Tap, tap, tap. Just out of curiosity...who doesn't tap their foot at some point in a bathroom stall? Who wouldn't find it a bit odd that someone taps back? Who wouldn't have their curiosity piqued enough to perhaps investigate this strange behavior?
Idaho Senator, Larry E. Craig, was charged with disorderly conduct after being accused of sexually soliciting an undercover police officer. The only evidence the policeman had was a few foot taps and gesturing under the stall. Craig pleaded guilty, however, and he claims that in retrospect he made the wrong decision because he actually had done nothing and was, in fact, not gay.
Did Craig do something wrong. Was he aware of the foot tapping code and were his intentions less than honorable? Or was merely a victim of wrong place, wrong time syndrome. In the August 29th edition of the New York Times, William Yardley reports that there have been numerous arrests in this specific Minneapolis public restroom regarding sexual activity. Yardley describes a Web site that "lists places for gay sex world wide". Next to the post about the Minneapolis airport there was a warning, "Airport police sting here in progress. Four arrests so far this week." A short time later another post appeared saying, "Twenty people were arrested within the past week". Undercover police were obviously staking out this specific place and perhaps even over observing or over reading actions. Perhaps we will never know if Craig is truly telling the truth, but would it hurt to give him the benefit of the doubt?
Lynne Duke and DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post, quote John Davidson (legal director at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund) as saying, " Don't the police at the airport have better things to do than sit in the bathroom? They're sitting there waiting to catch men trying to have sex with men...I thought we had reasons to be concerned about things going on in the airport other than that".
Does this issue really warrant enough attention to be on the front page of New York Times, to have thousands of Google News articles and to be the major topic of every blog? Is this fairly insignificant and unsubstantial accusation enough to destroy a man's career, destroy the faith of the Idahoans and to again shake up the Republican party with scandal and grief?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I appreciate your take on this article-although there are numerous debates that envelope this specific event (i.e. personal privacy, gay right issues, political debates, etc) its refreshing to see a viewer step back and question whether or not this article is "front page material". I am ashamed to say that my interest of politics has been diminished simply because the information that is accessible usually consists of a writer criticizing or condemning political behavior. I think youre absolutely right-should we really be focusing on a speculated scandal? Or should the public be informed of the truth that is being played out by our leaders.
Booke
I totally agree with your blog and I love your take on it. In all the government and history classes I’ve taken, I’ve always been taught “innocent till proven guilty”, but to me it seems this case not upholding that. Why should a story that could easily ruin a politician’s career be on the front page of the New York Times if there’s hardly even any hard evidence to prove it. Yes, put it in the paper, it is a story that needs to be known, but not smack on the front page of one of America’s most prominent news papers.
Same here. There are South Korean hostages in Iraq, a massive hurricane about to devastate thousands of people in central America, and so much more that we, as humans, should be aware of. But no, the NY times decides that we should care about someone’s bathroom business and a ‘tapping sequence’. They’ve taken a few minutes in the bathroom and extended them to weeks. I want to know where the real important stuff are.
I agree that this does not seem like something that should be front page news, except for the shock value. A republican who I assume is not for gay rights, is accused of soliciting gay sex; that is going to get people looking. He is getting a lot of blame for something that is not proven yet. It could all just be a way for democrats to give republicans bad press. God only knows what the truth is in the matter, but people sure are talking.
Brooke I did my blog on this same case but a different article and I agree with you, that we should not be focusing on gay-sex scandals by particular senators. Instead we should look at where the government is leading the Nation. The Republican party hasn't been given a break from public humiliation and it seems to be the only thing the media wants to focus on. As you said, in the airports we have turned our attention from national safety to catching people in the act of soliciting sex. Why have our priorities changed so much? I love that you quiestioned the fact of this topic being front page material. When will our nation be concerned matters that affect more than just the reputation of others. Not only does the media need to change their focus, our political leaders need to start changing their acts and be positive role models.
Post a Comment