Simply reading the word, or hearing it said, conjures up images of African Americans being hosed down by racists in the South. The word is permanently associated with racial discrimination, but its true meaning is a prejudgment, an assumption made about someone or something before having adequate knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy.
We are all prejudiced in some way. Whether it is something as simple as thinking a national brand is better quality than a generic brand, or worse, assuming traits about a person because of where they live or what they do for a living.
Prejudice does not give a person or thing their just due.
When San Diego LGBT Weekly began discussing an interview with Daniel Puder, mixed martial arts fighter, I thought, “Why would we want to talk to him?” While some in our community love MMA and cage fighting celebrities, I just assumed that while we are their fans, they were not fans of us.
Daniel Puder proved me wrong. Puder surprised many, including me, by coming out in support of LGBT kids. Last fall, the mixed martial arts star made statements against the bullying experienced by many LGBT young people.
He said, “There is an issue with our society when gay young kids are getting bullied to the point they are killing themselves. Anybody that’s getting bullied in the whole U.S. can shoot me an email at dp@knockoutsgym.com.”
Equality and justice rears its head in the strangest of places.
Through his foundation, MyLife MyPower, Puder is taking a stand against the bullying of LGBT kids. His successful first fundraising event, Breaking the Bullying Cycle, was held in November in Los Angeles.
Why am I surprised by Puder’s stand? I must admit that I was prejudiced. My assumption that an MMA fighter could not be supportive of anything LGBT was just wrong. Plain wrong.
As you can read in our interview, there is support for our community in all places. Puder is not a poster boy for the LGBT community, he is just doing what he thinks is right and just. Good for him and better for us.
His public fight against bullying makes Puder an unlikely advocate for LGBT youth. Many of us assume that the world of MMA is full of physically attractive homophobes. Puder reveals the prejudice in me, and others within the LGBT community, by proving that fair minded people come in all shapes, colors and sizes. We just need to look for them.
So, I am now a fan of Daniel Puder. An honor he well deserves.
STAMPP CORBIN, Publisher
San Diego LGBT Weekly
