We were pretty giddy about the Larry Craig scandal yesterday. Then we started watching the coverage, which has rapidly degenerated into a smug homophobia-fest. The worst so far: on MSNBC, Tucker Carlson bragged that when a man hit on him in a bathroom in Georgetown, he went back with a friend and "grabbed him . . . and hit him against the stall with his head."
Then Dan Abrams and Joe Scarborough laughed.
The gleeful back-slapping over Tucker's attack starts at 2:47. The relevant part of the above YouTube clip is also excerpted here on Gawker.
Last time we checked, beating up a gay man for propositioning you was a crime -- a hate crime, even.
Don Imus got in trouble for letting his disdain for black women slip out. Shouldn't Carlson get in at least as much trouble for revealing (with glee!) his past violence against a gay man?
UPDATE: Carlson has released the following statement:
"Let me be clear about an incident I referred to on MSNBC last night: In the mid-1980s, while I was a high school student, a man physically grabbed me in a men's room in Washington, DC. I yelled, pulled away from him and ran out of the room. Twenty-five minutes later, a friend of mine and I returned to the men's room. The man was still there, presumably waiting to do to someone else what he had done to me. My friend and I seized the man and held him until a security guard arrived.
"Several bloggers have characterized this is a sort of gay bashing. That's absurd, and an insult to anybody who has fought back against an unsolicited sexual attack. I wasn't angry with the man because he was gay. I was angry because he assaulted me."
UPDATE UPDATE: GLADD is asking for an apology from Carlson and MSNBC
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 7)
1. A gay guy actually "hit on" Tucker Carlson? Was he blind?
David S. at 5:33PM on Aug 29th 2007
2. Your comments:
Tucker Carlson said he was in High school when this happened; So actually it was a crime to proposition a minor,the fact that the
other guy was arrested attested to that.
Being hit on by anyone when you're alone in a bathroom is intimidating, By the way why was the other GUY still hanging around it the bathroom when Tucker came back with friends and the police. Da''' ; waiting for another victim ! Nobody's paying attention to that ! Maybbe you are all bashers yourselves.
Mary at 5:43PM on Aug 29th 2007
3. At the risk of being labeled "homophobic," I would be absolutely disgusted if I were a man...and another man propositioned me IN A BATHROOM! However, I would never resort to violence.
April at 5:40PM on Aug 29th 2007
4. Tucker Carlson must really feel MACHO. WOW he bashed..ooops make that he and a friend gay bashed. What a sissy..he had to get another friend because he couldn't do it(bash) himself. I bet he and his "buddy" went and got drunk to celebrate how macho they were...and then they probably had to "act out" what they imagined this guy wanted.Tucker babe, Shakespear says it best.." me thinks he protests too much".
Jack at 5:44PM on Aug 29th 2007
5. And Tucker Carlson is talking about " creepy guys" ? Well, there were 3 creepy guys on this show... Carlson, Dan Abrams and Joe Scarborough!
Why are there no repercussions for this idiotic banter and their laughing about it? Why does this rant not play out just the same way that don Imus' rant did?
Guess the joking, laughing and the violence doesn't count here, huh? Since it's about a gay man!
So glad Carlson feels so justified and so empowered with his story, and so glad Abrams and Scarborough validated him!
marthe at 6:07PM on Aug 29th 2007
6. I don't think that he was gay bashing. He was simply stating that propositioning anyone for sex in a public restroom is disgusting. It is sick no matter who you are, no matter what your sexual orientation. The fact that he was a minor when he was propostioned is even more wrong.
Kara at 6:17PM on Aug 29th 2007
7. okay, Ada, if refusing a gay man's advances is a hate crime, then a gay man hitting on a straight man is sexual harassment. Please. Tucker Carlson did not say anything wrong. I would like to know why the news about Senator Craig made you giddy. That is bizarre.
