Sign up for 5280's weekly e-newsletters. Want the latest restaurant scoop? The latest happenings around town? Access to exclusive events and deals just for 5280 readers? Watching the TV and reading the Internets, it’s almost impossible to find anyone defending Idaho Senator Larry Craig, who pleaded guilty this month to disorderly conduct following a June arrest in a men’s bathroom.
Craig today insisted in a public statement that he is not gay. No one seems to be buying it. Except Colorado’s Sen. Wayne Allard.
Allard said he’s never heard anyone discuss Craig’s sexuality. “Never. Nada. Not one rumor of impropriety,” he said. The two have worked together on a number of Western issues.
“I’m flabbergasted,” Allard said. “I don’t believe he’s gay.”
The arrest report is here. The Idaho Statesman’s report on its five-month investigation is here.
Posted 8/29/2007 at 7:29 am by Jeralyn Merritt
Politics :: Permalink :: Comments (2)
Funny how when it’s one of their own they are suddenly willing to utter the word “gay,” but when they’re talking about other peoples’ rights, it’s always “homosexual.”
I’ll take a shot at defending the senator.
Generally, I think these stings are set up to entrap, humiliate and shame horny gay men. (My experience with the topic is limited to what I’ve read in John Rechy’s fascinating book The Sexual Outlaw.)
For whatever reason, some men manage to meet and hook up for sex in all manner of places. I see nothing wrong with adults meeting and agreeing to participate in consensual, non-remunerated sex.
There is something wrong/illegal/inappropriate about *actually having sex* in a public place, though, as most people probably agree.
But Sen. Craig didn’t engage in any sort of sex act in this particular bathroom. He made a pass at a guy in the next stall.
The cop just sat there while Craig peered in at him through a space in the stall door. He just sat there while Craig played footsie. He just sat there as Craig reached under the stall. Then he flashed his badge.
Now, if men are in some sort of panic about being the “victims” of another Sen. Craig, here’s a tip: If you don’t like it when a guy comes on to you, tell him you’re not interested and ask him to leave you alone. The cop let Craig go on and on with his inappropriate mating dance just so he could bust him.
Sen. Craig exhibited some rather bizarre behavior. And he was probably trolling for a hook up. But chances are, Craig made passes at other guys in the past and was told to shove off. Just as often, I’ll bet, he *scored.* In those cases, maybe he took it to a private place, a hotel room? I don’t know.
It happens all the time: Some (many?) men have sex with total strangers, and sometimes they meet in bathrooms. And I guess it’s shocking if you’ve never dreamed such a thing possible, or especially shocking that a U.S. senator was involved.
Everyone’s having a field day, especially with Craig’s hypocrisy.
But I don’t like the message here. I don’t like the message that it’s inherently lewd for a man to hit on another man.
I don’t like whole atmosphere of shame and repression (internalized, externalized, everywhere) that compels some people to slink off to bathrooms or wherever to find anonymous (if consensual) sex partners. People like Craig perpetuate this atmosphere and are crushed by it at the same time. That’s tragic more than comic, IMO.
Also, I don’t like that self-described liberals tend to become smug moralists the minute a Republican smug moralist is busted for naughtiness.
I think Craig may be getting a dose of karmic retribution right now. But the real issue here is America’s damaged, distorted and often disowned sexuality. Craig is a symptom of a larger problem in our collective psyche, IMO.