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The New Right-Wing Attack Target: Kevin Jennings
After pursuing--and nailing--Van Jones and Yosi Sergant, the right-wing hit squad is now after Kevin Jennings, a Department of Education official in charge of the safe and drug-free schools. They claim Jennings aided and abetted statutory rape.
In his DailyPolitics.com column, David Corn reviews this latest conservative crusade. He writes:
So what did Jennings do?
In a 1994 book, he recounted his experience as an in-the-closet gay teacher at a private school, and he described a 1988 episode in which a male high school sophomore confided to him his involvement with an older man. Jennings was 24 years old then, and as he wrote, "I listened, sympathized, and offered advice. He left my office with a smile on his face that I would see every time I saw him on the campus for the next two years, until he graduated."
In a 2000 talk to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which Jennings had started, he recalled that this student had been 15 years old, had met the older man in a bus station bathroom--for that was the only way he knew how to meet gay people--and that he (Jennings) had told him, "I hope you knew to use a condom." Jennings' best friend had died of AIDS the week before his chat with the student. According to Jennings, the student replied, "Why should I? My life isn't worth saving anyway."
The right is vilifying Jennings because he didn't tell the student's parents or the authorities that this closeted gay student was having sex with an older man. That is, he didn't out this student, who was clearly troubled by his inability to be open about his sexual orientation.
Corn notes that this was not a black-and-white situation:
In 1988, it was harder to be gay than it is today--especially for a teacher and an adolescent. Conservatives who oppose gay rights generally don't display much sympathy for people who have to keep their homosexuality hidden--and don't show much concern for how that affects their lives. But I can imagine the difficult situation both Jennings and the student were in. The student needed a confidante, and Jennings had to worry about the students well-being, which included protecting his secret. (Had there not been so much anti-gay prejudice, of course, the two would not have been in these respective positions.) It's possible that Jennings helped save the kid's life by encouraging him to think about condoms. It's possible that outing the student may have led to terrible consequences. There's no telling. But only someone blinded by ideology would refuse to recognize that Jennings was contending with thorny circumstances. Perhaps he didn't make the right decision. It was a tough call. But the go-for-his-throat campaign being waged against Jennings is mean-spirited and fueled by an any-means-necessary partisanship.
In response to the right-wing bleating, Jennings has released a statement saying that he can now see "how I should have handled this situation differently I should have asked for more information and consulted legal or medical authorities. Teachers back then had little training and guidance about this kind of thing." And Education Secretary Arne Duncan has stated his support of Jennings: "He is uniquely qualified for his job and I'm honored to have him on our team."
The question is, will the White House back Duncan and Jennings on this? Or will the attack dogs of the right gain another bloody prize?
UPDATE: Media Matters reports that it has obtained a copy of the driver's license of the student and that it shows the student was 16 years old at the time of this incident. The liberal media watchdog group has posted a redacted copy of the license here.
You can follow David Corn's postings and media appearances via Twitter.
Oh...
Oh- okay. Its all alright then- he had "little training and guidance" - who could have known without "training and guidance" that a pedophile predator should have been reported to the police and the parents of the victim (by law a minor is not considered capable of making this kind of decision) should have been notified.
But its all perfectly acceptable in the weird alternate universe of the far left and people like Jennings and Polanski and their apologists.
From the way the article
From the way the article reads, the teenager does not describe himself as a "victim" of the other man. In fact, it sounds pretty consensual and that the only thing he felt "victimized" about was his inability to be open about his experience with his friends and family. If you had read the entire article about the boys experience and why it was so difficult for him to cope with the it, then you would know that the student approached the teacher out of trust and needed someone to confide in. Perhaps if the boy's parents and his peers were more accepting of his choices he wouldn't be forced to "sneak" around searching for partners in swampy dark bus stations. It is the intolerance of people like yourself that perpetuate these types of situations.
If I was a older man who was
If I was a older man who was dating a 15 year old girl I would hope for the same type of response from there school officials. Do you think Jennings has a daughter. Maybe I could "listen, sympathize, and offered advice (my dick)." I wonder if he would tell?
(P.S. this is all said in jest. I do not condone pedophilia or statutory rape.)
And how do you supposed this student....
....should have been meeting potential partners? As the article states, in 1988, there just weren't many options for gay people. Especially gay teenagers.
Yes, the age difference and the way they met is a concern. Meeting an older man in a restroom isn't the safest thing....but it's not like this kid probably felt safe asking out a guy who went to his own high school. In some places, to be an out gay kid would be to get your azz kicked on a regular basis.
No wonder kids sneak around so much. Even straight kids. You're trying to grow up, trying to have a life, but everything you do can and will be reported to the authorities. Being a teenager must be like living in the USSR, under the KGB.
