OK, so Senator Larry Craig, a long-time conservative politician and family man from Idaho, was caught and pleaded guilty to a most chilling crime:
He tapped his foot in a mens room stall.
Well, OK, it was probably a signal to see if the guy in the next stall was interested in giving or getting a blowjob. As far as I know, no patron was scandalized, no one's money was swiped, no one is bleeding, no one was hurt, no one was in any way impacted by it. But the howl from the media and politicians on both the left and right have to make one stop and pause.
Here, to me, are the real crimes:
That a man who is innately homosexual must spend his life deeply closeted and hiding it.
That society can so quickly turn on a man who's sexuality is 'different.'
That a man grows up loathing himself, ashamed of himself, and struggles his whole life. That he is reduced to furtive, secretive trysts that only drive him deeper into shame and dangerous sex.
That Republicans can be so self-righteous and hypocritical (conservative leadership, PR men, and pundits have always been rife with homsexuals at the highest levels) as to turn so quickly. That they can be so beholden to an ignorant and shrill right-wing base that they will shoot their wounded and never examine their own consciences.
That liberals will stand by and gloat, because 'he's not one of us.'
That gays will join in the blood-letting, because revenge is so much more exciting than teachable moments.
And lastly, that Larry will swear to his dying day that he is 'not gay," (or worse, that he's been 'cured), because he just can't accept himself.
The longer the closet door stays shut, the more the suffering will go on.
The sooner we put on army boots and smash that damn door to splinters, the easier it becomes for the next person to live the life they are meant to live without daily fear and anxiety.
The best reason to come out, Larry? To make sure the kids in the next generation dont live through the hell you have.
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