Man Bites Blog

The only adjective ususally used to modify “hypocrisy” is “rank,” and there are hardly any other nouns the adjective “rank” is regularly used to modify.

The “toxic Republican closet” problem reminds me of the plea made on behalf of pro-choice Catholic politicians when bishops start holding them accountable for their positions.  About how terrible it is to force them to choose between their party and their religion.

Of course, in that case, it’s religion that’s expected to move.  It’s OK for the Democratic Party to enforce orthodoxy on this issue, even if it means it puts Catholic Democrats in a bad spot.  Religion should be flexible.

But when the shoes on the other foot, it’s the party’s problem.  The Republican Party must embrace same sex marriage, or else Senator Craig and others like him will be forced to cruise restrooms.

I’m not convinced.

Matt Ygelsias has a post praising the Clemons post I cite below, so I thought I’d try to make my case more succinctly.

Here are my premises:

1. There are legitimate, non-bigoted reasons to oppose same sex marriage.
2. Many who oppose same sex marriage do so because of anti-gay bigotry.
3. When people in Group 1 oppose same sex marriage, it will appeal to people in Group 2.

So, what do we do about it?  Must the people in Group 1 evict the people in Group 2 from the coalition in order, or else be considered bigots or bigot-panderers?  I really don’t think so.

Lots of people opposed the Iraq War.  They were right.  But a lot of them opposed it for incorrect reasons.  Would it be fair to dismiss the entire anti-war movement based on this?  No, and that some commentators did poisoned the debate.

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Our college had a big outdoor party/concert each semester which often ended in most attendees being drunk.  To prevent this, the university disallowed bringing alcohol into the concert.  One student drank so much before that year’s concert that she had to be hospitalized.

The next week’s student paper included a letter to the editor laying blame for this hospitalization at the university administration’s feet.  You see, because they did not allow alcohol at the concert, students were “forced” to compress a night’s worth of drinking into the hour before the concert resulting in the hospitalization. 

It doesn’t take a genius to see the holes in this argument.

But the argument that Craig’s bathroom behavior is the fault of the Republican Party culture is no less ridiculous.  There are moral standards, and people will fail to live up to them.

The answer to this isn’t to abandon moral standards — it’s accountability, repentance, and forgiveness.

Steve Clemons:

I will avoid today discussion of the reasons why so many men chose to look for sex partners in public bathrooms, gyms, and the like over the last few decades. Most engaged in this kind of sex would probably have preferred socially supported venues for relationship and sexual development — in the clubs, restaurants, public places galore that the heterosexual world has to walk together, to talk, to hug, to kiss, and to ‘do it.’

Andrew Sullivan has much better dexterity with this subject than I do — but it is disgusting that while so many are now cringing at the thought of gay man having tearoom sex that they are at the same time so obsessive about trying to stop same sex marriage between committed individuals.

Oh, gimme a break. You’re telling me there aren’t “clubs, restaurants, public places galore” same sex couples have “to walk together, to talk, to hug, to kiss, and to ‘do it.’” Actually, where exactly are these public places heterosexuals have to ‘do it?” And don’t get me started about public acceptance of sex outside marriage. So I reject the proposed choice of accepting either same sex marriage or restroom cruising.

I don’t think this episode demonstrates that homosexuals are especially depraved, either. I’m sure that if it were practical for heterosexuals to troll for sex in restrooms, they would do so as well.  And I wouldn’t like it from them, either.

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