This is nuts! It doesn't
This is nuts! It doesn't matter if a minor thinks he/she is giving consent to an adult. Consent has nothing to do with the law. Statutory rape is statutory rape. The excuse that in 1988 Kevin Jennings didn't have enough training is bull. Teachers have been trained for decades to recognize abuse in all forms. So this guy's other excuse is that the kid left with a smile on his face? Well, what of the stupid teenagers that got caught videotaping getting a toddler high from weed? The baby had a smile on his face, but did that make it right? No way! Mr. Jennings aided and abetted the abuse of that boy. Had it been a young girl who was being molested by her uncle, I bet Mr. Jennings would have been making phone calls to the police.
He was pushing a liberal agenda and he abandoned his post as a protector of the children he was hired to mentor.
As far as the drug issue, read his book. Anyone who publically verbalizes or worse takes the time and effort to write in a globally published book such cavalier attitudes about drug use should never be in such an important position as to oversee issues regarding children.
David C send me your daughters phone number. It's cool right...
P.S. Hey David Corn! Do you have a 15 year old daughter with teachers who will keep our secret?
Well, there are laws you know
Here in "Dumbass American Kenya" (also known as Hawaii), a teacher who publicly disclosed a student's orientation and/or activities could face a lawsuit for violation of the student's constitutional right to privacy (a self-executing state constitutional right which protects against disclosure of confidential and highly personal information, even regarding someone who arguably waives that right by filing a lawsuit). One could argue that knowledge of statutory rape would require mandatory reporting, except that in Hawaii at that time our age of consent was 14, so that wouldn't have mattered (at least here in "DA Kenya").
Closet-gay
Homosexuality is new something that just popped up over the last 20 years or so. It is mentioned in the bible, which is the basis for so many on the right to prejudge. Hypocrisy is so much thicker on the right. In times of necessity, where citizens of an inobvious sexual orientation, wish to serve their country, not only are advised to take a back seat to the less fit or qualified, they are often forced out. This is just another example of the stale dogmas of the past, rearing its ugly head. Republicans need to wake up, this is the time for everyone to get on board to lift our economy, and restore our standing in the world. Im a veteran of foreign wars, and i served with gays and lesbians. And it never came to the point of discussion, because they were so much more effective at their job that it didn't mean a thing. Kill this Homophobia already.
What was he thinking? He
What was he thinking? He should have advised the kid to do what Republican Senator Larry Craig would have done: go to the nearest airport bathroom and solicit for sex there.
Remember: IOKIYAR (It's OK If You're A Republican)
Kevin Jennings
Your are correct. The accusations have turned out to be bogus. The boy was 16, the age of consent in Massachusetts. As with Mark Foley a couple of years ago, the adult was legally untouchable. It appears he was also unreachable, having been an anonymous one night stand. Jennings was concerned that the boy had not used a condom. The despondent boy told him his life was not worth saving. Jennings objected and they argued. The young fellow left a bit happier.
Conservative Christians, who believe they possess an exemption from the 9th Commandment, have falsely accused Jennings, changing the age from 16 to 15.
Kevin Jennings, the new right-wing target,Oct.2, 2009
It is a much different world today than 1988 when Kevin Jennings listened to a gay student who needed guidance. We are worlds apart from that era when both gays and straights struggled with these issues.It is imperative we keep the time period in context. It is difficult to imagine but madatory reporting hasn't always been in effect and teachers seeking help for students felt their jobs were in jeopardy if they did rock the boat.
I am a victim of physical, mental and sex abuse at the hand of a step-parent. I lived in chaos and the physical bruises revealed during PE Class were obvious but I also confided in an 8th grade teacher in 1977 who tried to help me and almost lost her job. there weren't support systems set up for young people let alone availability of a voice in the legal system.
Obviously Kevin Jennings's writing reflects his compassion for the struggles of the gay community in the 80's and 90's, especially for gay youth, already struggling with their identity and finding their niche in the world. When the student confided in Jennings, Jennings was only 24 years old himself, by recent research and extensive studies, this is an age most men are still struggling while their brains are not quite completely formed. (see reports from the 25 year Gieger studies of the human adolescent brain)
We have come a long way in openly addressing issues of tolerance and acceptance as well as defining and addressign issues of sex abuse of minors. We obviously have a long way to go when we focus on the victims with intolerance, judge out of context and miss the point altogether of the ongoing evolution of these topics in our society.
I applaud Jennings for his courageous writing and hope that his compassion toward the young student helped the young man feel he was "OK" and more importantly I pray the young student was validated and no longer felt, as stated in the Jennings book, "Why should I (use a condom)my life isn't worth anything anyway?" I can only imagaine the degradation, humiliation and suffering the young student would have endured had Jennings "outed him" to his parents during a period when the boy was struggling. It could very well have pushed him over the edge, perhaps to the point of contemplating suicide as many young people, gays and straights, in these situations do.
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