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Joan:
I think your comment is profound; and the only one I feel inspired to respond to.
I agree with what you said and only want to add that the choices we make in light of sexual bias, sexual uptightness, etc., need to be looked at, but only as a sign of awareness and judgement given the prevailing atmosphere.
No. We should not be concerned with any consensual sexual behavior
and if we want to be an activist for that change through our own choices, then we need to be prepared to say: "none of your business" or "so what?"

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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I sincerely hope that this conversation---on TOL and in the larger community---is not focussed around "sex" or "lying", although these may be components of the situation. What we need to ask ourselves is what do we expect of our leading(or any)public servant. I hope the response is that we expect a number of things: first among them INTEGRITY. This means being aware of what is important and the discipline to live according to one's values. JUDGEMENT is a major component of integrity. A public servant needs to demonstrate judgement and integrity in order to have the TRUST of the citizens she serves. No, we should not accept lying to cover behavior one knows to be questionable IN A PUBLIC SERVANT.
Sam obviously knew the behavior would be "questionable", at least in terms of judgement, which is why he felt the need to lie. It is his overall behavior regarding the choices he made, starting with the liason and leading to the denials which hurts the gay community by crying "Wolf" and shaming those who might 'slander' him because of being gay.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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