Outing Outcry (and, Move Over, James Bond)
Recovering from a terrible bout of bronchitis, I've spent most of my recent waking hours 1.) coughing and 2.) staring at the TV. I've seen a lot of movies, among them the intense recent Bergman, Saraband; the implausible and irritating Derailed, with Jennifer Aniston; and old favorites Living Out Loud and Mr. Jealousy. I've also seen many TV shows, most of which I am too embarrassed to disclose publicly, but one worth mentioning: Frontline's A Hidden Life (I'm not sure if it will be rerun soon, but you can watch it online). The show is about the outing of Jim West, the Republican mayor of Spokane, Washington. He was caught trolling for 18-year-old boys on a site called gay.com in 2005. The Daily Show et al had a good laugh about the hypocrisy, and I probably laughed along. But the Frontline episode examines the story much more deeply.
West was essentially set up by the editors of the main Spokane paper, the Spokesman-Review. Apparently, Spokane is the last place you'd want to be if you are gay (or maybe just the last place in the northern region of the US - I'm sure plenty of places are a lot worse) and in the 1970s, it was also a hotbed of molestation charges and sex scandals in the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts. One case involved a well-known sheriff and scout leader who was accused of regularly molesting young boys, and who committed suicide as a result. The paper never really covered the scandal until 20-plus years after, when a new editor decided it was time to "heal old wounds" (I'm sure the sordid sex angle had nothing to do with this decision).
Reporters reinvestigating the story realized that the accused dead sheriff, David Hahn, was the best friend of fellow sheriff and scout leader, Jim West, who later went on to become the state's senator, and then the mayor of Spokane. West was also known for being an all-around Republican homophobe, sponsoring legislation in the 1980s that would make it illegal for gays to teach school. So had West known what his buddy Hahn had been up to, and was he involved? No one had ever accused him of anything untoward, but the paper pursued it until they and received a tip that West was a regular on gay.com under the name Cobra82 and/or rightbiguy, and that he had engaged in consensual sex with another man.
In an attempt to connect West to pedophilia, the paper set up a sting. They created a 17-year-old persona, MotoBrock, and eventually West did begin chatting with him. But while MotoBrock dropped many hints about arranging a meeting, West generally didn't bite. So they gave MotoBrock a birthday: letting him turn 18. The two continued to chat (West's chat comments - at least many shown on the program - were slightly heart wrenching. They show that he was struggling with his sexuality - he would ask if others were out, and lament that he never could be) and eventually, they had online sex. Then MotoBrock started hinting that he needed a job, and West suggested that he might be able to find him an unpaid internship. That was all the paper needed - well, that and proof that Cobra82 was actually West. They set up a meeting. West showed, MotoBrock didn't. Then they called West to the paper and told them what they were about to print (they have the entire meeting on audio tape, and it's played on the show - talk about dramatic).
In the meantime, one of the writers at the paper gets another scoop: a man who had previously charged Hahn with molestation (and whose parents had several related lawsuits in the 1980s) was now also charging West. This seemed like a perfect lede to the closeted gay/internship-peddling story they already had, so they just ignored the question of why this man had never named nor mentioned West in the past. They ran with all of it. West was destroyed, or at least seemed that way. He cried to the editor that he had struggled with the secret of his sexuality for so long that he was glad it was out, but firmly denied any claims of pedophilia. The town went up in arms, demanding West step down. But he didn't. Weeks later, he held a press conference saying that he was personally humiliated and ashamed, but professionally undeterred. His personal life should have no effect on his job as mayor. Continued public outcry (Frontline even got footage of members of a committee to recall West, and they are as outrageous as any gay basher - e.g. claiming they know West is evil becuase they see it in his eyes) and 189 stories about it in the Spokesman-Review led to a landslide recall. West was destroyed, despite later being found innocent of charges of abuse of office in an FBI investigation. Then he died of cancer within a year.
Frontline interviews West as well as the paper's reporters and editors. The story is absolutely fascinating, as are the questions it invariably asks: Can reporting cross a line in a story like this? Aside from obvious questions of hypocrisy, do public figures have a right to privacy? Politically, I love seeing more and more righteously straight Republicans are being outed - mostly because Americans need to get used to the idea that homosexuality doesn't come in just one flamboyant, theatre producing, here-queer-and-used-to-it variety. But after seeing this program, the notion of such an unwanted public outing also kind of scares me. I also think it's dangerous to so readily link homosexuality to pedophilia. It certainly sells papers and makes Jon Stewart seem even more clever, but it can't be helping the gay community. Anyway, if you can't see the show, take a look at the Web site for more on the story. It's a case that every journalist should study.
Speaking of sexuality...
After thoroughly annoying Herr Guitar (along with many, many strangers at the Daily Show's 10th Anniversary concert at Irving Plaza, don't ask) with my intense and obsessive attraction to the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, I think it's finally spent. I'm OK with this. It was fun while it lasted. Besides, the likelihood of my getting a chance to see the movie before it hits HBO is nil, and by that time I'll be like "Double 0 who?" I'm fickle that way. I just liked having a celebrity crush that my female contemporaries could relate to - whenever I get involved with girl talk regarding hot actors I inevitably make the other girl/s uncomfortable by not seeing the appeal of Brad Pitt (yuck) while espousing my passion for someone like Tim Roth or Bill Clinton or Warren Beatty (oh yeah).
