This transparency is AWESOME. Again, this is advocacy w/o ulterior motives, & that type of genuine advocacy is what makes change happen. It’s what creates those waves, & in this case it’s a number of folks talking at the same time.
Politicians? Opening up in a transparent way? About something that could impact their career/power trajectories? Sharing not just a label, but life experiences that led to their situations? Yes. Yes. Yes. And Yes. Here’s the background:
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Thursday ended his 2021 bid for Mayor of NYC. He had long been considered a favorite to succeed Bill de Blasio.
Johnson, who’s openly gay & H.I.V. positive, said in an interview that he was experiencing “a sense of loss, a sense of imbalance, of sadness, isolation.” Those around him told him not to open up about his declining MH, “because it could hurt (him) or (his) future.” But he added, in opening up: “I wanted to honest about what I was going through, both bc I thought it would bring relief to me — bc it’s been so painful & hard to hide it — & I know a lot of other New Yorkers are going through this right now, given the turmoil & the upending of everyone’s lives over the last six months.”
In a related story, NYC Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer was a frontrunner in the Queens Borough President race, but dropped out this February to spend time w family – & referenced time in therapy as part of that decision-making process. He shared, “The stress & pressure is enormous, quality of life takes a hit, & people have become increasingly vicious toward public officials on social media”
What will happen over time is, this will be a groundswell. Ambitious ppl in ANY field will be able to open up, hold off on pursuing something NOW, but be able to come back to it when they feel stronger – & won’t be judged as “lesser.” Won’t that be a beautiful day?!
