Have We Been Missing Something Here?
Michelle on Sep 02 2007 at 5:42 pm | Filed under: The Political
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I’m so glad that someone finally wrote this story about Sen. Craig.
It’s so easy to hate hypocritical Republican senators. But, we have a duty to stand up for his right not to be hassled by the police just as we should for any other citizen. Sure, it hurts our sense of justice. We want to see the man who voted for other people’s rights to be curtailed get his comeuppance. This isn’t the way, though. When we turn a blind eye to police abuse because we don’t care about the person it happened to, it gets one step closer to us.
First They Came for the Jews
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.Pastor Martin Niemöller
This is just as true for people like Senator Craig as it was for Jews, Communists and Trade Unionists. It doesn’t matter what side he is on, it matters that he is a citizen of this country just like the rest of us. We should not stand for this sort of government interference, and yes, I see the irony.
ITK code for Singing The Sky:
I don’t know about public decency statutes, but otherwise, I have no problem with what he did. Consenting adults and all that. However, I wouldn’t want to be in a bathroom and have others having sex in there. A bit too personal for me.
Exactly! I thought I was the only one! Even if he did “solicit” sex, wouldn’t it have been between two consenting adults? I think the response just shows how homophobic our society really is and how far we still need to go. Can we focus on real news and real crimes now?
I am a guy.
On ocassion, mother nature calls while I am out and about town, and I find the need to use a public restroom.
I’ve seen guys getting it on in there. I’ve had guys peaking in the stall I’m occupying. I’ve had someone slide their feet under the divider.
I don’t like it. And it’s more than just a little creepy. I am one of those types who drops a dime on the perverts. Yes, that is what they are: perverts.
I see no police abuse. I listened to the tape recording of the interrogation. The police were in there for a legitimate law enforcement purpose: there were complaints about lewd behavior in the men’s room.
I don’t believe Larry Craig. Who the heck picks up paper from the floor of a public restroom? Certainly not a self-important US Senator. And his claim that his feet went under the stall next-door because his ass is wide is equally unbelieveable. The guy was cruising for a bit of man action.
Whether or not he’s gay is irrelevant. What is relevant is that lewd behavior by a US Senator in a public restroom is not something which should be swept under the rug. Too often we sweep the bad behavior of the powerful under the rug, all the while putting less powerful people engaged in the exact same behavior behind bars. Larry Craig should, therefore, consider himself lucky.
His only punishment was a small fine and a bunch of people making fun of him. He did this to himself. He resigned of his own volition. I feel little more than pity for him.
But I am glad that in one town in this country, at least for a short while, there is a public restroom where the lewd behavior has come to an end. And, speaking as the parent of a small boy, I don’t need for him or me to see that type of activity when all we are trying to do is answer Mother Nature’s call.
meow.
@Sauerkraut: I completely agree with you that: Sen.Craig was probably lying, that sex should not happen in public restrooms, and that rich people get breaks that others often don’t get.
However, at what point did we become so frightened that we lost the ability to chew out someone engaging in socially unacceptable behavior? Social censure is very powerful. Why involve the police?
An aside: Heterosexual people often do the dirty in public restrooms, and you never seem to hear about anything happening to them. That said, I have kids too…it shouldn’t be happening.
I read about this here. I don’t know much about either case, but it seems that Republican senators caught in the heterosexual equivalent actually get applauded.
Which is unsurprising, really, as this ‘family values’ nonsense is only actually about homophobia and misogyny. If a straight man is getting his rocks off, they don’t care.
(I really bet this comment gets caught in the spam filter…)
First they came for people with disabilities actually, and the author of the quotation knew that but didn’t include it.
The part that grosses me out isn’t the semi-public sex, it’s the location. I don’t even like to put my purse down on the floor in the women’s room, let alone any part of my body. Germs, yuck!