Re: Kyle's Angry Rant

I'm kinda sick about talking about this Larry Craig stuff, but I have one thing thats really bothering me, that I had to get off my chest.

Of course we all wanna point and laugh when some GOP anti-gay politician turns out to be... surprise, gay! It's funny, ironic, and points to the incredible hypocrisy that has come to engulf this whole "culture war." And it doesn't hurt that it seems to happen every other week- Mark Foley, that state legislator in Florida, now this.

But does it bother anyone else that we, as liberals, are jumping all over someone because he's... gay? Doesn't that seem inherently wrong to anyone else? I totally see Kyle's point about the example he sets, and how much he sets back our movement for LGBT equality. But can't we show him the same understanding that we show the rest of the community who struggles so deeply to keep their identity private? As we all acknowledge, people don't stay in the closet (or use secret foot-tapping codes in the bathroom) for fun- its an inevitable response to the homophobic culture in which we still live. Why don't we recognize Craig as another sad victim of this culture, having to live a public lie his entire life? As good as it may feel to drag him through the mud, and air his entire sexuality for the public to see, shouldn't we, as liberals, hold ourselves to a higher standard, and be a little more understanding?