We don't choose our kinks any more than we choose our sexuality. Whatever might turn us on is something that acts upon us without our consent. We may choose to act upon it or not, but it's there. We're supposed to be standing to condemn Anthony Weiner for his actions, and I suppose he does deserve some censure there. But treating him as anything but a man who let his libido get the better of him in perhaps one of the most innocuous ways it might do so would be, from my perspective, a serious mistake.
Oh, the right (wrong) wing will treat him like trash, ignoring the behavior of so many of their own that went far beyond anything Weiner did. Let's not ignore a basic fact here. Weiner isn't a "family values" politician. He didn't get where he was by attacking others for their sexuality. He wasn't like many conservative Republicans, who claim moral superiority yet never actually exhibit it.
He is flawed. He is male. And he made a mistake. Oh, I know what some people are saying--it's tantamount to cheating. I say there's a lot of different ways to cheat, but the accepted method is by physically being intimate with another person. That, according to Weiner, has never happened.
But he's spent a lot of time fighting for the most vulnerable amongst us, standing up to the powerful because someone had to do it. This is not a man without compassion, without heart. Let's not turn our backs on him because now he's the one who's vulnerable.
People are going to react according to their nature. Myself, I'm going to shrug it off and barely bother to shake my finger at him. I will, however, make jokes. He deserves that much.
Let he who is without kink throw the first dildo.
