absorbed and who do good things while seeking out publicity to make themselves feel better... all gay men come with baggage. There are also gay men who will never, ever, ever admit to being wrong about anything and hold themselves out as better than everyone else... and gay men who are unbelievably arrogant... each of us has wounds that come from the internalized homophobia that we each experience growing up. The path toward wholeness is long, and for most gay men, there are some extra issues that come into play that may make it even a bit longer. But in my book, the guys like Ryan Clayton who are out there trying to make a difference at age 23 should be commended. I'll put up with a little attention seeking behavior if the overall good that comes from it helps to make a difference in the world. And most people grow quote a bit in their 20s as they find their place in life, so, in my book, harsh judgements of someone that age are perhaps a little bit unfounded, particularly if there's good coming along with the package.
I have never heard of him before, but from what I'm reading it's hard to see how there can be anything bad about what he's doing. It seems genuine and honest, and I am impressed by the tactics he uses to connect with others. I have to agree with him that LGBT suicide rates are unacceptably high and that we have to do something about it. So until and unless I find out something really disparaging about him, he gets a great big from me!
