Loose Lips	Loose Lips Archive

The phenomenon of homophobes being exposed as gay has now become commonplace enough that Miss Poubelle thinks we need a snappier way to talk about it. She suggests that we call these people ho-moles. Like the moles of the cold-war spy business, they pretend to be on one side of a struggle, while secretly being members of the other team. And like the furry burrowers, they hide from the light of day while doing their best to cause collapse around them.

The latest ho-mole is James E. West, mayor of Spokane, who had a prominent role as a conservative, anti-gay legislator. West sponsored legislation to ban gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools or working in day-care centers, voted to prohibit spending on AIDS education material, and opposed domestic partner benefits for gay and lesbian couples. West is accused of having sex with teenagers, promising political positions to young men he fancied, trolling for Internet sex on his office computer, and generally being an asshole.

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Miss Poubelle isn't particularly incensed over the allegations about his sex life. The charges that he diddled boys when he was a Boy Scout troop leader are ancient and not very well-supported. Using the office computer for porn or sexual contacts may be a minor violation of some city policy, but hardly rates as a crime. Offering jobs for sexual favors may be more serious, but that remains to be seen.

What is most outrageous about the case is West's hypocrisy in championing conservative anti-gay causes while leading a secret homo life. And when the shit hit the fan, West had no problem in positioning himself as a victim of homophobia. In a phone call to the editor of the Spokane Spokesman-Review, West claimed that he was being "destroyed because I am a gay man."

Prior to West, the title for most appalling ho-mole probably rested with Robert Bauman, a former Republican congressman from Maryland who was an advocate of anti-gay legislation until he was arrested in 1980 for having sex with a 16-year-old male prostitute. Of course, we should not forget all the ho-moles active in 'ex-gay' ministries who later were caught in gay bars, bathhouse, and cruising spots.

While Blanche would encourage all public figures to come out, she wouldn't put all outed gays in the ho-mole category, however. Barney Frank and Gerry Studs were both forced to come out after details of their relationships with youthful paramours became public. But neither of these men had been an advocate of anti-gay legislation. They were closeted, and probably conflicted about their lives, but they didn't use their political positions to try to harm other gays.

Every oppressed group probably has its own turncoats who identify with the oppressive majority. In the African-American community, they're known as Uncle Toms; among Jews, they are "self-hating Jews." There is certainly room for debate over what kinds of public positions place a person in these categories. Can a good Jew oppose Israeli policy in the West Bank? Can a self-respecting African-American oppose affirmative action? Intelligent people may differ on how much is too much in such cases.

But surely there can be no debate over the moral status of a gay man who supports legislation to ban gays from teaching or work in day-care. West, and other ho-moles like him, deserve our deepest contempt for their lying, hypocritical lives.