Of his own making

I made this comment on other blogs but since I've overcome my ignorance of posting on this site I, perhaps arrogantly, thought the point was worthy of a larger readership.

It strikes me how karma is in play in the saga of Larry Craig. For decades Craig voted consistently to deprive gay people the rights that heterosexuals enjoy, and denying them even the basic public recognition of marriage in the eyes of the law and society.

The message these laws send to the gay community is that you're not one of us and your sexual orientation is deviant and unacceptable. I was always confused as to why society would want to send that message and instead would actively discourage committed monogamous relationships in the gay community.

A result is that gay people are forced underground to meet and socialize. If they forge a bond with someone they are obligated to hide it and if it gets to the level of commitment, gays face the struggle of how and whether to bring their freinds, family, coworkers, and acquaintences into the knowledge that this bond exists. Its just plain wrong that a loving bond that brings such joy and celebration to the heterosexual community is a source of angst and shame for the gay community.

Thus there's this promiscuous subculture where gay men seek each other in public restrooms, using secret hand gestures and other signals in order to hook up for the purpose of engaging in anonymous sex. The subculture is so endemic that we have police patrols trying to prevent the activity. Not saying this subculture wouldn't exist otherwise to some extent but surely this subculture is furthered by Craig's voting record and the family values Republicans. These laws foster the very unhealthy repression and denial on display at Craig's Tuesday press conference. It reinforces the idea of karma, or its just poetic justice, that the Senator is caught up in the underground culture he helped engender and nurture.