Letters to the Editor
Reality-based Liberal
Published Letters: 774 Editor's Choice: 100
-
@ Ellyllon and others
[Read the article: Report: Spitzer caught on federal wiretap]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Again, I did not say he didn't break the law, or that he shouldn't face the same legal consequences that anyone else would.
But lay off the personal judgment -- you don't know this guy. I didn't attack Vitter either, for the record, though I find him more problematic because he ran for office on sexual morality.
People screw up. Your neighbors screw up. You may have screwed up at one point in your life. Just because you see someone on TV doesn't mean that you have a right or ability to judge their private problems. Judge him for breaking the law -- that's his biggest problem, especially as a former prosecutor. But come one, what business is it of yours to judge him on a personal level?
-
Good post
[Read the article: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While he is a hypocrite given his prosecutions for the same crime, and while he should suffer the same consequences of other caught for the same crime (though a federal prosecution here is suspect), the outrage here is alarming.
First, the woman:
A $1,000/hr prostitute has a good job. It is not enough to be attractive to get this price -- many beautiful women cannot charge this amount -- you must also be very good at your job, like highly paid folks in any line of work. To be very good, you must take your job seriously. The woman that Spitzer hired is a true professional (not in the colloquial sense). Like an athlete, she has natural attributes and skill that she deploys for her own financial needs. While forced prostitution and low-end prostitution that depends on coercive pimps who hook women on drugs and debt are an affront to women, it is positively anti-feminist to criticize women who are able to perform at this level by choice.
Second, the man:
Perhaps he is a weak man who violated his vows with a great woman. Perhaps he is in a loveless marriage that is now perfunctory and, for all practical purposes, open. That's not a public issue. What we do know is that he paid the market price for a woman's services that are top-of-the-line. And this also applies to Vitter (who like Spitzer, can be rightly judged as a hypocrite for running on sexual moralism, but did not deserve our outrage on personal level).
And while I believe that prostitution should be legal, I think Glenn covered that well. What disturbs me is the increasing belief among US residents that it is our business to look in on, and judge, the private lives of public figures. Is Spitzer good at his job? Is Brittany Spears a good performer? This is our domain. The rest is voyeurism. Sure, these people should know the nation in which they live, and good judgment might dictate how they navigate their private life once they become a public figure. But it shouldn't. And even given the environment, we aren't owed good judgment about private matters. Spitzer owes me good stewardship of New York, but he didn't promise me he'd be faithful to his wife. Spears must offer good entertainment products to excel in her career, but she never promised me anything. If you think extraordinarily personal matters come anywhere near the top of expectations for public figures, you are probably ignoring many more things that actually affect your life.
[You can make the argument that public figures set an example, but if children are dependent on rock stars and politicians to discern good private behavior, then a key battle of parenthood is already lost.]
You don't even have to go to public figures to see my point. Would you rather have a neighbor who is rude, filthy and loud, or one that has a perfect private life? Easy question. When you are talking about people who you will never meet but have control over your taxes, laws and quality of public life, personal behavior is all the more inconsequential.
-
@ droogy
[Read the article: Who would the GOP rather face?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You write about Obama: "Acknowledge your station here!"
Given that he's already winning the delegate count, the raw vote, and the state count, you must mean that he is black. Nice work.
-
"Crusader"
[Read the article: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Spitzer didn't fashion himself as purer than pure -- his actions led others to do so.
This is not to excuse either his violation of law or his hypocrisy in engaging in activity he's prosecuted. But he did not campaign on a sexual moralist.
-
@ ethics_professor
[Read the article: Who would the GOP rather face?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I question your calling Rove a genius. He is clever, no doubt. But he has one trick that Democrats are too cowardly to counter: brazenness. He knows that he can go over the top and Democrats will try to counter logically. This is his magic trick. It is not deep genius.
He knows that if the bully on the playground kicks the others, they'll back down. If they try to fight back, kick them more and they will eventually back down (and all the other kids will refuse to consider joining the abused). Look at his history. Full of bullshit fronts. The key is that it works. If anyone fought back, who knows if Rove would know what to do -- it's never happened.
-
@ AlecsMom
[Read the article: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Your distinction doesn't hold water. Should women who have sex with strangers for money be divided based on whether the man is a paid actor or a regular person? You are taking an anti-feminist point of view. If women can sell the right to penetrate their vagina, shouldn't they have the right to sell that to both actors and regular folk? It's their body.
I am not defending forced prostitution, any more than I would defend forced labor elsewhere -- or forced porn, for that matter.