Celebrites you admire and respect

[Guest dstud4hire]

wow, jeff, that is what I call a diverse list.

[Guest dstud4hire]

Wow, Tampa, does it always get so heated in here over just simple words and simple questions? hehehe

 

oh well.....I would agree with you about Madonna. Look at all the multitude of performers who wash away after a few years, but the truly great ones last because they can continually re-invent themselves. They basically don't give a fuck....and as a result, they have the ability to challenge mainstream america in their thinking with their no-holds-barred, let me show you what I've got stamina. Madonna has challenged the way America looks at sex and sexuality by flaunting it in people's faces...she's set fashion trends during the 80's (whether you liked it or not is irrelevant) Nonetheless, how she set the standard set the mood and tone for that time period (Keeping in mind it doesn't matter whether or not you liked the tone...it's the ability to even set the tone that counts in my book) And it makes perfect sense that gay men should stereotypicaly laud their gay icons as most admires. From Judy to Barbra to Cher...we relate to them because they didn't fit the mold..they stood out..they made a difference...and they often started out in a very different existence...this describes most of us as gay men.

 

Now , to add to the list of fave celebrities: (I'll beak it down)

Entertainment:

Madonna

Joan Rivers

Whoopi Goldberg

Jane Fonda

Barbra

Susan Sarandon

Tim Robbins

Sydney Poitier

Jessica Tandy

Melissa Etheridge

 

Politics/World or spiritual Leaders

Jesse Jackson

Ghandi

Anwar Sadat

Jimmy Carter

Lech Walesa

both Clintons

 

Sports:

Arthur Ash

Martina Navratilova

 

Well, ok, I have many that I admire...

 

ultimately, though, (to repeat what someone else said) I will go with every gay person as a most admired (though not nec. a celebrity) cause it takes guts to live as we do, to either be in the closet with those struggles, or to live openly. But that is probably best for another thread. Gabe in St. Louis

[Guest jeffOH]

>wow, jeff, that is what I call a diverse list.

 

Thanks Gabe!

 

Well, I guess I like to think of myself as somewhat of a philospher

and these people have all inspired me in some way...and I admire them for doing so.

 

Jeff4hire@aol.com

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

>Wow, Tampa, does it always get so heated in here over just

>simple words and simple questions? hehehe

>

Gabe,

 

I sensed no real heat in this thread, just an honest and frankly put difference of opinion about the nature of the thread and hence the opinions. I've seen heat before -- up close -- and this is not it... This thread falls in the warm and fuzzy category.

 

:-)

[Guest 7Zach]

good answer to the question regarding whom you admire.

 

Everyone else answered the question of whom they admire that overcame odds, thereby their life a triumph and success. I guess Rumsfield was chosen for his ability of political infighting and rising to the top; and the one guy of several who dropped the bomb last week - what personal obstacles did he overcome in becoming a bombadier? You're so funny, you watch these boards like a cat, waiting to prove your superiority...you don't have to prove it - we all know you're the king of assholes in belittling people.

 

Tina is not a candidate for a leader efforts made for "world peace", but by gosh, she came out of the rural south, and has made it in music more than once. More importantly, how many 60 plus year olds put on a show like she does?

[Rick Munroe]

>(5) Martina Navratilova

 

TruthTeller, you are such a liar. I saw you at the Chris Evert Fan Club convention. Don't try to fuck with our heads! :+

 

My contribution to "Celebrities who overcame odds to be a huge success": Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. They rose from the ashes of Full House to become 2 of the most powerful women in show business with their own WalMart clothing line, dolls, videos, books, magazines, a Saturday morning cartoon...and all with very little talent. Gotta love them gals. And they have breasts now!! :9

[Guest brianbb069]

Sting. Love him, and love his causes.

[Guest dstud4hire]

LOL, I'll keep that in mind for the next time. thx for the clarification!

[Guest Kevin 2]

What about Princess Diana, suprised no one mentioned her yet. She used her fame and royal status better than anyone I can think of.

