Where Is Your Sense Of Decency?

In the 1950s, Sen. Joe McCarthy searched high and low for communists. Many people agreed with McCarthy that communism posed a threat to all that America stood for. But then, during the now-famous McCarthy-Army hearings, McCarthy attacked a young attorney with no ties to communism.

The young man’s boss said at the hearings: “Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”

After the hearings, supporters distanced themselves from McCarthy. They realized he was a man obsessed to the point of cruelty and irrational behavior.

When we read about Spokane County Coroner Dexter Amend’s latest witch hunt for homosexuals, we wanted to ask: “Have you no sense of decency, Dr. Amend?”

Amend seems obsessed with homosexuals and anal sex. Curtis Babcock, a 39-year-old gay man, died of AIDS recently. He had been ill for many years; the cause of death was not in doubt. Amend ordered an autopsy with a handwritten note that requested “cogent comments on conditions of ano-rectal region.”

Forensic pathologist George Lindholm refused, calling it an invasion of privacy and a public witch hunt. While the autopsy battle ensued, Babcock’s body could not be cremated, nor could his family hold a memorial service.

Amend finally backed down, but Babcock’s family suffered emotional despair. Those who have gone through the death of a loved one know how raw you feel those first days after the death. And how important it is to honor the dead person through ritual.

Amend calls himself a Christian, but he should remember that Jesus reached out with kindness to the lepers of his society and never would have been cruel to their families. Those who have rallied around Amend’s anti-gay crusade should take a look at Babcock’s mother, Camilla. She is an older woman who could be your beloved mother or grandmother. Amend’s action tore apart this woman’s heart.

Psychologists say that obsessions mask unfinished emotional business. Rather than deal with the painful emotions, a person focuses intensely on something or someone else.

Obsessions usually cause anguish only for a person’s family and friends. Dexter Amend’s obsession, however, impacts all of Spokane County. It’s unlikely he’ll be recalled, though an effort is under way. We’re probably stuck with him, and his grand obsession with anal sex, for three more years.

The only remedy now is for people to stand up to Amend when his obsession kicks in. Ask him again and again: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi/For the editorial board