My Own Private Larry Craig Moment

15 ish years ago I was in a downtown Seattle department store with my then fiance to see what we had registered for. Did not even know we had registered. So I have to use the bathroom and as I am walking towards the bathroom door there are two fairly normal looking guys just outside the door talking. I go into the bathroom, does not appear to be anyone else there. I go into a stall and "use the facilities as they were intended". Less than a minute later I hear someone else come in and then shortly after I hear someone say "are you married?". My only thought is must have been more than one person that came in although that seems like an odd question to ask someone in a bathroom. Whatever, this is Seattle after all. About a minute later, I notice one of those two guys who was outside the bathroom door is looking through the crack in the stall door at me going to the bathroom. I immediately said in an exceptionally stern voice, "what do you want?" to which he replied "I was just curious". He then walked out of the bathroom and I sat there wondering what was that. It literally took me a minute to realize the situation. First (and only) time I had (knowingly) been hit on by a guy. Once I realized what had happened, I thought I need to find that guy and do something, punch him in the face, scream obscenities at him, something, no idea what I was going to do. So I finish as quickly as I could, left the bathroom and scanned the floor of the store and saw him on the far side of the floor going down the stairs. I started going that way then realized I was wasting my time, I was not going to catch him and even if I did, what was I going to do, beat him up? Cause a scene?

So later that day I call my best friend and tell him what happened and he tells me his similar story about some guy looking at him from under the divider of the next stall. He immediately got up and starts pounding on the stall door yelling all sorts of unprintable things. He also threw the trash can into the stall which I thought was brilliant. He then decided to wait outside the door for the guy to come out. Half an hour later, he was still waiting so he went back in and the guy had literally climbed out through the window.

Now my thoughts on the Larry Craig deal. Do I think he was doing what he was really busted for. Yes I do. But last I checked what I think he was probably doing is not the legal standard in our court system. I have also listened to the police tape recording and good lord if that is not the most flimsy of cases I have ever heard. Could I convict beyond a reasonable doubt with that evidence. Not a chance. Do I think Larry Craig is an idiot who deserves to be kicked out of the Senate, you bet.

And that is the difference between the Republican party and the Democrats. Larry Craig will most likely be forced to step down. His own party will insist he do so, just like Mark Foley, who was never charged with anything, did. Meanwhile on the other side of the aisle is an assortment of all sorts of people who have been convicted, impeached, run afoul of the law, been accused of all sorts of things that far outweigh anything Larry Craig plead to but do they resign? Are they forced out? No.

The democrats are quick to yell hypocrite during Larry Craig moments but it reminds me of the story of the adult smoker who was telling teenagers not to smoke. Another person called him a hypocrite. The smoker replied, would I be a better person if I encouraged the kids to smoke?