Upon further reflection, I need to say some more about the Craig incident. His judgment was wacky (pleading guilty immediately, not calling a lawyer before doing anything, etc.), but it's fair to consider that many people who have never had any contact with police or lawyers wouldn't have the first notion of how to proceed. He may have been so startled and scared that even if he did know what he should do, he was sort of paralyzed. If you listen to the "interview" with policeman, it certainly lends some sympathy to the idea that he was being entrapped. (It's worth finding out why and I'm not sure why no one in Idaho or Washington is chasing that down.)

Anyway, I realize that I think the whole Craig incident is appalling and alarming. First of all, if he is gay and was seeking a quickie, it really mainly impacts his wife and his children - who may already have known that he's gay, if he is. Oh sure, it may freak out his right-wing religious constituents, but they're supposed to be awash in compassion and therefore should weather the storm. Second, he just may have been tapping his foot and reaching for toilet paper without a sexual agenda; it does sound far-fetched, but reality often is, if you think about your own life (and isn't that part of why reality tv is so interesting?). Third, since he was caught in the act of doing . . . er . . . nothing! . . . I'm not sure what the furor is about nor why politicians are starting to gather like vultures smelling blood. For heaven's sake. Keep in mind that the worst thing he may have done is begin to solicit casual sex (not actually solicit or have it) (and he may not have even done that). But so what, even if he did? Are police so bored and have so little to do that they need to spend time following people into bathrooms to see what they're doing? Are midwest airport police so overwhelmed by sexual panhandling in bathrooms that they feel the need to put lots of manpower into combatting it?

It was wonderful when we left the judgmental and unforgiving social atmosphere of the 50s and 60s in the dust. So what's happened that ordinary people are having their personal freedom (in bathrooms, of all places) ignored? Why are police morphing from guardians of freedom to storm troopers? It's not as if this thing can be attributed to fighting terrorism since there was nothing destructive or warlike at all going on. And it's frightening to think that police might be deliberately trying to snag people who are simply behaving oddly. And we need to keep in mind that there are almost always psychological and, eventually, social consequences for semi-Faustian trades such as political careers for sexual secrecy. And we must not forget - and, in fact, must cherish - the fact that, in America, oddness can be wonderful and, in any case, is not criminal in and of itself.

Labels: headlines, reflections