If you’re so mad at Schock, why are you excited about Coachella?

Aaron Schock- You might not know the name. I didn’t until this week. Schock is a former congressman with a very anti-LGBTQ voting record. During his time in office, he voted against the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and voted in favor of adding an amendment to the constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. His time in office was so anti-LGBTQ that the Human Rights Campaign gave him a zero rating for his voting record.

No longer in office, Aaron now lives in West Hollywood (one of the gayest neighborhoods in the United States) and enjoys attending music festivals like Coachella. Schock was seen having a gay old time (literally) at the festival last weekend where he was photographed kissing another man and trying to retrieve something (I assume he must have lost) down said gentleman’s shorts.

LGBTQ media outlets shared articles with accompanying photos of Schock posing with other gay men and were quick to vilify not only Schock but also the gay men he was posing with. Two of the men then came out afterward denouncing Schock stating they’d only just met him and that they were embarrassingly unaware of who he was. The overall consensus from most LGBTQ media is that if Schock is now out and proud, living as a gay man, he owes the LGBTQ community an explanation and most importantly an apology.

What sits uncomfortably with me is that LGBTQ publications and members of the LGBTQ community have criticized the men who were seen posing with him. Don’t get me wrong, as a gay man, I would not want to be seen in a photo with someone who thought that my sexuality is wrong. However, these same publications share their excitement over Coachella year on year and were quick to highlight how queer the lineup of performers was for 2019 (Janelle Monae, King Princess, Blood Orange to name a few). Not only that but LGBTQ people attend Coachella in droves. What is the correlation? Well, the billionaire owner of Coachella, Philip Anshutz, has regularly donated to anti-LGBTQ groups. By attending Coachella we are lining the pockets of a man who donates thousands of dollars to fund campaigns to roll back LGBTQ rights. We just choose to ignore this fact because there are queer acts performing, and LGBTQ allies such as Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Ariana Grande have all headlined. We’re vilifying the men photographed with Schock for their ignorance and yet we too are guilty of a similar ignorance by attending the festival.

I’m not removing myself from this. I attended Coachella in the past so I’m guilty of the same hypocrisy. The LGBTQ media need to do the same. If publications are going to write about Schock’s hypocrisy, they also need to highlight their own when each year they share their excitement about Coachella- a festival that is owned by a man who has supported groups with anti-LGBTQ agendas.

When Brunei implemented laws that would mean LGBTQ people in the country could be stoned to death, many A-list celebrities asked us to boycott the Dorchester Collection- a group of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. If we’re boycotting hotels and we’re mad at Schock for his previous voting record (and now living his best gay life), shouldn’t we hold the owner of Coachella to the same standard? If you’re an LGBTQ individual or supporter of LGBTQ rights and have attended Coachella, ask yourself, “Am I okay giving my money to someone who donates to anti-LGBTQ groups?”

Since the gay men who posed with Schock were unaware who he was, maybe you were also unaware when you were living your best life at Coachella that the proceeds were going straight into the pocket of anti-LGBTQ groups. Well now you know, aren’t there some other festivals you could attend?