Racism is an excuse for prostitution?

Ed Brayton has an update on a typical scenario: Bob Allen, who crusaded against gay rights in his time in the Florida House of Representatives, was arrested for soliciting a male undercover cop.

Like I said, this is getting to be typical, so normally it might not even be worth mentioning. But this update includes Allen's defense: he was surrounded by black people!

In taped statements made by Allen to police following his arrest and released by the force Allen admits to soliciting the male officer but claims that it was the result of being nervous by the high number of black men in the park.

"I certainly wasn't there to have sex with anybody and certainly wasn't there to exchange money for it," Allen told officers.

Of the arresting officer Allen said in the tape, "This was a pretty stocky black guy, and there was nothing but other black guys around in the park."

He claimed he feared he "was about to be a statistic" would have said anything just to get away.

Don't you understand? There were black people in that park, so he had to offer to pay $20 to fellate that cop.