Expanding our campaign against adult grooming

Our commitment to inclusivity: "women" now includes gays

Hello Fight for 25 supporter!

Alex Morse is mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts. He adult groomed college students as young as 18 and had sex with them, even though he’s 31 years old and should be having sex with women in their 30s.

He made other students uncomfortable by adding them on Instagram and even sending them messages.

So far, one of the typical, disgusting cases of adult grooming that Fight for 25 was set up to oppose.

But there’s a twist: Alex Morse is a gay man.

The students he was having sex with were male.

Does that make what he did OK?

Don’t forget that Alex Morse is a lecturer at UMass-Amherst.

Is there any indication that any of the sexual relationships were in any way non-consensual? No.

But did he teach any of the young men that he had sex with? Also, no. But still, what if one of them had signed up for his course? That didn’t happen, but only through luck.

And don’t forget that Alex Morse wields all the powers of a town mayor, with the potential to influence the lives of the young men with whom he was ‘consensually’ engaging in (possibly anal) sex.

Alex Morse:

• has the powers and duties of a selectman with respect to appointments, subject to confirmation or rejection by aldermen

• is charged with enforcement of law requiring periodic testing of standard weights, measures and balances within city

• has veto power over ordinances, orders, resolutions or votes requiring mayoral approval (unless provided otherwise by charter)

• is responsible for certain public safety functions, including authority to disburse unlawful or riotous assemblies, and request the Governor to deploy the National Guard to assist

Can a young boy of 18 really make an informed decision about whether to let his young, downy body be plundered by a man over a decade older than him? A man who wields the power to decide on the very definitions of weight and size within the city limits of Holyoke? A man who, if slighted or angered, could very well request the Governor to deploy the National Guard to assist?

Clearly, all progressives should condemn what Alex Morse did, and refuse to support him in his primary.

This shocking case made us realise that the Fight for 25 campaign needs to expand. From today, we will campaign for the age of consent for male homosexuality to be raised to 25, alongside our campaigns to raise the age of consent and voting age for women to 25.

Some of you will think that it’s wrong for us to focus on anything to do with protecting cis white men. But every young college gay was once a mother’s beloved son, so this is really a women’s rights issue.

Adding gays to our campaign is a smart move tactically. Our critics say that raising the age of consent for women will be a tough sell politically, but in many countries, the age of consent for gay sex is already higher than for straight sex - and most countries had a higher age of consent for gays until relatively recently! Making the age of consent for gay sex 25 is an achievable goal, and a stepping stone to raising the age of consent for women.

Well, that’s it for our first campaign newsletter. Please share our site with your friends and daughters, and introduce the subject of a higher age of consent in conversation with acquaintances whenever you can.

Keep fighting!

Angela

Fightfor25.com