A Brief Sarcastic Comment

I've been reading various comments on "L'Affaire Edwards" - by which I mean readers' comments to blogs and news articles.

The usual two camps are talking past one another pretty much throughout the blogosphere:

Camp One: It's their own business! Respect their privacy! It's a non-issue! It has nothing to do with anything else!

Camp Two: It's NOT their own business, nor is it private; THEY made it public. It is NOT a non-issue; it shows, at minimum, a serious lapse in judgment, compounded by dishonesty.

I fall into Camp Two, pretty obviously. But since both camps really are talking at one another rather than with one another, a bit of meta-analysis would come in handy for spectators lacking a program.

This, I hasten to add, is purely my opinion. However, I put a fair amount of credence in it.

Camp One, if you inspect them closely, will almost certainly turn out to be made up of people who are doing exactly the same thing themselves; or have done it; or are planning to do it; or would do it in a heartbeat if given half a chance.

Camp Two, likewise scrutinized, will turn out with almost equal certitude to be made up of people who have had exactly the same thing done to them, or to a parent, sibling, friend or other loved one, and have no illusions about the pain it causes and the damage it does.

In other words: any debate about behavior that can be considered abusive, will often reveal who sympathizes with the abuser. Pay very close attention: it's important.