Let's Talk about A. Weiner

Rep. Anthony Weiner that is. Like many, I liked the guy. Thought he was smart, well informed, funny...just the basic down to earth type of person we need in the House. Course, that's all changed now that his private life is out in the open.

What's interesting, is how he's being treated like he's been cheating on his wife. Not once, have I heard the proper term to be used...he's an Exhibitionist. Although not really a crime, (er New Orleans anyone?) it is grounds here at MSU to inciting a riot. For someone in his position, its bad taste, poor judgement, really dumb thing to do. But, I'd consider running for office in the first place as: bad taste, poor judgement, really dumb thing to do. We've got wife cheaters running for President (Gingrich), and a Supreme Court Judge clearly guilty of fraud and tax evasion (Thomas)....having a Representative as a exhibitionist suddenly doesn't seem all that bad. Hell Arnold Schwarzenegger resume step to fame directly leading to governorship; was being a pot smoking exhibitionist. Oh wait, I get it. If you have a hot bod, then its okay.

There's some serious subject matter being missed in all this. Which is, the amount of exhibitionism and voyeurism rampant on social networks and the internet as a whole and the repercussions that will hang with you or your child for the rest of your/their life.

Director of IT at Cornell University, Tracy Mitrano, wrote a fantastic article/notice about the dangers of Social Networks. She details the dangers in 5 points: invincibility, caching, freedom, responsibility, and the law. The only problem I have with the article, is its audience is incoming college students. At that point...its too late. If your child has access to a web cam, either on a cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc...your kid could be participating in these hazards. If your not sure if your systems have a webcam on them, then consider yourself a bad parent, because its too late for your kid. We've already seen cases of cyber bulling, where blackmail is involved by a teens peers, related suicides, etc ...and the world just get darker from there.

Weiner's tweets to a teenager poses the potential dangers to kids on the internet. In Anthonys' case, they were not inappropriate (nothing yet as of this writing) and the parents knew about the communications. However, I'd bet, its generally not the case the parents know. Your kid smoking pot is the least of your concern. As Mitrano put it, bad online decisions will destroy your career for life. With such a high profile in the news, we have an obligation for a teachable moment for parents and kids alike. Instead the media fails to spark such dialog, and Representatives like Boehner would rather make boner jokes (see Ohio State speech). If your a parent, get educated, and alert your child to the realities of today.

For more reading
~ Mitrano has a newer follow-up to her article from Educause.

~ Other "great" men that remained in office:
Bill Clinton got some pleasure in the oval office.
Newt Gingrich cheated on his wife.
Ensign had sex with a staff member and paid her off with $96,000.
Vitter admitted to paid sex with prostitutes.
Craig plead guilty to a crime involving sex in a bathroom stall.