It’s time to shiver in your boots, my right-wing, supposedly morally-upstanding, queer-hating friends, because another chapter has opened in the gaypocalypse that is increasingly taking over your fear-mongering, homophobic lives. Poll-leading Republican candidates, I’m speaking directly to you.
A big old queen has just been named the CEO of the leading innovator of all things technologically cool, Apple. That’s right: if you haven’t seen it documented already, Tim Cook, Apple’s now former COO, is the new top dog, following Steve Jobs’ sudden resignation as CEO on Wednesday. Throw away your iPads and iPhones! Take away your children’s iPods!
Ah yes, for you, another strike has been blown; for others, another gain has been achieved; for most, they just don’t give a damn. And that is the achievement after all, isn’t it? Will the fact that the CEO of Apple is gay stop it from being a technological and cultural juggernaut? Certainly not.
As I write this from my MacBook Air, while checking my texts on my iPhone 4 and dreaming of owning an iPad, the big story has nothing to do with Cook’s sexuality and everything to do with his capability as a leader to step into Jobs’ shoes.
Jobs certainly thinks Cook is up to the job, as he named him as his successor. What we have more than anything is a non-story on his sexuality, an exemplification of how far gay rights have come. Not too long ago, gay businessmen had to stay as far in the closet as possible, and today one is leading one of the most powerful companies on the planet.
For us Apple-lovers, let’s just hope that Cook can maintain the creative impulses that Jobs sustained for so long. He’s not going away, as he has been appointed the Chairman of the Board, and his say will still matter. More than anything, he has built a mentality in the creative hub of Apple that is going to be difficult to break apart. I wish the best for both men, and for the company that has impacted our culture in ways too numerous to count.
