“Jimmy Gatt, and others.. About outing. I said before I’m generally opposed to outing.”

And I suppose I should have been more clear about my response.

Would it be a good thing (for gay men) if all gay Republicans were outed? I don’t know.

Is outing, in general, a good thing? No way!

I think we’re pretty much of similar minds on this topic.

Jimmy Gatt, and others.. About outing.

I said before I’m generally opposed to outing. I don’t think it is effective as a political tactic (as if that could be a good enough reason), and I don’t think it is the moral thing to do personally. I think everyone should have the right to determine their own identity (how’s that for an opening for the ex-gay movement?), as well as the right to determine how to express it.

And besides, you can call me prideful if you want, but there are some folks that I don’t want anybody to learn that they’re gay. 🙂

Okay, that’s a joke.

But come to think of it, could that sort of attitude partly explain the timid response on the part of some upon learning of Foley’s behavior? I think that’s the crux of what I’ve been trying to get at while using far too many words.

Our society is overwhelmingly more protective of females but, in these instances of attempted molestation, I agree that the young males are more at risk. They do mature more slowly emotionally than females; they are more likely to take risks…to try ‘adventurous’ behaviors.

And Jim B’s last statement (question)…could the fear of ‘guilt by association’ have silenced some who knew of Foley’s attempts? It’s not that they would be assumed to be predators but they could be assumed to be gay. While I’m basically against ‘outing’, I often think that when an individual pursues public office (i.e. politics) they ought to reckon with the fact that any ‘deep dark secrets’ could lead to unfortunate compromises. An individual who feels the need to keep closeted about their sexuality should pursue a line of work that isn’t public.

In a slightly different vein, it would seem that as a society we hate pedophilia BUT we don’t hate it as much as we should. The psychiatric profession has several issues which they MUST report even if told in the privacy of a therapeutic session. I believe that the potential molestation of a child or vulnerable adult is one of them. Those in the political arena ought to be held to the same requirements. There ought to be no excuse for failure to report such a threat.

No. Individuals are to blame for the bad choices of individuals.

-Did gay staffers and congressmen cover up his activities?

I don’t know. There are certainly many reasons to do so, none of them good.

-Blogactive blogger, Mike Rogers, thinks the answer is to out all closeted gay Republicans. Is this a good thing?

That depends on what your values are and what the fallout will be. According to my own values, I really can’t tell becasue I have no idea what the fallout would be. At first, I thought that the Mark Foley thing would be bad for gay men because of the Democrats’ desire to gain political points through the demonization of gay men. At the same time, I suddenly heard Ann Coulter defending gay men, so I really don’t know if this is going to be bad or good. Likewise, I don’t know how outing all gay republicans would help or harm.

-Will this scandal impact the November elections?

I don’t know.

-Does this scandal have any relevance to pedophilia and/or homosexuality in general?

It will be spun that way. Anti-gays will continue to exploit the fear of the “gay predator” to make it appear that all gays are inherently untrustworthy around children or even around adults. If this question intends to ask, “Does the Mark Foley scandal lend credence to the all-gays-are-predators fear?” I would say no, it does not.

Thanks for your comments and transparency about your own journey and your values on responsibility.

Regarding teens, gender and initiation: I think adolescent boys tend to take more risks and are more immature than adolescent girls. They are less likely to use language related tasks to mediate problem-solving. I think this makes them more vulnerable to exploitation.

I think we agree that our older minds give us an advantage, we are less impulsive and tend to be more contemplative. We are also less egocentric, able to engage in a form of empathy which adolescents struggle to achieve. That emphathy drives us to think about what is in the best interests of the risk-taking, initiating adolescent.

That is all true, if I apply my maturity appropriately. If I do not, I can use my empathy and planning skills to “troll,” for the impulsive, the needy, insecure and the naive. The older male (regardless of sexual orientation) can also use those skills to try to reclaim lost or regretted youth. It is hard for me to really see and care for someone when they are a means to an end.

Older objects of affection have more neurological and physiological maturity to better choose for themselves than do adolescents. Sometimes we misunderstand the adolescent male’s risk-taking behavior as “choosing” in an informed manner. It is choosing risk, but not in an informed manner.

Enjoying the conversation.

David Blakeslee