I am a forgiving person. I believe in second chances but come on, Anthony Weiner needs to step out and step down. He needs to get some more help.
I think there are double standards for powerful White men who “misbehave”. I just wonder what the buzz would be if Weiner was a woman or if he was a man of color. I can’t believe that there is not more of an outcry for him to drop out. It smacks of privilege, sexism and arrogance to me.
He was caught sending explicit sexual messages to young women. Do we really want one of the major cities in the world being represented by someone who engages in behavior that disrespects his wife and I dare say all women?
I think this is more than a “men will be men” thing. It seems like an addiction for which he should seek help. I understand that sexting is becoming much more popular. Sexting between both married and single adults is increasing. According to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive almost 20% of U. S. adults say they use their smartphone for sexting, sharing explicit photos or text messages.
So be it. It still does not send a great message to our youth about values, commitment, ethics, and respect. I think there are boundaries for our leaders as to what is acceptable behavior.
The fact that his wife, Huma Abedin, is standing by him, is a personal decision and we have seen other high profile political wives do the same thing. That is her choice and I respect it. (It does raise a whole other set of gender issues which I will not explore here.)
However, I believe that if you want to be a “sexter”, you are not qualified to be a world leader. I wonder if a prospective employer, who now routinely check out applicants’ Facebook entries would hire Weiner if they found out that he was a sexter. Don’t companies fire employees for such behavior at work?
Image Credit: dasas.net
