Giving his first interview since being targeted months ago by now-suspended Michigan assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell, U-Mich’s gay student assembly president Chris Armstrong responds to claims of being a “Nazi-like” “fierce advocate” for “the cult that is homosexuality. Having never met or spoken to Shirvell, Armstrong says he’s only talking about his ordeal now because of the gay teen suicides of the past weeks.
speaking up
Chris Armstrong: ‘I Didn’t Ask’ To Be A Voice For Gay Bullying Victims, But He Is Now
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Stratos
It’s, like, you know, really too bad that, you know, Armstrong isn’t, like, um, yeah, a little more articulate.
scott ny'er
@Stratos: I know. I found that REEALLLLY strange as well. On top of his overall strange, weird, bizarre behavior.
How in the world did he get that job?
Oh, wait, that’s right, connections and kissing the AG’s ass.
Jeremy
@Stratos: Shut up, he was really nervous.
Jack
@scott ny’er: Honey, that’s Shirvell. Armstrong’s the kid…
Blake
Armstrong’d heart is in the right place, but the kid is…um, like…unlistenable…to. Public speaking would help him immensely. I know he’s nervous, I don’t want to be unfair, but it’s MADDENING how young people talk these days.
Cam
This guy is so lucky that this story got national attenion.
An anti-gay Attorney General, and this kid is asking for an order of protection against one of his employees who also helped out on his campaign???
The Police need to work with the AG and the AG always has friends in the court. This is probably what would have happened.
The AG asks a friendly clerk to schedule the hearing in front of a judge that the AG is friends with, that judge denies the order, end of story and the AG has paid back Shirville for all his help with the campaign.
Now that the story has gone national they are stuck, they have to grant the order of protection because Shirvelle is obviously a closeted nutbag obsessed with this poor kid.
hephaestion
Shirvell is obviously a Closet Case driven to insanity by an obsession with the very handsome Mr. Armstrong.
Armstrong does need to get some help with speaking, though. He needs to start by banishing the word “like” from his vocabulary forever. He is obviously a bright, good young man, but he’d benefit from such help.
number
Leave Britney alone! Yes, he was nervous but has been harassed by an adult member of the government (a civil servant) behaving most uncivil. He doesn’t deserve to be harassed by you all for not having a TV anchor’s control of public speaking. He is a brave young man hoping to turn his horrible situation into something that may help someone else. Give him his credit. Plus, he’s hot.
DR
It takes YEARS to become a poised public speaker (even Cooper let a couple of “uhm”s escape his lips during this segment). Armstrong had the guts to go on national tv and talk about this, so how about we comment on what he’s doing (standing up to a stalker on national TV) instead of knocking him down because you take issue with his speech patterns.
Geoff M
It had to be nerve wracking for Armstrong to endure that nightmare and then to be on national TV….I don’t hold his nervousness against him. On the other hand I agree with (5) Blake about the way kids are speaking….it’s torture to listen to.
lol
I could see a little of Chris Armstrong’s body movement as “God, I’m nervous” but when he looks at Anderson his body says, “God, Anderson, you’re really freaking hot.” XD
lizcivious
I doubt that many of us would appear very cool, calm and collected being interviewed on national TV. Actually, Chris Armstrong’s on-air nervousness and inarticulateness illustrate that he’s just a college kid, not a “gay Nazi” hypnotizing Michigan’s youth into the “homosexual cult,” thereby making Shirvell look all the more like the obsessed nut and criminal that he is. After all the crap he’s been through, Armstrong was brave to make a public appearance. It’s important for everyone to know that bullying at any age because of someone’s sexuality should not be tolerated.
dizzle
wow, a lot of you are really petty and cruel. I’m new here, and not liking what I see.
Will the gay com bring down the Dems? So therefore make it even harder to pass anything? (John from England)
@dizzle:
Yep.
Black Pegasus
Andrew Shirvell is disgusting!!! And he’s also a poorly closeted queen!
Joe in Decatur, GA
Thanks, Dizzle! My thoughts exactly.
Instead of focusing on that loser Shirvell, you’re criticizing a young man, who’s in an embarrassing situation for which none of us would be prepared! Who could talk in a poised way about such a situation? And anyways, who cares whether he does or not? Shirvell is the slimeball here.
