On the Foley Thing

For the benefit of our viewers in Mongolia who have yet to hear of this, US House of Representatives Member Mark Foley resigned today following the release of emails and messages he allegedly sent to teenage male pages.

In my opinion, he gets off easy with resignation. If these allegations prove true, he needs to be criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent -- under several laws that he had a major hand in passing.

Numerous questions will be raised and asked because of this, as they should be.....most of them centering on and trying to make sense out of the reasons that Foley, who not only publicly denounced child stalkers and molesters, but also pushed through several initiatives meant to catch and control them, would make such an incredible mistake.

Perhaps it was because he understood their motives all too well......but didn't believe he could ever be trapped by them.

Right-wing zealots will no doubt see and act on this as a golden opportunity to once again, as they have before, link homosexuality and pedophilia, especially given that foolish and shortsighted "gay activists" are trying to claim that Foley's actions are because he is a closeted gay.

The simple fact of the matter is, though, that pedophilia is as predominant in heterosexuals as it is in homosexuals. The stronger argument, in my opinion, is that pedophilia is a sexual addiction, unrelated to orientation, with the motivation of the pedophile being rooted less in gender and ordinary sexual attraction than in age. Numerous cases of pedophiles who molest both boys and girls would seem to reinforce this.

In short, regardless of what Foley's sexual orientation is, if he is indeed guilty of what he is accused, he is not only a criminal, but an addict in severe need of help. Pedophilia is a lamentable illness, a sickness, and cannot be reasonably associated with any healthy expression of same- or opposite-gender sexuality.

That being said, there ARE gay pedophiles, just as there are heterosexual pedophiles. Indeed, this is one area in which gays and straights could recognize considerable solidarity in our opposition -- that is, if gays could get past our knee-jerk and counterproductive reactions whenever the words "child molestor" are spoken.

'Twill be interesting to see what happens.