Few people enjoy unwanted sexual advances, so it is of little surprise that conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson was not too keen on being grabbed in a public restroom.
Carlson, the host of MSNBC's Tucker, recently sparked some controversy over comments he made on MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams. During a discussion of Senator Larry Craig's recent confession to unsavory activities in a public restroom, Carlson recounted being bothered in a public restroom as a teenage.
According to Carlson, while still high school, a man grabbed him in a public restroom. Carlson ran away and returned 25-minutes later with a friend only to find the man still there. Carlson and his friend proceeded to seize the man and "hit him against the stall with his head." The pair then held the man until a security guard arrived.
Carlson's account of the incident has drawn fire from media watchdog group Media Matters for America as well as gay rights organizations such as The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), both of which are demanding that Carlson issue and apology. Bloggers have done their best to label Carlson as a gay basher.
While violence is never recommended in a situation such as this, one can hardly call this a gay bashing. Regardless of one's position on homosexuality, all rational people must agree that calling Carlson's actions a gay bashing devalues the experience of all non-predators who have been victims of violence because of their sexuality.
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2 comments:
His initial telling sounded like a "gay panic" defense. The second telling sounded like a reasonable response.
It would be nice to hear from MSNBC itself that the "gay panic" defense Carlson's original telling sounded like is unacceptable behavior, since the retration by Carlson that was put out on Media Matters website was never addressed on the air at MSNBC.
As Jamison Foster said today in the Huffington Post:
This past spring, during the controversy surrounding Don Imus' racist and sexist comments, Steve Capus, president of NBC News, acknowledged "that there have been any number of other comments that have been enormously hurtful to far too many people. And my feeling is that ... there should not be a place for that on MSNBC." He also stated: "This is about trust. It's about reputation. It's about doing what's right," later adding, "I hope we don't squander this remarkable opportunity that we have to continue this dialogue that has taken place, to continue the dialogue about what is appropriate conduct and speech, to continue the dialogue about what is happening in America. I think we have, as broadcasters, a responsibility to address those matters."
He's right: This is about "trust" and "doing what's right." It's time for MSNBC to repudiate Carlson's comments or risk being seen as endorsing them.
Well said.
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