Apple’s Tim Cook, A Month After Coming Out

Successor And Predecessor

Tim Cook “I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,”

Mr Cook, chief executive of Apple has come out as being gay in an article he wrote for Bloomberg entitled ‘Tim Cook Speaks Up’.

The Apple CEO who took over founder Steve Jobs after his sudden death, explains he was always open with those around him on his sexual orientation, and never hidden it. Furthering himself, he explains his joy to work at Apple, “a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s difference.’

Cook explains that he hasn’t been publicly open about his orientation as working for a large corporation such as Apple, it can become scrutinising. “I come from humble roots, and I don’t seek to draw attention to myself, Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping focus on our products and incredible things our customers achieve with them.”

Tyler The Creator [Left] and Frank Ocean [Right]

Mr Cook isn’t the first to come out. Frank Ocean, arguably one of the greatest lyricist singers of contemporary time came out in 2011 on his post on his website just before his debut album Channel Orange. Marginally, Ocean’s coming out created media hysteria, as well as support from all corners.

Not all was positive; snide comments on the artist hovered passively around the industry arena but creating no ruckus. This came out as T Pain came to Ocean’s defence, claiming his loathed the way the industry wouldn’t ‘f**k’ with him, and found this abhorrent.

Now to the topic of the title…

Contemporary society in many ways is loathsome. We cannot give ourselves to those less fortunate, instead ignore the pirates of our civilisation and condemn the less off, because its what the elites want, through this the elites prosper. We ignore world hunger, even with corporations such as Google claiming that the problem isn’t resources or finance, instead of political corruption. We even ignore tragedies world wide, unless they’re force fed to us by media, many of which are corrupted in themselves.

A bleak outlook, despondent days it may seem. However, there is the horizon, a horizon with a gleaming glow of sunrise. The sunrise brings prosperity, praising not Hathor for these trickles of humanity, instead; ourselves. Out of the gloom of state suppression, arbitrary rulership, what was socially norm and wasn’t was didactically forced down our throats. So, out of society we threw the blacks, the weak and different. The Apex predators remained.

Only not really.

Cromwell, Beveridge, MLK JR, Malcolm X, Kennedy, Guevara, Castro, and so on, all releasing the shackles of socio-norm, allowing society to create their own. In that, we globalised, the social norm is world wide, ignorance plummeted, in this day and age its not to live for much longer. Can we thank liberalism for this?

Partially, liberalism has played its vital role. However, without key players such as Ocean, Cook, Jane Addams, Alvin Ailey and many more, maybe the difference’ all around the world wouldn’t have stepped forward. Maybe we’d all possess pseudo-similarities, same tastes, characteristics, soulless. We mustn’t dwell here, because the key players came out bravely and played their part.

Now, we’re entering the realm of intense liberalism. Tyler the Creator, a progressively ‘offensive’ individual, came out in support of Mr Ocean, as they were close friends and still are. The problem that dazzled society was that Tyler was known for offensive lyrics, offensive to all, gay, black, white, poor, overweight, you name it. How could it be that an individual so distasteful was so progressively structured?

The offensive stance, in many ways is a paradox. Tyler claims “The word faggot only becomes offensive if you choose to take offence.” nonsensical incoherent thought processes right?

Well, to answer the prior, ask yourself; many of you would have read this article because it contained the title ‘Faggot’, and had come to spew your fury, and gather hatred. In that, isn’t that choosing to be offended?

“Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.”

This sentiment, childish and adolescent as it may be carries unfathomable notions. It conveys that a word, whatever it may be will not have an affect of one, unless one decides to feel so. One must decide to take offence for the word to become offensive. The sentiment in no-way advocates a verbal free-for-all, what its advocating is that being progressive in the sense of this contextualised piece, doesn’t mean choosing to be angry over sentiment.

Tim Cook, Frank Ocean and the millions before and after them share one similarity. Not that they’re gay or bisexual, the similarity is that they rose above the name calling, and chose one day to not be offended. One day they decided that they wouldn’t let ignorance suppress their freedom, and, though I cannot speak for anyone, I unequivocally do believe they were better off because of it.

A word can hold sentiment, negative or positive, however the actions prevail. The action of society, to embrace rather than to shun outweighs those who decide to cling on to archaic dogma of destroying those that think differently.