Fiery, Inspirational And Disarmingly Funny

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Lt. Dan Choi on DADT, Anderson Cooper and Grindr [Video]

By Aaron Gell
October 26, 2010 | 10:33 a.m.

The gay infantry officer and Arabic linguist who came out on Rachel Maddow and was discharged under Don't Ask Don't Tell, was the guest of honor at a recent dinner hosted by the Atlantic magazine in honor of its Brave Thinkers issue.

Not surprisingly, Lt. Choi had a lot to say. Much of it he offered up in a forceful oratorical style that one imagines he picked up from his father, a Baptist minister, and which had one guest comparing him to Maya Angelou (they didn't mean it in a good way, which sort of indicates the kind of cynicism floating around media circles these days). But Choi deployed a rather sharp sense of humor as well, especially when he namechecked Grindr and Manhunt.com. The part when he described looking at a picture of Michelle Pfieffer and praying to God to give him a boner? The Observer's videocamera cut out at that very moment, alas (our notebook, however, worked like a charm).

We've got the rest of the highlights, alternatively fiery, inspirational and disarmingly funny.

Lt. Choi began with some choice words for President Obama...




He advised the crowd to "fuck the vote":




He quoted a great prophet (debatable) to make the point that advocates of justice aren't responsible or the controversies that arise due to their efforts:




He spoke in detail about life at Westpoint, including his attempt to hide his sexuality by joining the choir (!) and the racism he experienced:




He described the gay panic that can set in among CNN viewers who experience a "little flicker" while watching Anderson Cooper:




He spoke about finding true love...in a bathhouse.




He joked about trolling for hookups on Grindr and Manhunt:




And finally, he gave a demonstration of his Arabic language skills that would make Juan Williams pee his pants: