Tuesday, October 03, 2006
L'Affaire Mark Foley
Really, what is there to add to all of the chattering about Mark Foley? (I'm not even going to bother with so much as a contextual link -- if you're reading this, you almost surely know enough about this sordid case.) But I do have one quick assertion -- the fact that his object(s) of desire were young boys is actually getting too much play. Would the underlying statutory rape implication somehow be better if his texts and emails had been to fifteen and sixteen year old girls? The response might be somewhat more muted -- "boys will be boys" still plays better than boys will be with boys -- but the underlying problem would not be any more -- or any less -- excusable.
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2 comments:
I agree it's getting too much play (perhaps becuase the press likes these types of things more than covering substantive issues involving actual governance?). And my first reaction was similar: if it were girls he'd been harassing, not such a big deal. But. The mixing of homosexuality and advances toward underage pages and particularly leadership coverup IS relevent because it's the Republican party. The 'moral' party, the 'values' party. (and evidently, in Virginia, still the 'racist' party).
Sure, those of us that are cyncial understand that hypocrisy is the normal state of things inside the beltway. Sigh. It remains to be seen whether mainstream Republican voters do too.
Yes, boys or girls. Either way, incexcusable.
Cynthia --
I agree entirely. If there was a focus on hypocrisy and not on the prurient nature of his entanglements, it would be one thing, but as it is, the fact that the pages of his desire are male is drawing attention not to hoist certain GOP members on their own petard but rather to snicker and giggle and point.
dcat
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