Media Matters Fails In Attempt To Defend Kevin Jennings

I'd say this story pretty much highlights a lack of critical logic within mainstream liberalism. Media Media defends Obama's Safe School czar Kevin Jennings by producing alleged proof that the boy was 16 at the time. It's what they don't report that's the real problem.

Media Matters for America has exclusively obtained the Massachusetts drivers' license of the student confirming that at the time of the incident, he was at least sixteen years of age -- the legal age of consent in Massachusetts.

Putting aside the notion that it seems it was Jennings himself who asserted the boy was 15, what exactly was the nature of this involvement? It wasn't a "relationship". It was a one night stand in a men's restroom after which it seems the older man didn't return the student's phone calls. Whether the student was straight or gay, does anyone really believe that a 15, or 16 year old student involved in restroom sex with total strangers is the bar we want to set for safe and acceptable behavior in our public schools? Give me a break. Media Matters might have done better to not engage this issue at all.

According to Mr. Jennings' own description in a new audiotape discovered by Fox News, the 15-year-old boy met the "older man" in a "bus station bathroom" and was taken to the older man's home that night. When some details about the case became public, Mr. Jennings threatened to sue another teacher who called his failure to report the statutory rape "unethical." Mr. Jennings' defenders asserted that there was no evidence that he was aware the student had sex with the older man.

However, the new audiotape contradicts this claim. In 2000, Mr. Jennings gave a talk to the Iowa chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, an advocacy group that promotes homosexuality in schools. On the tape, Mr. Jennings recollected that he told the student to make sure "to use a condom" when he was with the older man. That he actively encouraged the relationship is reinforced by Mr. Jennings' own description in his 1994 book, "One Teacher in 10." In that account, the teacher boasts how he allayed the student's concerns about the relationship to such a degree that the 15-year-old "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."

Additional link:

On page 162, Jennings writes: "Robertson soon told me the tale, about someone he'd met in Boston, how he thought he loved him, how heartbroken he was when his calls never got returned..."

On page 169, he continues: "As the fall wore on, Robertson continued to drop by my office to chat, often updating me on his latest 'adventures.' Sometimes these startled me, and I began to underline the importance of safe sex to him. One day he snapped back, 'Why should I use a condom? My life isn't worth saving anyway.'"

Comments

[Mrs. Peperium]

Dan, by the late 80's that bus station in Boston, thanks to exposes in the Globe, was well-known as a cruising place for older men to meet young male prostitutes. A gay man -closeted or not- would have known this:

http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/history_of_gay_bars_in_ne/2007/10/history-of-g-27.html

[JorgXMckie]

Besides, I believe the law in MA at the time *required* teachers to report even 'suspected' sexual abuse if the student was under 18. Maybe Jennings or Media Matters could explain how having anonymous sex with strangers met in bus stations shouldn't be considered suspicious.

[FeFe]

Furthermore, the student was despondent. Can no one spare a thought for the teens mental state? How can Jennings persist in the notion his counsel and endorsement of casual sex is what boosted the teens self-esteem?

[V the K]

About that same time period (1988/89) I had a friend whose 15 year old brother was harassed by a gay man in a public park. The man tried to lure, then force him into his car. My friend's brother smashed him in the face and ran.

I wonder if Kevin Jennings would have had my friend's brother prosecuted for a hate crime?

[gus]

Jennings didn't check on the kids drivers license.
Jennings thought the kid was 15 and said so.
This is typical dishonest liberals behavior trying to find a way to diminish the truth.
Here's how I look at it. Media Matters is merely defending behavior that MEDIA MATTERS does not find offensive. But they know NORMAL Americans find it EXREMELY offensive. So they lie.

[gus]

Fefe, the kid made it clear to Jennings that using a condom was not necessary as "his life wasn't worth saving".
So naturally our CZAR OF SCHOOL SAFETY thought the boy might get MORE SELF ESTEEM by TROLL BUS STATION MENS ROOMS FOR ADULT MEN. So long as he had a pocket full of condoms.

Liberals you are beyond vile, dishonest and disgusting. You cannot ever be trusted. You are backing a sick freak in Jennings, despite knowing the truth about him.

[Janet]

It was consensual sex, not abuse.

