dagblog - Comments for "Dr. Cleveland's Rule for Evaluating Rumors of Affairs"

Great article, Doc. And let's

Kevin — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 21:11:04 +0000

In reply to Dr. Cleveland's Rule for Evaluating Rumors of Affairs

Great article, Doc. And let's not forget that though there are undoubtedly reasons gossip flourishes in our society (for example, to give voice to anxiety or, as you point out in your final paragraph, to express fantasies), those who are the subject of rumors can be severely damaged both professionally, personally and psychologically.

Yeah. Some sex scandals are

Doctor Cleveland — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 15:58:18 +0000

In reply to I have portfolio here because

Yeah. Some sex scandals are based on actual sex. And lots are based on malice.

If Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina, gets caught in a sex scandal, it's probably not because people want to picture Mark Sanford making hot sexy love. And that scandal didn't hit the media until there was serious, can't-explain-this-away evidence. He actually stepped off a plane from Argentina, after pretending he was elsewhere. (And for me, the abandoning his job responsibilities was the actual scandal.)

If Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina, gets tarred in rumors about her sex life, there doesn't have to be much (or any) evidence. Because there are a large number of people who would enjoy imagining Nikki Haley having sex. That rumor makes it to the Internet whether it has much substance or not.

When a rumor about a conventionally "sexy" woman (i.e., a woman that straight men think of sexually) starts flying, it's always important to take a step back and ask how much evidence is being offered.

I remember the Italian pouter

PeraclesPlease — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 04:16:16 +0000

In reply to Funny.

(repeat).

I remember the pouter in the

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 18:26:55 +0000

In reply to Funny.

I remember the pouter in the carriage in a Room with a View.

Funny.

Oxy Mora — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 14:53:42 +0000

In reply to Thank you, you're very kind.

Funny.

Our actual discussion was whether women actors are actually being coached to "pout", kinda protruding the lips. Then we noticed that the wronged wife in the series was also, almost imperceptibly, trying to pout. Amidst this type of speculation, we also enjoy the series, and the two-part contra-narrative technique it uses in story telling.

Thank you, you're very kind.

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 14:07:47 +0000

In reply to I tend to think of you in the

Thank you, you're very kind. You may call me "duck lips" if you like.

I tend to think of you in the

Oxy Mora — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 12:44:29 +0000

In reply to I always had a thing for

I tend to think of you in the mold of Dominic West, but much smarter. So I would agree with your shrink and that you well buttressed your end of the Betty Ford rumor. It must have been that she was not rumor-worthy in that sphere.

I always had a thing for

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 16:49:16 +0000

In reply to I have portfolio here because

I always had a thing for Betty Ford. Obviously having her own clinic earned points - easy? One could only hope. While Gerald's away, the mice will play. I tried starting a rumour about the two of us, but didn't take. Was I not attractive enough? My shrink thinks I'm too hard on myself - only distance and lack of opportunity. Anyway, those were different times - nowadays we'd have a reality show. But no pitcher of martinis - one door opens, another door closes.

I have portfolio here because

Oxy Mora — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 16:18:25 +0000

In reply to Dr. Cleveland's Rule for Evaluating Rumors of Affairs

I have portfolio here because I instigated the rumor---the one about FDR and Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd who were contemporaries of mine and my motivations were different from what you attribute to the Republican legislators. Though the common opinion was that Lucy was more "attractive" than Eleanor, to me smart is attractive as well as purpose and energy level. For example, I am attracted to Ruth Wilson---who my partner refers to as duck lips---who is multifaceted and really smart. In any case I simply wanted to bring the Patrician populist lackey down any way I could and any misstep would have sufficed. I think the legislators are more suppressing their feelings as bad behavior, in a religious fundamentalist mold, than actively dwelling on them. But that's just my projection.

We were watching the show, The Affair (which a writer described as a self-indulgent show when I thought it was the other way around---who gives a hoot whether or not the show was filmed in an ostentatious condo) with Dominic West and Ruth Wilson.

Would you like to hit old duck lips, she asked.

No. I said.

It's also, in part, because

barefooted — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 02:03:24 +0000

In reply to Dr. Cleveland's Rule for Evaluating Rumors of Affairs

It's also, in part, because he campaigned for her, joining her in NC on the trail. It wouldn't seem unusual for a high-ranking member to do so for a fellow male candidate, but obviously it's different when it's a female. And yes - had she been 65 and black it wouldn't have raised eyebrows. Then again, if that were the case it might never have happened at all.

What I find somewhat stomach turning is that it has an underground, whisper campaign vibe. Doesn't need to be true, proven or lasting as a slur - it just needs to be effective. Start early, get noticed and when it matters get it used ... to hell with ruined careers.

And Democrats need to remember that even when it's true, political shaming for personal misdeeds to gain political points damns the whole country to hypocrisy. Or worse, leads it to accept better liars.