The troubling case of David Dewees

Agent 18 writes concerning the disturbing case of David Dewees, pictured. Earlier this month Mr. Dewees threw himself in front of a Toronto subway train. Why?

Well, Mr. Dewees had been charged by Toronto police with sexual offences involving boys. The charges provoked a media frenzy, with the newspapers and TV vying to give maximum exposure to Dewees' photo. Since Dewees was a high school teacher, there was an implication that he must have had improper relations with some of his students. Appeals were made for "other victims" to come forward.

In fact the alleged offences occurred near the sleepy village of Port Sydney, in the Muskokas, at a summer camp where Mr. Dewees had worked as a counsellor. Agent 18 and Walt both spent happy summers at the same camp, many years before Dewees was there, hence the letter.

Agent 18 writes: I wonder, when he was at camp with a tent full of boys, what he was doing. I think it is sad we have come to that place in this world, that we cannot trust people to the fullest.
Indeed. Agent 18 says the Presbyterian church requires all those involved with children to be made aware of the church's policies and sign a statement confirming their awareness. (I wonder if the Roman Catholic Church has such policies? ed.) The Boy Scouts, after years of jokes about the foxes looking after the chickens, has put in place strict vetting procedures for scout leaders. Probably they are also asked to sign a piece of paper. As if that would do any good.

What is the reason for the apparent increase in the incidence of sexual abuse of minors by those standing in loco parentis, like camp counsellors and clergymen? I'm inclined to blame, amongst other factors, the relentless campaign of the homosexuals imbedded in the media to persuade us that being gay is OK!

There is no shame or stigma attached to homosexuality any more. "We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!" We hear this not just during Gay Pride Week (!!!) but the other 51 weeks of the year as well. And because of political correctness, no-one dares say homosexuality is not OK!

Even now I can hear the crayons being sharpened to accuse Walt of being homophobic. The term itself is a misnomer. Those of us who are "anti-gay" are not afraid of homosexuals. Rather, we detest them and their "lifestyle choice". We wish they would shut up about it, and go back in the closet where they belong!

Not so long ago -- yet it seems a long time -- the fathers of modern psychiatry, such as Freud and Kraft-Ebbing, regarded homosexuality as deviant behaviour. Deviant...as in disordered or abnormal. Even now the official teaching of the Church is that is "morally disordered".

But what we hear from the media is that there's nothing wrong with being gay. It's not even a sickness. It's just a "lifestyle choice". Some of us choose to be surfer dudes. Some of us choose to be queers. That's all. And just as there's nothing wrong with trying to persuade someone to join your political party, there's nothing wrong with trying to get someone to switch from AC to DC.

So who is to blame for Mr. Dewees' decision to end it all? Why, the media of course! In an e-mail to the Toronto Sun, one of his friends wrote "Does the government not provide some kind of 'babysitter' in these situations or put him on suicide watch? Or did they just let him go and say deal with it?"

"Many will say this proves he was guilty," he added. "And maybe he was. Or maybe he wasn't guilty. His career and reputation ruined, maybe he was so embarrassed with his name and face plastered all over the media and felt that no matter what the outcome, people would always write him off as a pervert. Maybe he just couldn't deal with that."

You can make a good argument that Dewees was tried and convicted in the media, without having had his day in court. But the threat of exposure is one of the few sanctions left against improper and illegal behaviour. If you do nothing, even in your private life, that can't stand the light of day, you have nothing to fear.