[x11b1p]

is it true that kevin jennings praised a guy whose last name is Hay who also happend to be one of the fouders of MANBLA?

[x11b1p]

ouch, I just answered my own question, http://patterico.com/2009/10/02/nambla-supporter-inspired-obamas-safe-schools-czar/

In short - yes. "Obama’s new Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings, the Washington Examiner reports Jennings was inspired by Harry Hay, a gay rights pioneer who was a strong supporter of NAMBLA"

[North Dallas Thirty]

"It was consensual sex, not abuse."

I see we have another one of Barack Obama's Roman Polanski defenders.

There is no such thing as "consensual sex" for an underage minor. That seems an awfully difficult thing for liberals to understand. Any guesses as to why?

[cindi]

consensual sex? You must not have kids, or you take part in sex with children. What a pathetic response.

[OCBill]

Organizations that promote homosexuality in schools?

[Syntax]

"audiotape discovered by Fox News" -- Where's the tape? Followed the link, went to Fox News, searched Fox news...where's the tape? This has been debunked a thousand times over but you say Fox News has a tape...where's the tape? Media Matters has an e-mail from Fox News to the "victim" in question admitting that they "may have been mistaken" in reporting his age (16 and legal) and the fact the actual sex was involved in which it wasn't at the time in question. But hey, Fox News has a tape...where's the tape? Even Fox News admits they got it wrong but you say there's a tape...where's the tape? Media Matters even has a copy of the "victim's" drivers license that proves he was of legal age but Fox News has a tape...where's the tape?

YOU LIE!

[DTS]

Syntax, you shouldn't call Riehl a liar just because you're too stupid to find the source documents and recordings which demonstrate that Obama's "safe schools czar" is a pro-gay-pedophilia advocate.

From Fox News:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/23/critics-assail-obamas-safe-schools-czar-say-hes-wrong-man-job/

"But a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, Warren Throckmorton, has produced an audio recording of a speech Jennings gave in 2000 at a GLSEN rally in Iowa, in which Jennings made it clear that he believed the student was sexually active:

"I said, 'What were you doing in Boston on a school night, Brewster?' He got very quiet, and he finally looked at me and said, 'Well I met someone in the bus station bathroom and I went home with him.' High school sophomore, 15 years old' I looked at Brewster and said, 'You know, I hope you knew to use a condom.'" [Audio is available on the professor's Web site.]"

The bracketed text is linked to:
http://wthrockmorton.com/2009/06/02/kevin-jennings-appointed-to-department-of-education-post/

------------------------------------

Good luck with that whole "so what if Jenning's is a big NAMBLA fan and has an admitted history of facilitating old men having sex with high school sophomore guys in bus stations" defense, Syntax.

[Beavis Christ]

Dan,

I have to give you props for wading into the mess that is Media Matters.

They are as absurd at defending "their team" that this is the sort of stuff they resort to. Really sad.

[FeFe]

Casual sex is not the key to self-esteem no matter your sexual orientation:
http://wthrockmorton.com/2009/10/02/reflections-on-what-we-share-in-common/#more-5069
"One of the studies we referred to was quite remarkable; it correlated teen sex with increased rates of depression and suicidal thoughts. It seems that sex, for some adolescents, is destabilizing and correlates with despair, even when it is with peers. The study did not examine “age-discrepant” sexual relationships.
...
When sexual exploitation of minors does occur, some wish to enforce the law as a means of both protecting the child from further acts by the perpetrator; but also validate to the victim that they deserved supervision and care from this adult, not sexual exploitation.

But others begin to engage in an odd dance of rationalization, minimization and justification. They use words like “consensual” and they begin to focus obsessively and curiously on how close the victim’s age is to the age of consent. ... Some argue that such outcomes are an unavoidable casualty of an isolated, marginalized community that has few public figures to act as mentors for gay youth ...

Kevin Jenning’s error is profound. Gay children and adolescents are at risk due to his profound, enduring lack of outrage at how an older gay man shamelessly exploited an isolated, vulnerable gay youth, whatever his exact age. ..."

GO READ IT ALL

[Art Deco]

It was consensual sex, not abuse.

