On September 21, Justin Rudd will take part in a one-night-only performance of “8”, a play whose text comes from the trial transcripts of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case that led to the overturn of Proposition 8.
“Why is Justin a part of this kind of sin?” commenter Derek F. asked in response to a Long Beach Post article on “8”, which is the inaugural production of Public Theatre of Long Beach. “He’s not gay!”
“It’s obviously somebody who doesn’t know me,” Rudd says, “because I’m out.”
Truly, when you’re male and your Facebook profile lists you as in a relationship with someone named “Ralph,” you’re not exactly in the closet. And that goes double if among your many activities over the years is organizing a gay supper club and publishing a gay newsletter.
But the sheer number of activities in which Rudd involves himself—most of which have nothing to do with his sexuality—makes it possible for one to be aware of Rudd without being aware of his being sexual orientation.
“I happen to be a gay person doing what I’m doing, but I don’t identify myself as a gay person,” he says. “I just happen to be one.”
He’s also a Christian—not preachy, but not closeted on that score, either. And considering the religious overtones of the comment, it would seem Derek F. has Rudd’s faith in mind as a reason why Rudd shouldn’t be involved in a pro-marriage-equality production like “8”.
Rudd, of course, sees the matter quite differently.
“I am the person God has created me to be—just like everybody else,” he says. “Every single person is beautifully made, perfectly made by God—and this is the way I have been made. […] I choose to see Christianity as being a proponent of love and peace and giving and kindness, and to live like that, a Christ-like type of a life. I think that’s what Christ was, and those are some things I try to incorporate into my daily living. And I think it’s a shame that there are so many people who are turned off by religion and Christianity because they have been judged in the past for a choice that they made.”
But Rudd is far from surprised to find someone like Derek F. believing Christianity and homosexuality—or even heterosexual support for marriage equality—are incompatible. “Not much surprises me anymore,” he says. “I mean, it takes a lot. I’ve seen it all, heard it all.”
That includes his own experience with gay-bashing, such as once caused him to obtain a restraining order.
“I had a guy who was calling and e-mailing me threatening things,” he recounts. “I didn’t even know him, but I had to get a restraining order against him. […] I guess the guy got my phone number from [a Press-Telegram article on one of Rudd’s gay-themed activities]—it said, you know, ‘For more information about the supper club or Justin Rudd’s gay sprint-dating events, call….’ It’s scary, because someone can track you down with just a phone number now. […] I’ve also walked down 2nd St., and of all things a homeless man yelled out some stuff. And I know who he is; I pass him every day on 2nd St. […] And one time just walking down Ocean Blvd., I was walking with two other guys who were holding hands, and someone yells a slur at our group.”
Once upon a time he also encountered resistance on the home front. Initially his parents had difficulty when Rudd, at 24, came out to them. But now they are supportive, including hosting Rudd and his partner in their home whenever they venture to Rudd’s home state of Alabama for a visit.
“I think it goes back to somebody knowing you and understanding that you’re not a threat to them or to anybody, and that you’re a good person,” he says. “We’re not all going to have the same ideas and beliefs—no way. We’re all made sort of differently. […] We learn what our parents and the people around us are doing or saying or believing, until we get to a point (where I think I am now) where we can make our own logical choices and thought-out decision to live the way we want to live and be productive in society. I can choose a lifestyle, I can choose a religion, I can choose the neighborhood I want to live in and the work I want to do. People can make choices for ourselves. But some people just aren’t ready to choose for themselves yet. They feel like they can’t make a choice that’s going to go against what everyone else around them is saying.”
But having arrived at such place mentally doesn’t mean Rudd isn’t stung by the unkindness he sometimes encounters.
“I’ve been part of people’s being unkind and not encouraging, and it’s hurtful,” he says. “That’s why I quit going to church: because I didn’t want to be judged. But thankfully there are people in this world who have been kind to me […] who have just been loving and helpful and non-judgmental. And I like that. That’s appealing to me; those kinds of people are appealing to me. […] I don’t want anyone to judge me, and I’m not going to judge them.”
While Rudd’s participation in “8” is not primarily political, the recent Democratic and Republican Conventions have made it explicitly clear just how unavoidably political the issue is.
“I believe in equality,” Rudd says. “A gay couple should have the same rights and freedoms that a heterosexual couple has. It’s hurtful to see the Republican platform, where they make a stand against gay marriage. Thankfully we all have choices in this world in voting.”
But despite approximately half of Americans still lined up against marriage equality, he is heartened by how far the United States has progressed during his lifetime.
“I was just in Africa, where in some countries it’s illegal to be gay,” he says. “In some countries you can be killed. [The United States] is so much more advanced than that now.”
He credits open discussion of gay rights as a major catalyst for the change.
“The discussion makes all of us learn something or causes a reaction,” he says. “I’m just glad there are discussions, because if there were no discussions about any of this, then we’d all still be back [in the conditions of] 40 years ago. We’ve come a long way.”
Is he glad of the discussions even when they include comments such as Derek F.’s?
“Here and there when I get written about, it’s very hurtful,” Rudd relates. “I don’t read the comments. I happened to see that one, and then I quit reading. […] When I see stuff like that, I try to let it pass. […] I choose to be loving and accepting of people with different beliefs. […] I think the Bible teaches love. That’s the general theme of the Bible, and I want to continue to show love and be of service and helpful in this world. I think that’s what I’m called to do.”
The Public Theatre of Long Beach’s production of “8” takes place 8PM Friday, September 21, at the Ernest Borgnine Theatre (855 Elm Ave., LB 90813). For more information or to purchase tickets (all proceeds of which go toward the American Foundation for Equal Rights), visit publictheatrelb.org. For much, much more about Justin Rudd, go to JustinRudd.com.