Speculate! Embellish! Overkill!
“Throw him to the lions!”
“Burn him at the stake!”
“Off with his head!”
“Crucify him!”
Throughout history there has existed a bloodlust to destroy persons whose behavior does not fit the current mores – the political, religious or social convictions of the crowd.
Aside from the possible hypocrisy of Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, which I wrote about a few days ago in “Outing the sex police,” (LINK) something else has been heavy on my mind.
What if Sen. Craig is innocent? Aren’t we all supposed to be “innocent until proven guilty?” What proof do I have that he is guilty of so-called “deviant sexual behavior” or “lewd and lascivious conduct?” We have the word of a lone undercover officer.
The man, with his character on the line, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of “disorderly conduct.” There was no trial. There was no verdict of his peers.
And, it’s true that the U.S. Senate has never sought to expel a member for such a charge.
Also true: Republican senators know if Craig eventually resigns, a Republican governor will appoint his successor. On the other hand, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana remains at his post despite a known liaison with a prostitute.
The differences in attitudes toward the two, one can surmise, are: Vitter admitted his indiscretion and asked for forgiveness, Vitter’s act did not involve homosexuality, and, of course, Louisiana’s Democratic governor could replace him with a member of her own party.
Then, there was the media. Do I approve of sex with strangers in public restrooms? No. Would I want a public airing of my own bathroom habits? No, again. Would you? Probably not.
Journalism gets more “yellow” every day. Tabloid fever has replaced legitimate news across the cable spectrum.
In my opinion, with the continual looping of Sen. Craig’s police interview cable news hit a new low – feeding the prurient lusts of viewers.
How low can the media go?
The Web site mediabistro.com reports (LINK) “ABC's ‘20/20’ will air its investigation into NBC rival ‘Dateline’ this Friday.”
The “20/20” exposé “looks into ‘Dateline's’ ‘To Catch a Predator’ series, and the suicide of a Texas prosecutor who was also a suspected child predator.”
NBC News President Steve Capus calls this “silly competiveness,” but ABC sees it otherwise.
An ABC insider is quoted by mediabistro, "The only interest ABC News has is doing a fair piece about a very interesting story in which 23 suspected pedophiles can't be prosecuted because of the interaction between police and ‘Perverted Justice’ (Web site) and NBC News."
Personally, I find a degree of perversion in anyone who enjoys watching these cretins caught on camera.
And, in equal proportion, I am appalled by the willingness to destroy another human being before ALL the facts are clear.
***
A second post follows.
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dreams
A warm welcome to the naturally curious, the politically engaged and constant learners. I am a retired newspaper editor with a fickle foe, retinitis pigmentosa, or RP. While my sense of sight is waning, my "vision" is not, and, by God, I can still see my dreams!
simply ...
- B.J.
- South Carolina, United States
- constant learner
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4 comments:
There is wisdom in your words. There are however, other words to consider. How about "patterns of behavior?" Larry Craig has been implicated, whispered about, and commented upon for deviant behavior as far back as 1982. What about "abuse of liberty?" An open and public assault on the rights of American citizens simply because of sexual predisposition by Larry Craig is his only public position on any issue known to anyone. What about "abuse of power?" How many innocent guys you know would identify themselves as a United States Senator to an arresting officer?
No, don't feel sorry for this bad man. No, don't be drawn into questions about entrapment. No, don't do anything but wave "bye-bye" to one more miscreant dumped on the scrap heap of history. Larry Craig sucks, figuratively speaking of course. So saith Frodo.
Frodo’s words are measured and wise.
Perhaps they point out a tragedy far greater than being falsely accused – the incapacity to live one’s life openly for fear of being ostracized.
The façade of a gay man married with children might have been Craig’s pathetic entry into a world of deviance.
The day might yet come when all persons can live their lives with dignity and enjoy true equality.
BJ
When I read that Craig's tapping his feet in the stall was the signal that he wanted homosexual contact, I thought wow that's stretching it! But he capitulated with the charge! Now he says he did that to "make it go away." Merry, this is a long long way from how I want to see my legislators acting or in control of what's going on. They are the ONES who we HAVE to depend on to sort things out. We have no choice, and they are in control of a LOT of issues. He is not a person who seems in control of much, however that went down.
You know what I'm saying is it's not professional to be that off-the-wall and wishy-washy. I won't even mention "what you can get away with."
I'd like to hear what Jan has to say because I think she hit it right on the mark to say she wouldn't pay a cent to hear Bush. We, here in our Extremely Liberal state, have a theory that all Bush's bad press is as good as his good press. He gains by both. Supporters are gratified, and non-supporters are brought down day by day by the news that they can do nothing about him. It's all so far from what it should be! We, or the up-coming generations learn what's acceptable this way. Eowyn
Jan will also miss Pavarotti, but will continue to play his videos and CDs.
Jan honestly does not know what any signals are supposed to be to solicit sex from a same gender person. But, when someone assails you like was looping on the air, you get thrown into a state of shock and confusion and you can't think straight (no pun intended).
During the altercation, Sen Craig repeated several times he "had to catch that plane." Makes Jan wonder about time for a sexual tryst in a public bathroom where people are constantly parading back and forth.
Some cops can be very arrogant, abusive, and aggressive. A little power goes to their head (again no pun intended).
Like Mr. Frodo said, there's static about pages back in the 80s, but not whether pages were male or female.
If tapping your foot in a public bathroom is soliticing sex, then the majority of us could be hauled in. When you gotta go real bad, wait on a stall, check (especially women) whether someone whizzed all over the seat, all or any part of your body can have a variety of involuntary contortions.
Some stalls are so narrow, anyone over 110 lb would have to back in because there isn't room to turn around.
Until more facts are known about this episode, Jan has to give Sen. Craig the benefit of the doubt. As Joe Friday said, "Just the facts." Especially when politicians are so quick to stab each other in the back (no pun intended).
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