If I am not mistaken, deviate sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 17 was invariably a criminal offense in New York at that time. Given that 'Brewster' was 15 at the time, I think the offense would have been 'sexual misconduct' or 'sodomy in the third degree' depending on some qualifying circumstances (e.g. the age of the other party). Third degree sodomy was (and I imagine still is) a felony. I am skeptical standards in Massachusetts were all that different.

[Art Deco]

Please note the biographies of the current Mayor of Portland, Oregon or of the late Gerry Studds (who represented Cape Cod in Congress). I do not think this is considered abnormal behavior in a certain subculture, and a big chunk of the more disinterested population is willing to countenance it. The career of neither man was ruined.

[Lisa Graas]

Why are we even debating this? Sigh. America, what have you become?

[Burr Deming]

Actually, 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.

[North Dallas Thirty]

"Conservative Christians, who believe they possess an exemption from the 9th Commandment, have falsely accused Jennings, changing the age from 16 to 15."

Or they've simply committed the unspeakable crime to the left of holding Barack Obama and one of his syncophants to what they actually said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/23/critics-assail-obamas-safe-schools-czar-say-hes-wrong-man-job/

"But a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, Warren Throckmorton, has produced an audio recording of a speech Jennings gave in 2000 at a GLSEN rally in Iowa, in which Jennings made it clear that he believed the student was sexually active:

"I said, 'What were you doing in Boston on a school night, Brewster?' He got very quiet, and he finally looked at me and said, 'Well I met someone in the bus station bathroom and I went home with him.' High school sophomore, 15 years old' I looked at Brewster and said, 'You know, I hope you knew to use a condom.'" [Audio is available on the professor's Web site.]"

Funny, after his pedophile behavior was pointed out, "Brewster" suddenly changed ages. Interestingly, it was considered completely normal at a GLSEN gathering for an older man to have sex with underage teenagers. Indeed, this was cheered and supported.

But then again, given what Barack Obama and the pedophile Obama Party support, this is no surprise.

http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=1&STORY_ID=4379&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=9

http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/news/004352.html

Jennings and Barack Obama consider age-of-consent laws to be homophobic and that it's "common" for gays to have sex with underage children. Jennings and Barack Obama think that dressing toddlers as sexual slaves and taking them to sex fairs is an "educational experience".

[Peter Warner]

There are substantial reasons for age of consent laws. Adults cannot comprehend the perception of minors and teens of what is going on.

I could have been 'Brewster'. I was returning home to Massachusetts by bus with a friend from an anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C., a sophomore high school student. In the station awaiting transfer to our last connection (maybe in Boston, in fact), an older man with two of his buddies came up to us and started talking to me. He was direct- 'I really want to f*ck you in the *ss' he said, asking me to come with them.

What amazes me even now is that I had no strong reaction to his words, only confusion and a vague sense of unease. This guy wanted to be my friend, and he might as well have said 'I want to give you some blueberry pie'. Confused, I stalled, and as the three of them suddenly stepped away, a bus station policeman faced me and asked if they had tried to pick us up (I forget how he phrased the question). Now suddenly startled and afraid of getting into trouble, I blurted out 'no', but I'm sure the cop understood what was going on.

Thank G-d for that cop being there, who knows where my life might have gone if he hadn't been there. He's likely passed on now (this was around 1968), I owe him and I wonder how many others do as well. Angels watching no doubt. The other thing that amazes me is that the friend I was traveling with said nothing the whole time, even after.

At that age, there is no aware consent. There is only hormones and confusion. And if the only authorities around are like Mr. Jennings, there will be no protection from the abuse, and no scarcity of the resulting misery. In the words of that Marine vet who spoke in the townhall that was posted on Youtube, 'Stay away from my kids'. Jennings should be removed from his position.

Best regards,

[Cindy Anderson]

This is not about tolerance of homosexuality. It is about promotion of and tolerance of pedophilia. Had this been a heterosexual teacher who had promoted and condoned, and failed to report sex between a 15 or even 16 year old girl with a strange man in a bus stop restroom, highlighted in a book and boasted about his great judgement with a group, I would think he should be fired as well. He is of all things the School Safety Czar. The only thing he should be allowed to do is to be included in a film for teachers about what NOT to do in keeping our children safe. FIRE THIS DANGEROUS MAN and keep him away from our kids!