[Guest alanm]

Why is there some hostility to Hillary Clinton? Yes, she's made some

significant mistakes (talking and making faces during President Bush's speech). But, Clinton really did her homework in the New York

Senate race. Rick Lazo may be cute, but Clinton has the potential to

replace Ted Kennedy as the voice of the left in the Senate. Hillary

should be a major present, as a senator from NY, for many years to come. I think that a good thing for gays and all minorities.

[BewareofNick]

See, I told you!! I was right on the money

[HooBoy]

My top of the heap:

 

Vivian Vance

 

Elton John

[HooBoy]

Maybe I should add Paul, because I loved him.

[Rick Munroe]

>Maybe I should add Paul, because I loved him.

 

Lynde??

[+ Charlie]

Sigh. I know that boys just wanna have fun, but I find the amount of interest that this thread has aroused depressing. "Celebrities" is a pretty broad category, yet most of the people chosen here are simply entertainers, and the reasons they are admired is because they have "overcome adversity" (usually meaning they have succeeded despite their own dysfunctional behavior) or because they have flaunted their egos and gotten away with it. Very few are respected because they have accomplished something worthwhile that did not involve enriching themselves (Elizabeth Taylor's AIDS fundraising is a worthy example which comes to mind). Most are "admired and respected" simply because they cater to our desire to be entertained.

 

Although TruthTeller is, as usual, an obnoxious messenger, I found some justice in his message.

[Guest Joey Ciccone]

>Sigh...."Celebrities" is a pretty broad category, yet most of the people chosen here are simply entertainers... Most are "admired and respected" simply because they cater to our desire to be entertained.<

 

The word "celebrity" is misleading, and carries more weight than a mere politician or sports star. Personally, when I imagine a celebrity, I conjure images of Wink Martindale and Dr. Phil - gameshow hosts and bestselling Oprah authors. I had to move past those initial false gods of celebrity imposed by the media to come up with my own list of public figures I've admired through the years. I think if the question had been rephrased to read; "who do we think has done the most good in their lives", or "which humans are due for sainthood", we would have seen more varied responses. Even lists of "people" we admire and respect would yeild less disappointing results. I really admire and respect my parents and granparents for instance - who overcame great odds - but they didn't even pop into mind. Probably because as much as I respect them all, I didn't/don't find them particularly entertaining. Well, except my ma who's a hoot, but she's not in the public eye. Maybe what the lists show is that we all just want to be entertained. That's why many posters are here I think. To find themselves an entertaining escort, and be entertained in the process.

[mmk]

Geez, I did not know that such a light hearted post could be put under such scrutiny. I do admit as Joey said that the word Celebrity could be misleading. I thnk that the term "public Figure" might have been more appropriate.

[Guest TruthTeller]

The original post made clear that the question was not confined to entertainers. To the contrary, it asked:

 

"What celebreties -whether they are sports, political, actors, etc- do you have respect for in overcoming odds and making their life a triumph and success?"

 

It even specified "political" as an example of the sphere from which one could choose.

[Guest happyguy]

O.K. here goes:

Public Figures (some would say celebreties)

Queen Noor

Queen Sylvia of Sweden

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Margaretha of Denmark

Queen Sophia of Spain

Queen Sonia of Norway

Queen Paola of Belgium

The dowager Queen Fabiola of Belgium

The Queen Mother Elizabeth of England

 

 

....then some might add

Queen Hillary of New York

Queen Leona (remember her?)

 

I guess I just love Queens!

 

I guess of just love Queens!

[Guest TruthTeller]

>Everyone else answered the question of whom they admire that

>overcame odds, thereby their life a triumph and success.

 

Anyone who becomes a well-known entertainer, or a well-known athlete, by definition, "overcomes odds" and "triumphs and succeeds" -- in the limited manner in which they triumph and succeed. If that's the standard, why is Cher or Madonna any more admirable than, say, Michael Jackson, or Tom Cruise, or John Elway, or any other pointless entertainer?

