Again, what really gets me is that this isn't even about anything Foley actually DID with the pages, but about things he SAID. Bugger them and it's legal. TALK to them about buggery, and it's not.About the most damning legal allegation that could reasonably be made here is sexual harassment, and it's probably a valid one. But sexual harassment is a civil matter, not a criminal one. There was no "molestation" nor "abuse" here, only a serious lapse in judgment.
The flames are being fanned, of course, by the repeated descriptions -- in the press and by our Democratic "allies" -- of the pages as "young boys", suggesting that the poor things haven't even sprouted pubic hair yet.
As you say, the witch hunt is going to provide years of needless trouble. While the hypocritical Republican leadership blew it, the Democrats have no particular claim to the moral high ground here either.
--Previous Message--
: Odd, isn't it, that all these
: "disgraced" outings in
: the government have been big
: fag-hatiing Republicrats?
:
: I think the public focus on this
: whole Foley affair has been about
: "predatory" bahavior,
: which bothers me. It bothers me
: the same way as those Dateline
: "Exposes" where they
: entrap horney guys by posing as
: teens and getting the guys to come
: out to a supposed encounter with
: said teen.
:
: All of this is just making parents
: a bunch more paranoid and
: suspiscious of all adults, in
: addition to perpetually failing to
: acknowledge their own teens'
: sexuality. Foley's actions, not to
: mention these "Exposes"
: would not be possible if there
: weren't an actual history of teens
: seeking encounters and
: relationships with adults, even
: MUCH older adults (hell, *I* even
: sought out a relationship with a
: much older guy when I was only
: 17).
:
: Pedophilia is supposedly a
: specific attraction to
: pre-adolescent individuals, eg
: Children. Teens, by and large, are
: not children, they are hormonally
: adults who are simply not given
: the legal recognition of
: adulthood.
:
: Foley deserves what he gets for
: being a stupid hypocrite. He may
: have abused a position of power
: over those with whom he was having
: relationships, but he is not a
: child molester, and the current
: witch hunt atmosphere is going to
: set us all back many years.
:
