When the son of a preacher gets arrested in a cruisy park in Dallas, penis exposed for those following him down a trail, what business is it of any of us to know his identity? We're accustomed to local daily newspapers printing the names and often even the addresses of men arrested in various stings in parks and toilets. Very often during TV sweeps months, TV news departments tag along with cameras to capture footage of men being arrested in some sting operation at some place like a movie theatre or public toilet. Rarely do we see this horrible media habit in the local gay media, but Dallas Voice decided it was essential that all their readers know the name of one particular man caught recently in Kiest Park.

The man is not a public figure, though his father is. According to Dallas Voice, an anti-gay preacherman based in South Dallas is also the father to the man arrested. Guilt by association, maybe? I suppose Dallas Voice believes this gives them the ethical right to expose the son of the preacher in what was, I'm sure, an embarrassing situation as these things usually are. No one wants to get hauled away by the cops for having your dick out in a public park. According to the article the undercover cops had to actually follow this man into a more secluded part of the park in order to get him to expose himself. While I could understand why Dallas Voice might want to draw attention to this kind of police tactic and the absurdity of arresting someone under these circumstances, this apparently was not the intent of the story. They just wanted to draw attention to the fact this man has a father who hates gay people. If this has become the standard for "outing" a private citizen, we've seriously changed the standard and lots of closeted men and women who otherwise don't advocate against gay interests should be concerned.

Some will say this specific individual should have been exposed because he apparently works for his father. The way Dallas Voice found this information out was by checking police reports since the young man arrested identified his father as his employer. One isn't enlightened as to whether this person tended to the grounds at the church, or perhaps handled accounting. The implication is he must be a self-hating gay, but that is a big leap. Our relationship with our sexual selves is often no less complex than our relationship with our family or where we work. Without offering any claim that this specific person was advocating against gays, he is outed by Dallas Voice.

It is worth noting that persons arrested for public sex often end up having their charges greatly reduced after a dose of humiliation or payment of a small fine; rarely does someone charged for public sex spend time in prison. Yet, the local media feels the obligation, as if it is a civic duty, to list the names of those arrested, treating them as if their "crime" is equal to a rapist or serial murderer in which public exposure is considered essential for public safety. Doing this to men cruising for sex has led to countless tragedies as men have lost jobs, been thrown out of a family situation, and even resorted to suicide as a way out. While I can see the "joy" if that is the right word in publishing something that you know will shine a light of hypocrisy on a public figure, that shouldn't extend to invading the privacy of family members who have no record of leading the charge of anti-gay attacks. Shame on the editor of the Dallas Voice for ignoring the privacy of this person and printing his name just because of the father. Gay media should not be in the habit of divulging the identify of private citizens when caught up in what is clearly an anti-gay entrapment operation. Point fingers at the preacher when he does something bad or hypocritical and then you'll be doing a service by exposing bad people to your community.