Perez Who?

There is something I am about to admit to y'all and it's not going to be pretty.

My name is Rachel and I am a pop culture addict.

(I surely do hope that you're sitting at your computer saying outloud, "Hi, Rachel!" That would make me feel so much better about myself. Ahem.)

I love tabloids magazines such as US Weekly and People. I try as hard as I can not to buy them, because I do realize that they are a huge waste of money. Sometimes I even get in the long lines at the grocery stores so I can browse the good ones. I just check them out at the library instead.

My name is Rachel and I am a library magazine addict.

But that is another story for another day.

All this to say, I have been intrigued by this Perez Hilton/Miss California debacle. (And no, Perez Hilton is not the brother of Paris Hilton as my father asked me last night. Love it.) Let me set the stage for you.

Miss California (Carrie Prejean) is about to embark on the "Question Portion" of the Miss USA Pageant. The question that she draws is from one of the judges, Perez Hilton. His question was as follows:

“Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”

Her answer? Maybe not the most articulate group of sentences I have ever heard, but certainly, considering the pressure she was under, very well put:

“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman. Thank you.”

Bless her heart for standing up for what she believes in. This girl has met with some of the most cruel and nasty remarks, blogs, articles, Twitter posts, etc. and she has kept her cool. I'm the first in line to be this girl's friend!

Perez Hilton has proved himself to be very intolerant of other people's opinions, but considering his reputation, that shouldn't come as a surprise. He (as well as Miss California) has been on multiple news programs sharing his anger and spite. Seriously, America? I thought we had bigger issues to deal with currently. I could go on about this issue and what my thoughts are, but instead, I would like to share an article that I think sums up my thoughts on this issue.

This article is written by Roland S. Martin and although I haven't read anything else by him and realize that we probably don't agree on everything, I think he speaks boldly and honestly here. Bless his heart for writing what a lot of people are actually thinking. I will provide a link at the bottom of my post for you to use for the direct article, if you'd like.

But for now, preach it, Roland.

Commentary: Miss California, thanks for being honest

By Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

(CNN) -- A lot of folks are always saying they like to keep it real, that they want authenticity and straight talk. Yet when someone actually does it, there is hell to pay.

Welcome to the world of Miss California, Carrie Prejean, who, since she answered a question regarding same-sex marriage in Sunday's Miss USA pageant, has been savagely attacked by those who oppose what she had to say.

Leading the burn-her-at-the-stake parade is media opportunist Perez Hilton, the self-described gossip queen, and the individual who kick-started this controversy by asking the initial question as to whether the issue of same-sex marriage should be left up to the states.

It seems that Hilton, who is gay, was none too pleased that Prejean chose to actually give her personal opinion on the issue, and ripped her on his blog after the show, using crude obscenities as he continued to attack her at every turn on his media blitz.

Hey, Hilton, from a real journalist to a wanna-be who traffics in gossip: Never ask a question if you're unprepared for the answer!

Frankly, this whole story is pretty stupid. Isn't the whole point of asking a question to get someone's true feelings, rather than the plastic and superficial answers we are all used to receiving?

Sure, Prejean could have gone the safe route and given one of those answers that reveal nothing and is hard to decipher -- you know, the ones politicians give all the time -- but no! She actually gave her real opinion, and is now being torn to shreds for it.

She opposes same-sex marriage. OK, fine. So what if she had said, "Hey, I'm in full support of same-sex marriage." Would she now be celebrated on gay-focused blogs, magazines and Web sites? Would her detractors actually be saying how open she is and that she's a great person?

Same- sex marriage is undoubtedly a hot button issue. And being from California, the site of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that voters approved outlawing same-sex marriage, Prejean has surely had to hear the debate go back and forth. But her remark isn't outside the mainstream. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll shows that 55 percent of Americans are against same-sex marriage, and Proposition 8 did pass in her state 52-48 percent.

What's interesting about this is that many of the same folks who are slamming her for her remark voted for President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who both have the same belief: that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that she has the same view, and it was her husband, President Bill Clinton, who signed the In Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that forbids states from having to recognize gay marriage in other states.

In other words, four of the biggest liberals in the country have the same belief as Prejean, but a beauty pageant winner is being torn to shreds. Hello, hypocrisy!

Those who criticize Prejean have the same right as she does to express their viewpoints. But enough with all the political correctness, where someone says she should have danced around the issue, smiled and move on.

At the end of the day, we all have to be true to ourselves. Whether it's a gay gossip writer who favors same-sex marriage or a heterosexual woman who is against same-sex marriage. The day we condemn folks for speaking honestly is the day we become a bland society.

Maybe we're already there.

Please click here for the article on CNN.