Suzanne at 6:36PM on Aug 29th 2007
8. This is NOT gay bashing. The man who propositioned him was in the wrong. The man doing the propositioning was harassing Mr. Tucker and was no innocent victim.
afranco297 at 6:59PM on Aug 29th 2007
9. ITS NOT GAY BASHING, ITS CALLED TAKING UP FOR YOURSELF AGAINST THE ONSLAUGHT.
bRENT at 7:22PM on Aug 29th 2007
10. News for you sweets....that's the appropriate response when a gay man hits on you in a bathroom.
twann9852 at 8:17PM on Aug 29th 2007
11.
He went and got a friend then confronted him?? How Butch.. I'll bet they called the guy that hit on him a "sissy" too.
Joe at 8:26PM on Aug 29th 2007
12. Yes, hitting on someone in a restroom is wrong. But Tucker Carlson brags about putting this "fag" in "his place". He, the accoster, Dan Abrams and Joe Scarborough all have some serious growing up to do. Gay-bashing does not make you a man.
Johnny at 10:56PM on Aug 29th 2007
13. could not agree more with Marthe-- Tucker, Joe, and Dan- are an insult to MSNBC-- are they really the best the network can do?? Dan is a no.brain idiot-- PLEASE bring back Don Imus--
Bob at 8:44AM on Aug 30th 2007
14. Ada, I'm so glad you're apart of this blog website :) My loyalties lie with Mo Rocca, who I've been a fan of since I was 17, but I really enjoy your wit and insight.
I do agree - this was a gay bashing. Causing harm to someone (yes, it does hurt to have your head pushed into a wall by two people who aren't trying to be funny) on the basis that she/he is gay, whether or not they proposition you, is considered a hate crime. The two young men who beat Matthew Shepard and tied him to a fence 10 years ago claimed that he hit on them, and it was this crime that really brought about the creation of hate crime legislation.
We're all adults here. If someone you're not attracted to hits on you, asks you for sex, or makes an inappropriate comment about your looks or gender, you tell them to get lost, and walk away. If they persist and won't leave after you've clearly and loudly told them you're not interested or don't approve of what they're saying, you are within your rights to call the police and report harassment. If the person touches you inappropriately or threatens to assault you, you are within your rights to call the police and report a crime. If you decide that, even though the person took a hint and left, you want to teach them a lesson by hurling them against a wall or physically coming in contact with them in a non-friendly way with the intention of causing pain and instilling fear in that person, YOU are violating that person's rights, and now THAT PERSON is within their rights to call the police and report you. And being the aggressor will not make you look good in court, especially if the person in question is gay, black, Muslim, female, or any of the other genders/races/ethnicities that fall under hate crime laws, and proving that you didn't know that that person was gay is going to be a tough sell, especially since it's your word (the aggressor) against the word of the victim and the witnesses who saw you.
Do the world a favor - educat yourself on the nation's hate crime laws, and the law in general. Check these websites out:
http://msnbc.com/modules/HateCrimes_SBS/stateframe.asp
http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050302337.html
Thanks for reading, and keep up the good work, Ada.
Marta R. at 9:31PM on Aug 29th 2007
15. C'mon....quit piling it up on Tucker Carlson. Assume the following scenario: a typical heterosexual male has a hot girlfiend. She gets hit on in a bar (or other public place, that's not the point).The typical hetero guy-right or wrong-jumps on his perceived rival. Get it? "Defending your turf", whether it be your own body or that of one who allows you to claim them as your own (a/k/a "girlfriend/boyfriend")is as old as the ages. Where is your moral outrage then? Look, I'm NOT homophobic and I can prove it - my beloved son and only child is gay and we are close and I am close to all his friends. I just think we have gotten way too sensitive as a nation in the name of "political correctness". Get over it everybody. Quit looking for the spooks in every situation. If you don't, they could easily take up residence in your heart and mind. Don't create fights where there are none. Save that energy for more constructive and productive agendas. Please.
Iris at 9:41PM on Aug 29th 2007