I get annoyed that people are making this a gay issue. It's not about Mark Foley being gay....it's about the fact that in repressing his sexuality, he never actually allowed himself to grow into his identity as a gay human being. Okay, honestly, I've stopped reading a lot about the Foley case as more news unwinds...things like yes, he did have sex with a 21 yr old former page, because I don't give a sh-t about his sex life. What I think sucks is that he had to be so closeted about who he was that he really is just sexually screwed - and not in a good way.
And I think it sucks that the media is like, "well Foley is gay and that's why he hit on young, adolescent boys". No. He hit on young, adolescent boys because he was so closeted about who he was, even though he had a partner, and he didn't know how to relate well to most other adults, so he decided that kids were cool. Of course I don't know this for sure, I don't know much about Foley, but it's just this feeling I get.
It's a theory I have. Just a theory and something I've thought about when names like Michael Jackson or bad, gay priest pop up in the news. About why older men like young boys. At least now, with it out in the open, he can and should address his proclivities and work towards finding a healthy, gay lifestyle.
So next time anyone blames Foley's homosexuality on his young boy behavior, please do what you can to tell them (and yourself) that one has nothing to do with the other. A pedophile (straight or gay) can often trace his or her own attachment to children back to a time when they were a child and back to a time of shame and embarrassment around being a child and being caught doing something "wrong" or thinking dirty thoughts. I'm not an expert on this subject but I do know one thing. (I've said it before and I'll say it again). Politics is a much dirtier word than sex.