A few days ago, during a book signing at a Delaware Barnes and Noble, it appears Rick Santorum and his people had a policeman bully and threaten a group of high school students who were standing in line for the senator’s signature with a copy of Dan Savage’s book, “The Kid.” Here’s a clip from the story as it appears on the Common Dreams site:
…She held up a copy of a book by the gay writer Dan Savage called “The Kid,” which is about how he and his partner adopted a son. And Rocek said, “It would be funny if we got Santorum to sign this book.” (To discredit Santorum, Savage and his readers in 2003 came up with a nasty definition of “Santorum” that now often appears on Internet searches for Santorum’s name.)
Not everyone enjoyed the joke.
“A woman nearby snapped: ‘He’s only here to sign his own book. He won’t sign that,'” recalls Galperin.
Shaffer says the woman also added, “You’re shameful and disgusting.”
For a minute, the young women thought that would be the end of it.
But no such luck.
A state trooper in full uniform, including hat and gun, was in the store, and, according to Shaffer and Galperin, he met with the person who didn’t care for the Dan Savage joke, along with a few others, including members of the store and Santorum’s people….
“Your business is not wanted here. They don’t want you here anymore. If you don’t leave, you’re going to be arrested. If you can’t post bail, you’ll go to prison. Those of you who are under 18 will go to Ferris [the juvenile detention center]. And those of you over 18 will go either to Gander Hill Prison or the woman’s correctional facility. Any questions?”
They left, but later came back with a parent, who asked why, not having done anything illegal, they’d been threatened with prison. The parent was then informed that if she didn’t turn her car around and leave immediately, she would be charged with multiple counts of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
I suppose in an age of designated “free speech zones,” this kind of thing isn’t too shocking anymore, but I felt like I hade to share it. Please forgive my old-school sentimentality for free speech.
While we’re on the subject of hating and demonizing homosexuals (Santorum, you’ll recall, is the senator who likened homosexuality to bestiality), I’ve got another link to share with you. This one comes from a comment left on the site earlier this afternoon, during a heated (and sometimes rhyming) discussion concerning homosexual acts and on what grounds they might be considered “immoral”. It’s one gay man’s very eloquent response to the evangelicals who want to “save” him by making him someone that he is not. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s worth checking out.
7 Comments
Can you say Police State?
apparently not anymore.
The behavior of the Santorum backers and even his staff is to be expected. What really irks me is the way the publicly funded state trooper completely kowtowed to them. What a spineless ass.
The whole culture has shifted. There’s no longer an expectation of free speech, and, what’s worse, there seems to be a real love of being led.
Santorum is such a dork…and the most likely to be caught in a compromising position w/ a boy scout. You know that whole methinks you doth protest too much.
Oh yeah, and while were at it, Pat Robertson is a dumbass. But so you see the how this tolerence of hate has engendered such renegade and outlandish behavior seemingly sanctioned by the state.
The kids should hav followed through, and contacted the ACLU. It would look GREAT on college applications.
They should have brought video cameras with them when they came back… and called the press.
They should have just run in and dumped a bucket of Santorum over his head.
I mean, that’s what they should have done, if that were legal.
Oh, get off the poor man’s back, why don’t you.
If I were Santorum, and I’d said the things he’s said, I’d be scared to death of high school honor students, too. They’re probably smarter than him anyhow.