Updated & Revised August 29, 2007
New! Listen to this dramatic reading of what happened, by Paul Hipp.
Doesn't the whole notion that we have police pretending to be gay so they can arrest gay people for their assumed intentions of having sex sound a little absurd to anyone?
Is it not relevant to reflect upon and draw connections to the countless stories we hear time and time again of homophobic harassment and brutality from police towards
queer people? At what point do we need to be afraid of making extended eye contact with another man?
Why express horror at the fact that some members of our community get off in bathrooms or in parks? Why does it terrify some people so much? What harm has it done to anyone physically or psychologically?
Most men who cruise for sex with other men do it discreetly with no intention of getting caught or disturbing others. That is why airport cruisers often use luggage (as CNN reported is even written in the Craig police report) to block view of their actions. And it is why they cruise late at night in secluded park areas. Some of the cruisers are closeted gay men, some are bisexual, some are trans or genderqueer, and others are openly gay men - all who enjoy anonymous public sex.
Take a moment to imagine that you are trapped in an airport for the day. All the sudden you are feeling very horny. A cute gay guy glances your way. You make eye contact, and he follows you into the bathroom. You think to yourself, "Okay, from here we can figure out how to hook-up." He is in the stall next to you. You tap your foot. He taps his twice. You wave your hand a little under the wall of the stall. BAM! You're arrested for your supposed intention of being "lewd."
Why can't an airport staff person simply knock on the door if two men are having sex too loudly or occupying a stall for too long? Why do we need police to trick men into thinking they are cruising them?
It is my belief that encouraging a strong and negative social stigma around the notion of public sex environments and cruising encourages a more homophobic and sexphobic society which makes it more difficult to spread quality trustworthy safer sex information.
What is important is for people who engage in any consensual sex to know about the risks involved, and to know how to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading a HIV/AIDS - using condoms for anal sex.
I love when right-wing republicans are outed as huge hypocrites. But I do not love how police continue to target and terrify our community with unethical stings, raids, and entrapment.
Updates & more: MSNBC's Tucker Carlson says he was "bothered" by a man in a park and then went back and grabbed him by his balls and assaulted him. (THAT'S A HATE CRIME TUCKER!) In the next sentence he says he is the "least anti-gay person you'll know." (Watch Video Here) Then he continues, like many people, to talk about how unsafe it is for the children to have men cruising for sex with men. Men who have sex with MEN are not pedophiles. This whole notion that the guys cruising for sex are out there grabbing our children is made-up, homophobic, fearmongering.
In Defense of Larry Craig: Dan Whipple "In short, the crime he was arrested for ought not be a crime. If they are going to include among punishable offenses the act of wanting sex, and asking for sex, but not actually getting any sex ... there aren't enough cells in all the jails in America."
5 comments:
What is "lewd" is that this Republican hypocrite was attempting to have public sex in an airport bathroom. I would not have wanted to be in that stall next to the Senator with him putting his feet on mine and trying to shove his hands over the stall wall. Gay or straight that's lewd to me. People should not be accosted while going to the bathroom by anyone. I also don't want to be in the bathroom and hear some people in the next stall getting off, that is NOT private.
Hooking up in a bathroom is not hooking up in a "gay way" either, that went out in the 70's.
It is entrapment if the police officer taps first, or taps his foot back. They tapped their feet on the ground, not on each other. It's not like Craig reached his hand under the stall and grabbed the guy. That did not happen. It was a short wave, that only someone looking for a cruiser would have noticed.
If it is a problem and airport guests are disturbed, why not have security come and ask them to leave? Do we need cops luring them in?
Since Craig positioned his luggage in a way to create more privacy, it was obvious he didn't want to get caught and was trying to be discreet. I would venture to guess that most people cruising would stop if someone knocked on the door and told them to cut it out.
Public sex did not "go out in the 70's." Trust me, there are plenty of people my age cruising and enjoying public sex environments.
I would rather my tax money go to trapping rapists on the esplanade instead of gay cruising.
Thank you, QT, for saying what I was thinking but not understanding. Why is this guy being targeted for not doing anything but offending a homophobic "authority figure"? If straight people faced the same restrictions as bi/qu people they would go balistic
"QueerToday.com represents the queer voice of the LGBT rights movement."
I don't remember asking you to represent me.
Perhaps that is poorly worded. you are free to represent yourself - this is a blog you know. The point is we take pride in being queer activists as opposted to the "mainstream gay rights agenda" (HRC).
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