There’s a bunch of talk on the internets about the latest Republican sex scandal. Apparently, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested for lewd conduct in an airport bathroom. I’ve read the arrest report — which reads like a Harlequin Romance by the way — and while the activities described certainly indicate that Craig was interested in something other than the usual bathroom activities, I can’t see where the conduct was lewd.
If you know me, you know I generally take great joy in the exposure of Conservative/Religious hypocrisy, but this just reeks of witch hunt. I mean really… flirting with someone under a bathroom stall is illegal? I just don’t get it.
Put aside for a moment the fact that the man is still a douchebag because he is married with kids and is pretty clearly trying to get involved in something extramarital, and the fact that he is clearly a hypocrite, and what you have here is one man trying to get a little piece of tail. Hypocritical it may be, but illegal it is not (or shouldn’t be, anyway). There’s nothing indicating he intended to perform sex acts in the public restroom, or when you look at it, that he intended to perform sex acts at all! If two adults can’t flirt in public (and public is a stretch since most bathroom stalls give some reasonable expectation of privacy) then are we going to go out arresting your average young adult for sidling up to someone at the bar?
Now I know all the usual arguments… “He should be a role model,” “He’s being hypocritical,” etc… But this should be a non-issue. In my opinion, this sort of activity shouldn’t have been illegal in the first place. I would understand if the Senator broke down the door of the neighboring stall, and exposed himself to the undercover policeman, but that just isn’t the case.
On the other hand, yes I do find it difficult to have any sympathy in this case for someone so socially conservative. Why is it that the staunchest figures against something seem to be so involved in it?
And what is it, exactly, about public restrooms that gets these conservatives going?
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