I wasn't going to let the whole Wiener storyline go without a remark but I saw an opportunity to use it as a teachable moment.
NOTE TO THE MEDIA: There people in this country living in tents and/or without health care. Do we really give a rat's ass about someone sending sexy photos of themselves over the internet?
The media has once again proven themselves to stare and drool at the bright shiny object-in this case Wiener's weener. Recall that the mass media is one of the five primary agencies of socialization and the one, I believe, has overrun the other four (family, school, peer group, community). Somehow, the union of puritanical hysteria and the corporate owned media have created a bastard of a child that feeds on insanity like this. For the life of me, I can't figure out why Chris Lee resigned after a shirtless photo of him came out. So fucking what??!!??
Can we please get over this ridiculous rigidity about sex? All it produces is a preponderance of attention paid to a whole bunch of shit that doesn't matter one wit. We have serious problems in this country and this is a serious fucking waste of time, people.
What do we have to do to stop giving a shit about this garbage? I submit that we stop watching, reading, or listening to it and let the sponsors of any media who report this shit that WE DON'T CARE.
9 comments:
I generally agree with you. However, what I don't get is why Weiner had to lie his ass off about it. Once he did that, it becomes more than about sex because, well, some people still like to believe that their politicians aren't shameless liars. He should have either said, "Yeah, so?" or "No comment." when asked about this stuff, and the media would go find something else shiny sooner or later.
It's rarely the actual error in judgment itself that takes the big boys down, it's usually the coverup. Nixon, Ensign, Edwards, Weiner, and so many others like them lied and tried to hide what they had done because they thought being exposed would be the worst thing that could happen.
But the worst thing is committing crimes trying to cover up the problem, and then being exposed for the whole conspiracy. Nixon compounded the original crime with additional crimes and misuse of government agencies. Ensign lied and then ensnared his parents, getting them to pay his lover $96K and got others to hire the husband of his lover and cover up his affair. Edwards lied and spent a million dollars of campaign cash to hide his pregnant girlfriend.
Weiner lied, but in the end it looks like all he did was just stand there and lie. He doesn't appear to have bought anyone off or committed any actual crimes. Other than the crime of sheer stupidity.
But when public officials lie about stuff, it is newsworthy. Where there is smoke there is usually fire. They media are not wrong for going after guys who appear to be lying about sexual indiscretions. Because as we've seen so many times in the past, when people like this lie they are often willing to spend a lot of money and effort to perpetuate the lie, and that often involves actual crimes.
It's hard to believe that Weiner was dumb enough to send such pictures out after the Lee incident. What were these guys thinking? Sending semi-nude pictures of yourself to girls is something that 15 year old boys do.
I don't think Weiner should resign, or that Lee should have been required to resign. But I can certainly sympathize with Lee's decision. He would have had a hard time looking constituents -- or his wife -- in the eye after that.
You might think naked tweets or sexting photos are "harmless," but congressmen are public officials, and wield a lot of power and influence, which they can use to get what they want from ordinary mortals. How can the news media distinguish someone like Weiner or Lee from Mark Foley -- the Florida Republican who was preying on Congressional pages -- without doing a thorough investigation?
The pursuit of these guys by the media is tawdry and silly. But I'd rather have the tawdriness and silliness, than have the good old boys' network cover up any real crimes these guys might have committed.
Hey, Nikto and I are more or less on the same page. See! Things are turning around. :)
Weird how the fact that his lies have demonstrated him to be untrustworthy are only of concern to Nikto, and only then because of what actual crimes he might commit that you won't know about.
The fact that he's untrustworthy apparently isn't, of itself, a disqualifier. Only the possibility that such untrustworthiness may have bad consequences is a problem. I guess untrustworthiness alone doesn't rise to the level of a "bad consequence" with you folks.
Wow, I pretty much agree with both Mark and Nikto.
No. I'm sorry, I don't want people without impulse control in leadership positions. Did you hear the interview with one of the women on Hannity last night? The dude was very open with all sorts of stuff TO A STRANGER ON THE INTERNET. He's a weirdo.
And don't get married if you're going to play the field. To just about any woman, this more than qualifies as infidelity. Even IF Bill Clinton officiated the wedding.
Headline on Yahoo News: Wiener Faces More Pressure.
I'm sorry guys, but it is what it is. This guy was years' worth of late night talk show monologues waiting to happen. Headlines like the above are free ammo.
Wouldn't you love to get your hands on Brietbart's cell phone?! That thing is a treasure trove!
He's a weirdo.
If politicians could be disqualified from holding office on this basis, Congress would be a lonely place.
However, to be more specific:
1. Having fought to get a job "constantly under the microscope", he still allowed his personal impulses to drive his actions.
2. You cannot assume a 1-to-1 relationship (or indeed, any relationship at all) between what he says and reality.
3a. He either was unable to spot the likelihood of his becoming a laughingstock and a target of ridicule as a result of his choice to follow his impulses,
3b. he didn't care about that likelihood, or
3c. he couldn't get the idea through his head that those consequences for his choices would actually apply to him.
Pick one, any one, and explain how it is not a disastrous quality in a leader.
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