It’s not often that I find myself genuinely intrigued by an article my mom shares with me, but this was an exception. The New Orleans area is a tight knit community, everybody knows everybody’s business. Here, gossip travels faster than the street cars. Personally, I have had my fair share of dealing with the corruption that resides in the Catholic school system in the New Orleans area. I’ve also been aware of the inescapable corruption that is our legal system. This is a story about something more though, something that needs to be talked about and shared through communities nationwide. I read an article that my mom sent to me that really shocked me. It was written by Alex Daigle, a New Orleans native who attended Jesuit high school (an all male Catholic school) and it is a true story that happened to him. Although I don’t know Alex at all, I felt compelled to write about this story.
Alex grew up in Louisiana and was raised with Catholicism in mind by his religious family. His family was supportive when he told them that he was gay, but he decided to keep that part of himself a secret from his friends and peers once he began to attend an all male high school (completely understandable considering that homophobia is commonly found in both Catholic schools and teenage boys) . Privately, he still remained fairly active in the gay community and was able to maintain an almost normal dating life. A few months after he graduated from Jesuit high school, he got a job at a mall in the area. One day while on the job and simultaneously eating a cookie, he was approached by a man who said to him “Caught you with your mouth full?” Alex decided to not disclose this man’s name so I will refer to him as Kevin, as that is the name that Alex called him in the original article. After that rather odd occurrence, an acquaintance of Alex’s informed him that Kevin had noticed Alex at his Jesuit high school graduation luncheon and wants to get to know him better. Alex, rightfully intrigued, decided to ask for more information. Alex found out that Kevin was discreet, which is a term used in the gay community to describe a man who is not “out of the closet” (a term used to describe a gay person who has not yet revealed their sexuality to anyone) to family members or friends. More worrisome, Alex also discovered that Kevin was married to a woman, had a child of his own, and was a high profile politician. Alex still decided to entertain the relationship, him and Kevin began texting. They talked about the possibility of meeting up and sleeping together. One day while Alex was working a shift at the mall, Kevin texted him that he was at the mall and wanted to meet up. Kevin also said that he saw some underwear that he would like Alex to try on for him. Alex, feeling a little uncomfortable, agreed and met Kevin in the employee’s bathroom. Kevin handed him a bag containing three pairs of designer underwear that he had just bought for for a total of $75 for Alex to try on for him. Alex admits that it was exciting, keep in mind that he was 17 years old at the time. That was the highlight of their “relationship”, they continued texting for a little while, but nothing more came of it. They have not spoken since. Alex did say that Kevin told him that he is involved with many more underage gay boys. Today, Kevin is still active in politics and has quite a large amount of supporters and voters, though I can’t imagine he would if they knew about this other side to him.
There are so many things wrong with this story that I barely know where to start. Kevin is married and has committed more than one account of adultery, not to mention the fact that he is actually gay. Kevin is a middle aged man and is preying on underage boys, which is illegal activity and makes him a sex offender/possible pedophile. There has also been multiple comments I’ve read on this story of people claiming that Kevin finds his “dating pool” of young gay men at Jesuit high school events/functions. Kevin, being a highly respectable politician and social figure, has been able to get away with all of this. There has even been several allegations that the people who run Jesuit high school (a “prestigious” Catholic all male high school) are fully aware of the fact that Kevin preys on the boys at this school and they still allow him to do so, I assume this would be because of Kevin’s social status and wealth (maybe he makes financial contributions to the school).
This story also highlights a deep and dark side of the gay community. There has been multiple stories about older men who are hiding the fact that they are gay, either through a faulty marriage or even in the priesthood, by preying on underage boys. The irony is almost too much to handle, a Catholic (a religion known for being anti-gay) priest having relations with young church choir boys or a high profile politician with a wife and kid having affairs with underage gay boys. This is a toxic part of the gay community, older men living a double life in order to fulfill their needs of their real sexuality in all the wrong ways. Being outwardly gay is seen as so wrong in society that it leads to older men committing unthinkable acts just to hide their sexuality. This could be contributing to feelings of shame and occurrences of sexual abuse and pedophilia. These men feel so much emotional distress that they don’t want to admit they are gay so they turn to preying on innocent and vulnerable young boys. Young gay men are being abused and fetishized against their will. Although many of them will consent to relationships with older men, it is probably due to the fact that they just want to feel accepted and loved even if it is wrong. This happens much too often in conservative (dare I say religious) communities. The original article: http://thetab.com/us/brown/2016/02/02/seduced-by-a-politician-638. I wanted to write this article so that I could talk about this prominent problem we face in our society today. Kevin (and many men just like him) is still winning votes and attending Jesuit functions. Hopefully one day soon, we will find out who he really is. Hopefully one day soon, our school systems won’t be so corrupt. Hopefully one day soon, the gay community will be a safe place.
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