Posted on 05/02/2002 11:49:40 AM PDT by areafiftyone
Humorist Art Buchwald says when he was 13-years old he was molested by an older man, and later, as a young Marine, a grizzled old Marine Master Sergeant tried to kiss him. On the lips!
In his Washington Post column funny man Buchwald says he found nothing humorous about the experiences.
"Not only little Catholic boys, but also little boys of other faiths have been molested -- not by priests but rather by civilian pedophiles in the land," Buchwald wrote, adding that "There are thousands, possibly millions of men who, as children, were victims of sexual abuse. The majority never told anyone because they were so ashamed. This is why I am coming out of the closet. I confess that as a child I was a victim of molestation, and it has left its mark on me."
Buchwald recalled that while hitchhiking he was picked up "by a man in a Chevrolet. I remember every moment of that trip to this day. The man was well dressed in a sports jacket, shirt and tie. He was very friendly. He asked where I went to school, what sports I liked -- and then he asked if I was interested in girls.
When Buchwald said he was, the man launched into an "erotic story," The story caused Buchwald to become aroused. "Then he put his hand on me. I didn't know what to do. Fortunately, U.S. 1 had traffic lights, and as soon as we stopped for a red light I jumped out of the car."
Badly shaken, he ran into the woods and hid there for an hour, expecting the man to find him.
"I didn't know what I had done, or why he had done what he had done, but my instinct told me this was not an ordinary ride. Years went by and I never told anyone about the experience."
Years later, as a 20-year-old Marine, he was serving on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. When he heard the air raid siren he recalled that he ducked into a space that could only hold two men.
"The other person was a Marine master sergeant. I couldn't believe it, but he tried to kiss me. I fought for my life and finally escaped. It was the most discouraging moment of my life in the Marine Corps. Whoever thought a Marine -- a sergeant no less -- would want to kiss another Marine on the lips?"
Buchwald explained that he reveals these incidents now because he knows that there are many people with similar experiences in their past.
"It is okay to advocate zero tolerance for priests when it comes to sexual abuse of children -- but what about the rest of us?
Good argument here why gays should be kept out of the military.
An air raid siren on an aircraft carrier? And, he ducked into a space? What about general quarters and man your battle stations, something is wrong with this story.
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