"It's ironic. It's tragic. And it's downright cruel."

Larry Craig scandal

What senator did is not a crime in this country

Editor, The Times:

Regarding "Craig steps down to remove 'distraction' " [Times, News, Sept. 2]: I wish I could rejoice at the resignation of right-wing Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. Instead, I am convinced Craig has been railroaded. He may be a hypocrite, but what he did is not yet a crime in our country. He was arrested because he engaged in conduct "often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct."

According to the police tapes, this conduct consisted of tapping his foot three times and then trying to place his foot alongside the undercover officer.

We are not talking about rape or abuse of minors. We may be talking about sexual propositions, but who could be sure?

My experiences with prospective swains, albeit many years ago, surely would have required most of them to get life sentences in prison, using the same rationale as for Craig's arrest. Forget about foot-tapping and juxtaposition; these guys were straightforward in their advances. Of course, that is the key word, isn't it? They were straight, and so am I.

My advice to anyone in a bathroom stall next to someone who taps his or her foot is to say, "I'm not interested." No one, especially not a senator, will pursue it any further.

— Eileen Duffy, Seattle

Story a reminder of a different time

Sen. Larry Craig's story is mostly sad. It harkens back to a time of constricted lives and cruel laws, a time when to have feelings for another man was considered "the love that dare not speak its name."

While some men still like sex in public restrooms for the illicit thrill of it, restroom cruising is mostly a relic from a previous generation. When Craig was younger, being gay was still against the law and gay bars were routinely raided by the police, so closeted gay men scrambled for desperate sexual encounters in arbitrary places like parks and restrooms. They married women because that was what society expected, and hid in the closet, but they continued to cruise for same-sex encounters on the side.

Despite the prejudice that still exists, the world has changed dramatically for the better for gay people. Saying "gay" and "lesbian" no longer makes people faint. Gays can have open and positive lives. Today, particularly with the ease of the Internet, gay people have a huge range of options to meet people, fall in love and establish healthy relationships.

We live in a completely different world today compared to the hell of Craig's generation.

— William Stosine, Iowa City, Iowa

Another name not spoken

As the tide of hysteria surrounding the downfall of Sen. Larry Craig recedes, it might be useful to examine the role our society's ignorance and narrowness of focus played in this situation.

I do not know what the man's sexual orientation might be, but thanks to a psychology class I took in college many years ago, I do know that not everyone on the planet is covered by the question, "straight or gay?" Nowhere in all the coverage of the senator's woes did I come across the term "bisexual." It's an understandable omission, for conformist Americans are phobic about rational examinations of sex, and only a bit less afraid of complexity.

My tendency is to believe that Craig is not at all sure just what he is. He, like so many, has unquestioningly bought into the two-label system. It's doubtful he has ever encountered the word "bisexual." If he came across it in the popular media, he would almost certainly have found it defined incorrectly.

Bisexuals are people who are attracted to both genders. The media invariably uses the term to describe maladjusted homosexuals, those who attempt to pass as heterosexuals because they cannot come to terms with their true state.

It is sometimes embarrassing to be an American, especially when (like myself) one has friends from other lands where sexuality is seen as a simple fact of the human condition and is understood to be a multifaceted thing. I find their views a lot more believable and sense-making than those promoted by the powers that be in the U.S.

— Abelard Montague, Seattle

Incident shouldn't have happened

I hope we don't miss the irony about Larry Craig's resignation. The Republican leadership, instrumental in creating a society in which desperate, closeted gay men are driven to search for intimacy in public restrooms, were the ones demanding that Craig resign for doing just that.

Please understand, I am no fan of Craig's. As a gay man who grew up across the river from Idaho, I am glad that he will no longer wield power in the Senate. But it should have never happened this way.

It's ironic. It's tragic. And it's downright cruel.

— Ron Poindexter, Seattle

People do lie

What seems overlooked in the Larry Craig affair is the arresting officer's disgust at the senator's bald-face lies ["Cop accused Craig of lying after arrest," News, Aug. 31]. In the last part of the transcript, the officer is not upset about Craig's sexual hijinks, but with Craig's pathetic attempt to "spin" the story.

Officer: "I just, I just, I guess, I guess I'm gonna say I'm just disappointed in you, sir. I just really am. ... I mean, people vote for you. ... Unbelievable, unbelievable. ... Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we're going down the tubes. ... Embarrassing.

The poor officer probably believed that, at the very least, a United States senator should be honest, but of course, we were taught that in school, weren't we? Craig provided a splash of very cold water. Wonder no more, Officer; the country is "going down the tubes."

The officer crystallized the problem: Senators and congressmen and presidents lie about sex; and Officer, they also lie about war, about crime, about terrorism, about the economy, indeed about so many issues that one can scarcely keep up.

— James Martin Roe, Seattle

Recognizing facts

I have seen or heard nothing that gives any attention to the reason for Sen. Larry Craig's presence in Minneapolis. If he was there on Senate or other legitimate business, or between flights while traveling, it gives a little (probably very little) credence to his claim of being unfairly arrested.

If he had no such reason to be there, then it's possible he purposely went to a city where he wouldn't be recognized for his restroom activity.

Of course, this doesn't constitute proof of his guilt or innocence, but it could be supportive of one or the other.

— Harry Petersen, Bellevue

A little word jumble

Scramble the letters of Larry Craig's name and what do you get? "Gay liar." And what about the remaining R, R and C?

Put them in the closet and deny they exist.

— Robert Lade, Seattle