 

ANSWER: Because large numbers of undeveloped gay men empathize and identify -- and therefore are obssessed -- with screeching, self-absorbed, petty women who drip with superficial drama and infantile temperments which their worshippers confuse with strength. See e.g., Madonna, Cher, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, etc.

 

It's one thing to enjoy watching these women "entertain," as unfathamable as that is. That's why, at BEST, you can say they're entertainers. But to list these vacuous whores as the ones whom are most "admired" -- which was the question asked by the original poster - is really demented beyond all words.

 

>I

>guess Rumsfield was chosen for his ability of political

>infighting and rising to the top;

 

I admire him because he is extremelly intelligent and disciplined, and has engineered and is executing a brilliant and exceedingly difficult plan to destroy a formidable and serious threat to our freedoms and security.

 

Call me crazy, but this seems slightly more admirable to me than some stupid bitch getting up on a stage, putting cones on her tits, and gyrating her hips while petulant homosexuals and teenage girls screech together in unison.

 

>and the one guy of several

>who dropped the bomb last week - what personal obstacles did

>he overcome in becoming a bombadier?

 

Are you fucking serious? Do you think it's easy to fly a jet off a ship floating in the middle of the Arabian sea in the dead of the night; fly that plane over hostile territory; and, at great risk and in the middle of a war zone, and with years of disciplined training, find an enemy location from 40,000 feet and precisely target it -- so as to kill a vicious, murderous criminal without damaging any other targets?

 

The reason you can sit on a computer spewing your silliness on an escort whore site is because people like that risk their lives in order to defend your liberties. I know that's not as commendable or admirable as some girl putting glitter in her hair and wearing oh-so-risque and brave make-up, and dancing around for $5 million, but you have to admit it's close.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

It's so wonderful to get a second chance in life... and observe, with due gravitas, as seems required by some, those 'celebrities' truly worthy of admiration and respect... here goes:

 

Posthumously, in their pursuit of 'World Peace' --

 

Agnes Gonxha Bejaxhiu

 

Joan la Pucelle

 

Both different sides of the same coin(s) (you select the denomination(s) )

 

Is this or is this not TOC ? On one level yes, on another I cannot decide. (Not to say that the candidates are not worthy, they are.)

 

Humor is such an individual trait... the lack of it is not. :-)

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

Clarifications

 

1. This was supposed to have been in response to the TOP...

 

 

2. TOC --> TIC (I must remember the difference between work place and play place )

 

:-(

[Guest TruthTeller]

>Why is there some hostility to Hillary Clinton?

 

You answered your own question when you said:

 

>Clinton has the potential to

>replace Ted Kennedy as the voice of the left in the Senate.

 

I know this may shock you, but not every man who likes to have sex with other men thinks that being a "voice of the left" is a good thing. Some gay men - like the majority of Americans - think that to be "of the left" is to be tyrannical and destructive.

 

>Hillary

>should be a major present, as a senator from NY, for many

>years to come. I think that a good thing for gays and all

>minorities.

 

There is this law called the Defense of Marriage Act which prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages between two men or two women, even if certain states recognize it. It was signed into law by her husband, with her full support.

 

And not all "minorities" think it's a "good thing" to elect politicians who want to give away handouts to minorities. Some "minorities" actually think individual liberty is a good thing.

 

The gay worship of Hillary comes from the exact same place from which the gay worship of Cher and Madonna emanate. The only difference is that the former is more destructive than the latter.

[Guest Joey Ciccone]

>The original post made clear that the question was not confined to entertainers... It even specified "political" as an example of the sphere from which one could choose.<

 

I acknowledged that when I stated: "The word "celebrity" is misleading, and carries more weight than a mere politician or sports star." My point in part was that apparently our collective definition of what a celebrity is overrides our precepts of what a politician or sport star might be.

[Guest tmbg]

MMK - what a great post. There are several that I have ongoing respect for. They include Tina Turner for reasons different than what you mentioned. Also, I would add the following to my list not in any specific order, John Lennon, Elton John, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Martin Luther King, Steven Cozza, Craig Kielburger and Prince William (the latter only because he's so darn cute).

Cheers! Ritchie