This may well be the greatest excuse I've ever heard a politician make. And by greatest, I mean "most spectacularly stupid". From the Orlando Sentinel: State Rep. Bob Allen told police he was just playing along when a undercover officer suggested in a public restroom that the legislator give him oral sex and $20 because he was intimidated, according to a taped statement and other documents released Thursday .... .... "This was a pretty stocky black guy, and there was nothing but other black guys around in the park," Allen, who is white, told police in a taped statement after his arrest. Allen said he feared he "was about to be a statistic" and would have said anything just to get away. (Sellers) To the other, I know police reports and such are sketchy, but it's worth noting that the police tell a completely different story: After peering over the stall a second time, Allen pushed open the door and joined Kavanaugh inside, the officer wrote. Allen muttered " 'hi,' " and then said, " 'this is kind of a public place, isn't it,' " the report said. (ibid) Now, the tale goes on to describe an incident that falls within the range of busts that I criticize. That's not my point. Rather, according to police, perpetrator Allen initiated the incident. If he was afraid of the black man, he should have just run instead of entering the stall. We're left wondering what, exactly, Allen was up to in the first place. Oh, one last note from the article: When Allen was being placed in a marked patrol car, he asked whether "it would help" if he was a state legislator, according to a police report. The officer replied, "No." (ibid) We might want to pay attention to the race in Titusville come the next election. It could be rather fun. ____________________ Notes: Sellers, Laurin. "State Rep. Allen explains sex case: Fear made me play along". OrlandoSentinel.com, August 3, 2007. See http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...07aug03,0,1892734.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout
When faced by a group of black men, immediately offer them money and a blow job. That was the best he could come up with?? And I thought Bush was a dumb politician.
I would be cautious and choose different route to walk. That's what I do in real life, I make it seem like I saw something on the other side of the street...walk to the corner in normal pace...and than run as far as I can.
I choose to exercise my American right and shoot him... because that was the answer that made me laugh the most. Is there an "additional" option to torture before killing? ~String
Well ... I think you have the power to add that one to the list. Or maybe not. I don't know. I don't fiddle with the polls much. We can throw one in there. I thought the "shoot him" option was a bit excessive, but I didn't want to leave anyone out. You know, respecting diversity and all. But I suppose I should ask, because I know we have one or two posters from Florida. Does this sort of "stupid racism" (is there any other kind?) play in Florida? Minority groups tend to be more homophobic; to be honest, I wouldn't proposition a black man in a public park bathroom because what frightens me is the prospective reaction. Of course, there are a few parks (e.g., Volunteer Park in Seattle) where that fear would be unfounded. Titusville is a growing waterfront city of 44,000+ due east of Orlando and across the Indian River from the Kennedy Space Center. The median income is below the rest of Florida, as is the median home value, but its poverty rate is lower than the rest of the state. Rep. Allen represents Merritt Island, the nearest city I can find to the Space Center. Now, in Seattle, Volunteer Park is known as a place where you can hire or score a lay, buy drugs, &c. In Salem, Oregon, a city of 140,000, the homeless hang out in Marion Square Park, and one can usually find someone willing to exchange sex for money. Puyallup, Washington, a town of 33,000, is one I've known at least something about for most of my life. I couldn't even begin to tell you, though, where to find the park-bathroom sexual gratification. According to the Sentinel article in the topic post, officers on a stake-out of a nearby condo observed Allen behaving suspiciously, as if he was looking for a sex partner. In the first place, what the hell does that mean? To the other, is a Florida town of 44,000 the kind of place where there would be a park notorious for its flesh trade? Out here in our corner, the cities generally need to be a little bit larger before this sort of park develops. So it's hard to say, on the one hand, that Allen "knew where he was". To the other, though, it's nearly impossible to say he didn't. From an earlier article in the Orlando Sentinel: Reaction among Allen's fellow Republicans was cautious. Rep. Mitch Needelman, R-Melbourne, said the allegations held "severe moral implications." "For the foreseeable future, Rep. Allen needs to put his political career on hold," Needelman said. "I have concerns for his family." House Speaker Marco Rubio said in a statement that, "The charge against Rep. Allen is serious." But because it's a misdemeanor, he added, a guilty verdict would not require Allen to resign. Asked in Miami about the arrest, Gov. Charlie Crist said, "It just seems sad and tragic." (Sherman)____________________ Notes: Sherman, Chris. "State Rep. Bob Allen insists he's innocent, will not quit". OrlandoSentinel.com, July 12, 2007. See http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-allen1307jul13,0,5667267.story
Brown: "That's so gay" Some commentary from across the Pond: The idea that homosexual relationships, or at least acts, between men, express a power relationship, in which one party is exalted, and the other degraded seems to lie behind an awful lot of visceral homophobia. There's obviously some truth in it. A mob of boys at my public school sodomised with a broomstick a child who was (thank god) even less popular than I was. The only lust in that was the lust to humiliate. One hears that this sort of thing goes on in American prisons, too, though they charge lower fees. If these acts are understood to express a relationship of dominance, it would explain why they are both so widespread and so heavily tabooed in societies where there is a surplus of sex-starved young men. The shameful thing, then, is not to be gay, but to be a victim, a submissive loser who will never get a woman; still, the two terms come to be defined as the same thing. When Bob Allen drove into the park, he was just gay in the 1980s sense: he wanted sex with men. But when he blamed the whole thing on blacks, he was gay in the schoolyard sense as well: weak, disgusting - and, let's not forget - Republican. (Brown) I couldn't resist this article, in part for its title. I also appreciate the fact that he found a way to use the "that's so gay" slur in an appropriate context. ____________________ Notes: Brown, Andrew. "A blow for posterity". GuardianUnlimited, August 9, 2007. See http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/andrew_brown/2007/08/a_blow_for_posterity.html
I think it says something about Florida that the legislator thought he would be better off pretending to be a racist rather than admitting to being gay.