Rando
Honestly, Shirvell’s use of the horrendous “um” is much more prevalent in his speech than in Armstrong’s. The only difference is that Shirvell should have had a bit more of experience getting rid of it, and adjusting to speaking to people.
Armstrong is a senior. He most likely has had very little experience speaking in front of people, and he isn’t paid to speak in front of others.
I found his um much less obtrusive.
Adam Sank
I think the point is, the kid could have used some media coaching in advance of his first national interview. That’s not an attack on him. It’s just an acknowledgment that giving such an interview is not easy; it takes training and experience.
There’s no doubt Armstrong is incredibly brave for speaking out at all, or that he is an innocent victim here. (Or that Shirvell is a monstrous asshat.)
But as gay people, we’re always on the edge of our seats whenever one of our own speaks to a mass audience. We want them to be PERFECT. It’s a natural impulse for any oppressed, under-represented minority.
~R~
@Stratos: I’d like to see you doing an interview. I’d love to see just how awesome you are at articulation. Until you can fullfill this to my satisfaction, you will be seen as nothing more than a bitter queen with your panties in a bunch. The end.
Blake
I’m definitely on the kid’s side here, but it’s clear now why he resisted talking to the media for so long. He should have resisted longer, until he finished a public speaking course.
Stratos: “It’s, like, you know, really too bad that, you know, Armstrong isn’t, like, um, yeah, a little more articulate.”
Agreed.
Roy
Armstrong is cute and he seems like a real sweet, decent guy. I guess it’s not surprising that Shirvell became unhinged after encountering him, but that’s still no excuse for his pathetic behavior. It’s always easy to tell when Anderson is really taken by one of his guests and he was that way with Chris Armstrong.
Oh boy
I know this is not what this is about – but young twenty-somethings…
Stop using the word the “LIKE” so much!!!
Otherwise he is a barve young guy.
I’m sure he was nervous.
MMDD
@number: “He’s hot.”
Quoted for truth!
wompman
Yes Oh Boy @ 22, it is tough for people to be as perfect and “barve” as you are. : )
This guy is cute and even though he’s nervous he was fine with Anderson. He shouldn’t have to go on TV to be protected from the insane Shirvell, but clearly fundie AG Cox won’t do anything to reel in the idiot in his office.
I can see why the freakish, closeted Shirvell is obsessed with the dreamy-eyed Chris, but he’s better off getting several years of good, intense therapy and coming out of the closet so he can live his own life instead of being a public nuisance.
jennifer
Armstrong is cute, he’d be even cuter if he didn’t have the voice of a 13 year old girl, lol!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Geeze the BOQs are out in full force today! This guy was targeted by a raging closetcase rightwinng lunatic. He didn’t seek or ask to be thrust into the limelight. He saw that his unfortunate circumstance may be able to do some good. And once again bitter nasty queens feel the need to toss barbs his way…….
tallskin2
I have to agree that there is a lot of bitchy nastiness being exhibited by not very nice and immature queens on here. But in defence of the bitter and f*cked-up queens, living in such a homophobic environment is toxic for anyone’s mental and emotional health.
I think the young man is very brave to go on national tv to support gay teenagers.
DR
@Adam Sank:
Again, all the coaching in the world isn’t going to help an inexperienced public speaker. I’ve been doing public speaking for over a decade and still find myself having to lose the colloquialisms and verbal tics Anderson Cooper still needs to lose.
Once those lights go on and the camera is turned on you, without the experience, you have a 22 year old college guy on national tv talking about a difficult subject. He gets major props for doing it.
And I suspect most of you would react i exactly the same way he did if you’re being honest with yourself. This kid didn’t ask to be stalked and harassed by some weirdo in the AG’s office!
Let it go, people. Focus on the fact that the kid is standing up for himself.
tallskin2
@DR – well said
Sophie
Shirvell’s obsession with this poor kid is extremely creepy.
MissLaWandaisBack
This is soo racist!
TheInsider
God, he is inarticulate. And he is class president? Meanwhile, back at the ranch… AC won’t still come out!