Ashley Madison -- Thoughts

Everybody seems to have an opinion on the hacking of the Ashley Madison “adultery” site. I do too, of course. I think things are actually pretty straightforward. I have no problem with people looking to have extramarital affairs. In all cases that’s their business, not mine. In some cases (as Glen Greenwald found out) there are fully understandable reasons (e.g., living with a disabled spouse).

FWIW, when much younger (back in the loose and wholly unscripted late ’60s, early ’70s) we and several of our friends tried the “open marriage” experiment. It did not go well.

But that’s besides the point. My only concern is when the names of individuals who have taken public stances, politicians who promote the “sanctity of marriage,” preachers who rail against “adulterers” and moralizing celebrity figures turn up on AM.

It bothers me the same way as when anti-homosexual ministers turn out to have gay lovers, when Catholic priests molest children (of either gender), when outspoken anti-drug politicians are discovered to have serious problems with substance abuse.

I think that the hacking of this site is unconscionable — but that is independent of the hypocrisy that it uncovered.