The Reggie Bush of Nassau County?, by Arthur Tebbel – Pop Art #89
August 17, 2010 Arthur Tebbel 5 Comments
Dear Art,
This is yourself. I know you’ve been struggling a lot this week. There’s something a friend of yours did but he demands his privacy be protected putting you in a tough spot. So, hypothetically, what if a friend of mine had a prolonged sexual relationship with Angelina, cast member of MTV’s Jersey Shore? Furthermore, what if this hypothetical friend was a staff member for a prominent Republican politician in suburban New York? What does this say about him or his future as a politician? I hope everyone appreciates that this is not necessarily referring to a real person; it is purely hypothetical.
-Art Tebbel, Michael Davis World columnist
Art,
That would be an insane situation. That would only be compounded if there was a TMZ video talking about the possibility of an Angelina sex tape in which he was visible in the background. I would not want to be that person.
I don’t understand how this wouldn’t end anyone’s political career. People often vote for people out of respect for their judgment. Something that you have none of if you could watch that show and want to be emotionally involved with the people on it. To say nothing of the cornucopia of infectious diseases and aggressive funguses that would be the obvious result of a physical relationship. This should be especially true if one wants to be a member of the party of family values. I haven’t read the 2010 Republican platform but I’m pretty sure they aren’t fond of recreational drug use, rampant promiscuity or belligerent violence. Then again maybe David Vitter wrote the platform this year. Then they probably just aren’t wearing enough diapers..
In the aforementioned TMZ clip Angelina, in reference to her self-appointed title as “The Kim Kardashian of Staten Island,” refers to her ass as “The Staten Island Dump.” This is in particularly poor taste if she were to be the wife of a politician. We all know that Staten Island has wanted to remove itself from the city of New York and has been fought mostly because of it’s precious landfill space. To continually bring up such a sensitive issue frivolously would be suicide for a local politician. Also it’s generally a good idea when looking for a potential First Lady to pick someone that has never had to clarify that they don’t have “shit all over” their backside.
I don’t think that someone should be disqualified from a life of public service based on who they date. I do think my friends shouldn’t date reality TV stars famous for being intolerable. This is a sticky subject for me. I guess what I really have to hope for is that my friend has a long and lucrative career in politics so he can use his power, money and influence to buy my silence on this matter. I think Chief Justice Tebbel has a certain ring to it.
MOTU
August 17, 2010 - 11:00 pm
If he’s a member of the self righteous GOP who makes it a point to try and regulate morality and make SEX bad unless you are married even if you do not believe in the same God that they lie (I mean pray) to then…
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Bill Mulligan
August 18, 2010 - 3:23 pm
So, MOTU, you are willing to potentially hurt some guy you don’t know whose only crime is to be a staff member for a politician of a party you don’t vote for? Wow.
Maybe I’m missing something but is there really a market for gossip about staff members? I mean, if it were a senator or a governor or a president, sure, fun stuff, and the joy of tearing down someone whose achievements make you feel small and inadequate. But a staff member?
The only possible purpose in telling would be to gain whatever satisfaction one gets from causing harm to others and frankly that’s a hell of a lot worse than anything your friend ever did.
Indeed, if this were not a purely hypothetical situation I would suggest that your friend’s worst judgment was not in his choice of skanky bed partner but in having as a friend anyone who would even contemplate injuring a friend for fun.
(PS–a careless reader might infer from this post that the Democratic Party IS “fond of recreational drug use, rampant promiscuity or belligerent violence” and that had the hypothetical friend simply worked for a Democrat all would be rainbows and unicorns. I am sure that was not your intent.)
MOTU
August 18, 2010 - 9:43 pm
Bill said,
“So, MOTU, you are willing to potentially hurt some guy you don’t know whose only crime is to be a staff member for a politician of a party you don’t vote for? Wow.’
IF, said person is working with someone’s who has a platform of morality,family values and other GOP standards my answer is yes. I’m pretty clear on that in my post. I really don’t care what people do with anyone else just don’t feed me this morality crap unless you live by it.
I actually like a great deal of what The GOP stands for believe it or not but STAY out of my bedroom and don’t wave God at me like I should give a fuck. Maybe I do give a fuck but that’s no one’s business but mine.
I feel this is just like GOP congressmen ( and there have been a few) voting against gay rights while having gay sex on the down-low.
All that said yours was a fair question and statement Bill.
Bill Mulligan
August 19, 2010 - 6:08 pm
MOTU, I appreciate the well reasoned response and apologize for judging you as less reasonable than you obviously are.
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I still disagree with the situation at hand, hypotetical as it is. Would you out a gay member of the staff of a homophobic congressman? It would not hurt the congressman–indeed, he’d be grateful for the help in ridding himself of a “pervert”. The result would be indistinguishable from what has been done to gays for a long time. bad results are not mitigated by good intentions.
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If the idea is that it’s ok to humiliate the staffer because it will cause embarrassment to Congressman Family Values, it seems likely to me that it will do nothing of the sort. again, who would really care? And if they did the congressman simply fires the guy and pontificates about how he has higher standards than yadda yadda yadda. No gain for anyone, massive pain for your friend.
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Which is still what gets to me. This hypothetical is about a friend. Am I crazy or does it not seem mind boggling that the choice between potentially destroying a friends job or, conversely, minding one’s own goddamn business can be described as being put “in a tough spot.”?
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As far as hypocrisy goes, pretending to be a friend of someone one is willing to publicly humiliate is far worse than being an uptight blue-nose with a randy staffer.
MOTU
August 20, 2010 - 4:09 pm
Bill,
You DO raise interesting and thought provoking questions and points. I will grant you if the staffer in question is just ‘living his life’ then it’s not black and white as it would be if in fact it was the Congressman himself. I would not out a gay member of the staff of a homophobic congressman, but I would OUT LOUDLY if the Congressmen was on the down low while voting against gay rights.
Remember that cop in the OJ Simpson case who swore under oath he did not use the ‘N’ word? Then a zillion tapes showed up that showed him using the ‘N’ so often that racists were embarrassed.
A bigger point and something I didn’t really pick up on until your last post is this; this is a FRIEND Art is talking about. That’s another ball of wax to be sure. I know Art pretty well and he’s a good guy and a good friend. I’m sure he’s wrestling with a moral dilemma and put it on the forum because of that. I’ve said a million times you can’t regulate morality. From a friendship point of view I have to say I agree with you, stay out of it.