15 June 2011

The STFU Files: On Not Being A Weiner

Begging your pardon, dear readers, I must veer off into current events (of the American political variety), so please bear with me while I get this out of my head. Kind o f like passing a mental kidney stone.

(Ahem)

First of all, let me say up front that Anthony Weiner (you know the one) is a dumbass of the first order.  But it isn't so much for the "media transfers" he made.  To me, the pictures and the texting aren't the main issue.  It's the lying about it that really kills me.

Have none of these guys learned anything, anything at all in this era of New Media and the 24/7 news cycle?

Lots of things get texted and sent that, in the hands of someone with malice or righteous justice on their minds, could have a lot of hay made out of them.  Agendas abound in the information age, so its best to make yours clear and stay ahead of the curve.  Or the pack, if one has reason to believe one has a lot of ill-wishers out there.

I reckon a lot of people are horrified on moral grounds, too.  And a case can be made for that, I suppose, if moral purity were the sole arbiter of fitness for office.

But.

I. Don't. Care.  It's fruitless and boring.  Boring.  

If one is looking to politicians for moral role models, perhaps one should recalibrate one's notions of a role model.  People will argue that poor decision making in personal life automatically translates into poor decision making in professional life.  True?  Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the individual.  Just because someone is imbued with a supposed true moral compass, by themselves or by their followers, does not mean the decisions they make are the right or good ones.  Don't believe me?  Then refresh your memory by looking back to all the bad decisions based on bad and wrong information (and right information that was flat out ignored) that got the country involved in the mess that was Iraq.  That people lied and so many died...Somehow, that's more obscene to me, in light of the lives destroyed, resources squandered, in a war that was prosecuted on falsehoods.

Nothing Weiner did rises to the level of national security risk.  He needs to apologize to his family, friends, the women with whom he was involved and to his constituents, not the world.  This is why the nature of his offense doesn't really interest me.  I don't expect anyone to live their lives without doing something that will most likely be considered as stupid, especially in the political arena.  What I would hope they wouldn't do, is lie about it if confronted with something, justified or not.

After all, isn't it supposed to be an admirable trait, to own ones' supposed transgressions?

To paraphrase Dieter from Sprockets, "This habit of exposing yourself has become tiresome!"

8 comments:

  1. I'm not surprised to find I agree wholehearted with you. He's a bonehead (hee hee, I said "bone") but that doesn't automatically mean he's a bad politician. Just a bad husband.

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  2. You quoted Dieter! My hero!

    Excellent post. I, too, don't give a F*#k how the guy gets his rocks off if he is not breaking the law. What I mind, as you say, is the lying. And the outright stupidity. This man plays high-stakes politics and goes after people like a rabid dog, and yet he exposes himself (I know) to this kind of discovery and ridicule? Embarrassing his party and his wife? Poor wife.

    Where was his head? Oh right, it was hanging out there for all to see.

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  3. He knew the risk he was taking, which makes me think that he thought he would be immune to the ensuing catastrophe.

    Or maybe subconsciously he wanted to commit political suicide.

    Isn't it amazing how modern technology makes it so easy for people to play out their personal sabotage dramas to a vast audience?

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  4. As a veteran, and a proud supporter of our society having a voice against our politians. I commend you sir. I personally put him alongside "Botox Mom" and The Westboro Church. The scum of the Earth

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  5. He is a shitty husband too, obviously, but he let his personal life into politics, by accident or on purpose, it makes him worst than the rest.

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  6. It wasn't that he didn't know the risk, it is the Arrogance of people like him .. they just don't think they will get in trouble or caught .. and to tell the truth, he is a homely little schmuck and doesn't deserve any of the attention he got .. he should just go away.
    I have only pity for his wife who now finds herself married to this dishonest a**hole and pregnant.

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  7. I think you're expecting a bit much for a politician to own up to his/her transgressions.

    THE most important attribute of any individual who holds office is their ability in being able to lie.

    It'd be great if that wasn't the case, but there's a reason why politics is called a "dirty game"

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"Let your laws come undone
Don't suffer your crimes
Let the love in your heart take control..."


-'The Hair Song', by Black Mountain

Tell me what is in your heart...