Tiassa, you have about ten minutes to provide the statistics that you must necessarily have on hand in order to make such a claim. Ten minutes ... Go.
Willy Sciforums has considered this topic before. Like, four years ago: "The need of Normalization of Homosexuality: CDC & Closeted men" Or you can go straight to the CDC for a more recent look: Homophobia and stigma can cause some black MSM to identify themselves as heterosexual or not to disclose their sexual orientation. Indeed, black MSM are more likely than other MSM not to identify themselves as gay. (Centers for Disease Control)
I wish you guys would allow Flash videos. Anyway, here is a link to the Daily Show segment on this, http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/?ml_video=91136
Oh, the irony Some tidbits from here and there: Mr Allen is a married Republican with a child, who was considered by one gay group to be the most homophobic politician in the state, based on his voting record (he also had an approval rating of 92% from the Christian coalition .... .... If convicted, he may face a sentence of up to year in jail, thanks to the firm line that the state of Florida takes against immorality. He had done his bit for that, too: according to AP, he has sponsored six separate bills increasing the penalties for illicit sex this year alone. (Brown) I rehash the Andrew Brown article posted earlier because it brought me to mind of something one of his fellow Englishmen said a few years back: There's hardly a month goes by without some prominent judge or politician being found in suspenders and stockings, being hit with a stick of rhubarb and stood in a bucket of cod; which, personally, doesn't really bother me, except that it always turns out that the day before they've stood up in the House of Commons and said, "If there's one thing that makes me sick, it's people who dress up in suspenders and stockings and get hit with a stick of rhubarb, stood in a bucket of cod!" (Mark Steel) On the one hand, I try to have some sympathy for people caught up in sex scandals, but when someone goes so far out of their way to set up slayer irony, there's not much to be done, is there? Oh, well. I hear Mark Oaten and his wife are thawing their relationship through intensive counseling. Hopefully, Rep. Allen can put his life back together after this one. _____________________ Notes: Brown, Andrew. "A blow for posterity". GuardianUnlimited, August 9, 2007. See http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/andrew_brown/2007/08/a_blow_for_posterity.html Steel, Mark. "Sexuality". The Mark Steel Solution #301. BBC Radio 4, August 4, 1995.
Nice try Tiassa, but you said "Minority groups tend to be more homophobic". What minority groups are you speaking of, could you tell us? Then you say, "I wouldn't proposition a black man in a public park bathroom because what frightens me is the prospective reaction. What is it that "frightens" you about black men? If I had witten what you wrote, I would get another infraction.
I wouldn't proposition a black man in a public park bathroom (as Allen did) because what frightens me is the prospective reaction if he's not gay. Consider the context of the discussion, Willy. After all, the rest of the paragraph makes that clear: Of course, there are a few parks (e.g., Volunteer Park in Seattle) where that fear would be unfounded. Titusville is a growing waterfront city of 44,000+ due east of Orlando and across the Indian River from the Kennedy Space Center. The median income is below the rest of Florida, as is the median home value, but its poverty rate is lower than the rest of the state. Rep. Allen represents Merritt Island, the nearest city I can find to the Space Center. Now, in Seattle, Volunteer Park is known as a place where you can hire or score a lay, buy drugs, &c. In Salem, Oregon, a city of 140,000, the homeless hang out in Marion Square Park, and one can usually find someone willing to exchange sex for money. Puyallup, Washington, a town of 33,000, is one I've known at least something about for most of my life. I couldn't even begin to tell you, though, where to find the park-bathroom sexual gratification. The question is whether the park bathroom in Titusville is a good place to go for loose gay sex. Now, in general, homophobia lingers more strongly among minority groups; this is why minority men stay in the closet longer. Duh. If you had written what you quoted of what I wrote, maybe you would have. If you had written what I actually wrote, some of us might have been impressed.
It's official: Jury convicts Allen of soliciting prostitution Guilty! Jury convicts Florida Republican The jury deliberated for three hours and twenty minutes before convicting Florida state Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island) on charges that he attempted to solicit an undercover police officer. The defense did not present any witnesses.
So, Tiassa, what's up with trolling the internet to find obscure stories about obscure Republicans behaving badly? This has been your obvious trend for about two weeks now. Are you on the Democrats payroll or something?
Is questioning someone's motives suddenly out of bounds? Especially when that someone continues to dig up obscure stories in effort to prove a trend? What about the trend the digging itself betrays? Does Tiassa spend even a fraction of the same amount of time combing the internet for stories about Democrats? I doubt it. So what's that make Tiassa?
Of course Tiassa is biased...so are most of the people who post here. I see you posted an anti-Hollywood thread, are you ready to start threads busting on Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity any time soon? Almost all of our threads in "politics" reflect our politics. That being said, it's fine to suggest that this does not represent a trend in Republican thought, despite the many recent examples. More likely it hits the press because it seems like it's so against type. Republican solicits gay sex has a more "man bites dog" quality to it.
