As part of CNN’s Larry Craig coverage, Kyra Phillips interviewed an Atlanta police officer named Darryl Tolleson. Tolleson’s one of many coppers who cruise Atlanta’s airport arresting “lewd” travelers looking for toilet trysts.
In the course of their conversation, Phillips and Tolleson touched on an important topic: are these cruisers gay? Read the transcript:
Phillips: And tell me about the type of people that you arrested. I mean, give — can you tell me — well, first of all, let me ask you, have you arrested anyone that is well known like a politician or someone of famous stature?
Tolleson: No, I wouldn’t say that. But we have arrested certainly some high-profile people. It ranged from CEOs, bank presidents…
Phillips: Oh, my gosh.
Tolleson: … professors, college professors. So, it really runs the gamut as far as who we actually apprehend and who has been involved in this in the past.
Phillips: Are they gay? Are all of them gay?
Tolleson: I can’t say. I can only tell you that a good majority of these men do have families. And that’s been a little bit shocking to us. You would think that it would be more of a gay issue. But overwhelmingly more and more we’re seeing that these are people with families.
We’ve got a full analysis coming up in a few hours. Be prepared.
(Thanks to Petulant Rumblings for the video!)
Robguy
I know they mean that these men don’t identify as gay and have wives and often kids at home – but to say “these are people with families” makes it sound like we don’t have families. Maybe I’m a little thin-skinned.
Tallskin
I am torn by this. On the one hand I think “What the fuck harm are these men doing indulging in sex in the toilets? What kind of anally retentive society would be bothered by men doing this?” Leave them alone.
But on the other hand I like that anti-gay fuckwits are being busted with cock stuck in their mouths, thus revealing their hypocrisy (and the hypocrisy of anglo-saxon societies around gay sex issues).
It does seem that the little bit of space that existed allowing “straight family men” to transgress sexual boundaries in public toilets etc is being closed off. Now this will result in more men being forced to declare themselves as totally gay, to go through the mirror to the other side. But it will also result in straights who needed a little cock outlet in their lives being busted in large numbers for no good reason. Or they will have to find some other outlet for their desires.
In Spain under Franco’s fascist dictatorship not even he closed off that space, allowing male-on-male cruising grounds to remain used and untroubled throughout his rule. Of course proper gays were seriously persecuted because they were considered a threat.
I really don’t know if all this will result in less hypocrisy and less anti-gay attitudes. Because whilst religion is so powerful its malign influence will continue to effect US public attitudes to male on male sex.
Matt
I think it IS a “gay issue” when a homophobic culture forces men to live double lives (even men who don’t earn their livings by passing laws and Constitutional amendments against gays and lesbians). These commuter trysts are very common, and more often than not wedding rings are prominently displayed by upstanding suburban christian republican family-values businessmen who’re on their knees next to a urinal in a train station with a stranger’s dick in their mouths. That is not a sign of someone enjoying a healthy relationship with himself. It’s the Three R’s fucking everything up as usual: Religion, Republicans, and Repression. (And ya gotta love how Romney & Co. are seizing the opportunity to lump Pres. Clinton in with Craig and the various other cybersexers and rentboy meth addicts who’ve been decloseted among the conservative ranks lately, as if that makes it “all the same”. Where’s the outrage these folks spewed at Bill?)
Dawster
(1) it’s not so much a “gay” issue as it is a “horny male” issue. many straight guys just want a blow-job… plain and simple. if someone gives
them an eye, then they are all for it. who’s to say – “a blow-job is a blow-job.” it’s a moment of opportunity, nothing more.
(2) it is not so much a “gay” issue as it is a “personal demons” issue when the person involved is a closet case who is living a life that he regrets, and looking to hook up any chance he gets. this is the larger percentage, i’m sure. closet cases that are so desperate for attention, attraction, acceptance, and contact with someone of the same sex they are willing to risk everything for just one taste. These people are so desperate, they are usually the ones that get caught for lack of foresight. they also tend to be disrespectful, generally speaking.
(3) it is a gay issue for those gays who like cruising toilets and sucking off every dick they can find. these are usually the same guys that have the entire Dawson Video Collection from Treasure Island Media. this small percentage is part of the gay community, and they can be an annoyance, but as far as i know, they aren’t sucking off people who don’t ask for it… they aren’t lurking in toilets ready to rape your children or anything.
but to hear the officers describe it, though, it’s like, “i was just standing there peeing, and this homosexual comes in and attempts to rape me. had i not been a cop, i would have been scarred for life!! think of the children! think of the troops! every time a homosexual has sex in a public restroom, an angel gets gangraped by illegal immigrants.â€
SO… i look at it on a case by case basis. Craig falls into #2, as does Allen.
Mr. B
I agree with everyone here, but Dawster the most.
Also, I would say it’s not a gay issue because it’s about gay SEX, not about gay men. Decry bisexuality all you want, but not every single man who has ever been curious about/participated in sex with another man only wants men. Or wants men all the time. Not that it’s fair to anyone involved for some guy to get married and have kids and then sneak out to get man-action on the side, but the old you’re-gay-or-you’re-straight argument just doesn’t fit every situation.
And, conversely, cruising isn’t something that all gay men do.
Mr. Tea
Ditto to the other comments. What also annoyed me about the video was that the “commentator” attempted to conflate homosexuals with pedophiles–my spelling is bad, so I checked two dictionaries and couldn’t find pedophile listed. I went to wikipedia next. I think people should be called out for such sly agendas.
Stenar
Did anyone notice that in his press conference, Larry Craig said, “Thank you all for coming out today…†He on the other hand did not come out:
See it for yourself:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RA1KHd5YTIs