So I was happy to see Salon publish a list of the real Sexiest Men Alive. It's the kind of group that, with a couple of exceptions (Neil Patrick Harris?), a freak like myself can wholeheartedly agree with. I mean, what other list would include atheist Richard Dawkins, actor Alan Rickman and director Noah Baumbach? Note to the women who made the selections: If you're out there, call me for some girl talk.
West was essentially set up by the editors of the main Spokane paper, the Spokesman-Review. Apparently, Spokane is the last place you'd want to be if you are gay (or maybe just the last place in the northern region of the US - I'm sure plenty of places are a lot worse) and in the 1970s, it was also a hotbed of molestation charges and sex scandals in the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts. One case involved a well-known sheriff and scout leader who was accused of regularly molesting young boys, and who committed suicide as a result. The paper never really covered the scandal until 20-plus years after, when a new editor decided it was time to "heal old wounds" (I'm sure the sordid sex angle had nothing to do with this decision).
Reporters reinvestigating the story realized that the accused dead sheriff, David Hahn, was the best friend of fellow sheriff and scout leader, Jim West, who later went on to become the state's senator, and then the mayor of Spokane. West was also known for being an all-around Republican homophobe, sponsoring legislation in the 1980s that would make it illegal for gays to teach school. So had West known what his buddy Hahn had been up to, and was he involved? No one had ever accused him of anything untoward, but the paper pursued it until they and received a tip that West was a regular on gay.com under the name Cobra82 and/or rightbiguy, and that he had engaged in consensual sex with another man.
In an attempt to connect West to pedophilia, the paper set up a sting. They created a 17-year-old persona, MotoBrock, and eventually West did begin chatting with him. But while MotoBrock dropped many hints about arranging a meeting, West generally didn't bite. So they gave MotoBrock a birthday: letting him turn 18. The two continued to chat (West's chat comments - at least many shown on the program - were slightly heart wrenching. They show that he was struggling with his sexuality - he would ask if others were out, and lament that he never could be) and eventually, they had online sex. Then MotoBrock started hinting that he needed a job, and West suggested that he might be able to find him an unpaid internship. That was all the paper needed - well, that and proof that Cobra82 was actually West. They set up a meeting. West showed, MotoBrock didn't. Then they called West to the paper and told them what they were about to print (they have the entire meeting on audio tape, and it's played on the show - talk about dramatic).
In the meantime, one of the writers at the paper gets another scoop: a man who had previously charged Hahn with molestation (and whose parents had several related lawsuits in the 1980s) was now also charging West. This seemed like a perfect lede to the closeted gay/internship-peddling story they already had, so they just ignored the question of why this man had never named nor mentioned West in the past. They ran with all of it. West was destroyed, or at least seemed that way. He cried to the editor that he had struggled with the secret of his sexuality for so long that he was glad it was out, but firmly denied any claims of pedophilia. The town went up in arms, demanding West step down. But he didn't. Weeks later, he held a press conference saying that he was personally humiliated and ashamed, but professionally undeterred. His personal life should have no effect on his job as mayor. Continued public outcry (Frontline even got footage of members of a committee to recall West, and they are as outrageous as any gay basher - e.g. claiming they know West is evil becuase they see it in his eyes) and 189 stories about it in the Spokesman-Review led to a landslide recall. West was destroyed, despite later being found innocent of charges of abuse of office in an FBI investigation. Then he died of cancer within a year.
Frontline interviews West as well as the paper's reporters and editors. The story is absolutely fascinating, as are the questions it invariably asks: Can reporting cross a line in a story like this? Aside from obvious questions of hypocrisy, do public figures have a right to privacy? Politically, I love seeing more and more righteously straight Republicans are being outed - mostly because Americans need to get used to the idea that homosexuality doesn't come in just one flamboyant, theatre producing, here-queer-and-used-to-it variety. But after seeing this program, the notion of such an unwanted public outing also kind of scares me. I also think it's dangerous to so readily link homosexuality to pedophilia. It certainly sells papers and makes Jon Stewart seem even more clever, but it can't be helping the gay community. Anyway, if you can't see the show, take a look at the Web site for more on the story. It's a case that every journalist should study.
Speaking of sexuality...
After thoroughly annoying Herr Guitar (along with many, many strangers at the Daily Show's 10th Anniversary concert at Irving Plaza, don't ask) with my intense and obsessive attraction to the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, I think it's finally spent. I'm OK with this. It was fun while it lasted. Besides, the likelihood of my getting a chance to see the movie before it hits HBO is nil, and by that time I'll be like "Double 0 who?" I'm fickle that way. I just liked having a celebrity crush that my female contemporaries could relate to - whenever I get involved with girl talk regarding hot actors I inevitably make the other girl/s uncomfortable by not seeing the appeal of Brad Pitt (yuck) while espousing my passion for someone like Tim Roth or Bill Clinton or Warren Beatty (oh yeah).
So I was happy to see Salon publish a list of the real Sexiest Men Alive. It's the kind of group that, with a couple of exceptions (Neil Patrick Harris?), a freak like myself can wholeheartedly agree with. I mean, what other list would include atheist Richard Dawkins, actor Alan Rickman and director Noah Baumbach? Note to the women who made the selections: If you're out there, call me for some girl talk.
posted by j.m. at 11:31 AM
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