(no subject)
I'm not sure what's currently offending me most about the whole Mark Foley scandal:
[edited to add Foley's latest offensive "defense"]
[edited to add Foley's latest offensive "defense"]
- The "if you don't post this you're anti-gay rights" meme that's been floating around. geminigirl posted a great response to it here, so I'm not going to re-invent the wheel.
- Mark Foley trying to use homosexuality, alcoholism [and being an (alleged) victim of molestation] as defenses. Um, sorry. I've known lots of homosexuals, more than a few alcoholics [and far too many abuse victims] in my life, and to my knowledge none of them have gone after teenagers who were in a subordinate position to them. Nor made such egregious misuse of your vs. you're.
- People calling Foley a pedophile. The age of consent in D.C. is 16. The minimum age to be a Congressional page is also 16. And according to the DSM-IV, pedophilia is an interest in prepubescent children. Yes, it was sleazy and unethical and a thousand other things. But it wasn't illegal, at least not from a sex-with-minors perspective.
- Fox News, on at least two separate occasions, running a Chyron (caption) misidentifying Foley as a Democrat. The Big Lie principle in action? You decide.
- Ann Coulter. Just on general principle.