Brian Cook, The Email Gossip King Of Capitol Hill’s Gays
The Pink Hill Mafia, a listserv for gay Capitol Hill staffers, is the creation of 28-year-old Brian Cook, the press secretary for California Democrat Rep. Pete Stark. It’s part job board, part Johnny Weir fashion forum, part favor trading exchange, and part polling service (“Is Rep. so-and-so supporting bill X?”). And while the neither the first nor second rule of Pink Hill Mafia is not, in fact, “You do not talk about Pink Hill Mafia” (Cook, after all, dished to the Washington Post), it is definitely, “You do not leak what’s posted on Pink Hill Mafia.” That’s how that gay Easter photo of Rep. Aaron Schock began making the rounds — and was the ultimate of faux pas leaks.
@Cam: I agree living in the closet hurts more in long run. However, we all out ourselves in different ways and paces. It’s the sole right and responsibility of the individual. I would argue the Pink Mafia gives still closeted staffers a forum to develop a path to openness in their professional lives. Remember when you hid in the closet? The constant fear, the crushing loneliness, maybe even the thought of preferring death to discovery? Have some empathy, and let’s support all our LGBT friends on the Hill. Remind them they don’t stand alone and encourage them to advocate for social justice.
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And their motto is, “Protecting the Closet Cases that Hurt Gays since 2009!”