Andrew Sullivan agrees with me on the accusations that Mark Foley is a pedophile:
Technically, these teens were not legally minors in the District of Columbia, with respect to the age of sexual consent. I hate to insist on this point, and I don't mean to excuse the interactions. But accusations of pedophilia as such - clinically or legally - are unfounded; and we need to be clear about the offense. This is about abuse of power with impressionable and vulnerable young people and immense, astounding hypocrisy. It would be the same offense if the victims were female and the congressman heterosexual. And it's inexcusable.
I feel exactly the same. Like Andrew, I also "hate to insist on this point" But it is important to remember who benefits most from a consensus that Foley's conduct is that of a pedophile. That would be the religious right, which has fought a decades-long crusade to equate in the public mind homosexuals with pedophiles.
We have a Republican man in Congress who sent e-mails to teenage boys asking them what they were wearing, and an entire party, the Democrats, whose primary constituency, besides the teachers' unions, is homosexual men and lesbian women. I hope it won't come as a surprise to anyone that a big part of male homosexual behavior is interest in young boys. (Take a look at anyone renting Endless Summer next time you are at the video store.)
Don't get me wrong. My very best friend is gay.
Oh, well. I did like his show. He was funny on his show. Bueller, too.
10/4/2006 8:30 AM
Aaron wrote:
As usual, dead-on analysis re: Rep. Foley. If these had been sixteen-year-old girls, the discussion would center around how inappropriate and unethical his behavior was; I doubt very much that he'd have to go trolling for a Mea Culpa in the humiliating manner of the last few days (I was drunk, I was abused as a child, etc.) Because homosexuality or homoeroticism is involved, it's essential for Foley and his old cohort to pathologize behavior that showed poor judgment, abuse of position and authority, and plain stupidity (say, aren't they supposed to be the party of "personal responsibility?"). Yet to watch an ABC News account of the email, you'd think Foley hangs out in alleyways wearing only a trenchcoat. Hats off to Jon Stewart for pointing out that in the reenactment, Foley is depicted as typing the email with only one hand. Classy. Reply to this
