For those horrified by what Weiner did, how would you feel if he had been caught

[quinnox]

looking at porn on his computer instead? And I'm talking regular porn, not anything illegal such as child porn.

Would you support his resignation then? Would you consider this to be "creepy" or "perverted"?

I'm seeing a lot of surprising reactions that I would expect from uptight conservatives from reading some responses, and so I wondered about this question.

[pipi_k]

1. On his work computer, you mean?

Well, what would happen to a regular person caught looking at porn on his employer's computer (at work)?

Look at porn on your own time, buddy...that would be my response.

Creepy? yeah. If it's at work, I'd think it was creepy. And unethical.

We don't pay these guys to view porn at work. Just do their damned jobs.

[quinnox]

2. what about perverted?

I noticed you agreed on creepy. Would you consider it perverted if he looked at the porn?

[pipi_k]

7. No. I don't consider men who look at porn "perverted"...

Well, the usual porn, anyway.


If it's the real hard disgusting stuff or involves children, then yes. I would think they're perverts.

[JuniperLea]

12. I think that's a pretty broad brush...

Some men who look at porn are absolutely perverted... "regular" porn. Some men get so warped they can't have sex with live women and can only have sex with themselves and porn.

This is a very deep subject.

[pipi_k]

15. If they can only have sex with themselves...

from watching regular porn, then I don't consider them perverted.

IMO, a pervert is someone who exploits others for his own sexual gratification.

Flashers. Obscene phone callers. Child porn addicts. People who screw animals.


I don't think I'm broad-brushing anything. In fact, I'm narrowing it down.

[JuniperLea]

27. Oh, well...

If we're going to go by whay YOU think is considered perversion instead of the definition... carry on.

[hfojvt]

19. speaking as somebody who once had an office

as a grad student and as an "associate lecturer", I might be in my office for many, many hours of the day, and at late hours as well. If I am putting in 10 or twelve hour days, six days a week including taking work home with me, then isn't some of the time in my office "my own time". Being a Congressperson is more like being a graduate assistant than a typical 9 to 6 type job. There is not really a clear division between when you are at work and when you are on your own time. Just because you are in your office does not mean you cannot take a break from work whenever you feel like it.

As for a work computer, show me an employee who has one that they haven't played a few games of spider, free cell, mine sweeper or solitaire on. Not everybody, but I bet lots of office workers do (when I was in telephone customer service, I had a computer with no games even on it, and also every minute of non-break time had to be accounted for.) I understand there are some people posting on DU when they are at work and using the company computer and not on break time. So a Congressperson who used a company computer for personal purposes would not be alone in that regard.

[pipi_k]

20. If it's not your own office

that you pay rent on, and if the equipment isn't yours, and if your employer would not be OK with what you're doing on HIS computer, then it's not cool.


Solitaire and other games is a whole lot different from porn.



My suggestion would be for people in a situation where they're at work more than 8 hours a day and need some kind of "down time" that they discuss what sorts of things the employer will and will not permit to be viewed on his computers.


If it's your own laptop...then it's a non-issue.

[hfojvt]

21. in this case though, the voter is the employer

and then also the issue becomes more about porn than it is about "he did this on company time!!!"

Free cell, spider, porn, and chatting on a message board are forms of entertainment, some more generally socially accepted than others. It's just harder to go into high dudgeon with "he played spider solitaire in a taxpayer funded office on a taxpayer funded computer!!!"

A Congressperson is more like a self employed business person. As a businessman I need my customers to keep me employed, but generally I set my own hours and supervise my own work. My computer was paid for by the customers from their previous purchases, but I control how it gets to be used. I might fire an employee for chatting on a message board when they are supposed to be working, but do the same thing myself if I am working in the store on a slow day. Some of that is an RHIP (rank has its privileges) double standard, but the other part would be the extra time and investment I am putting into my business.

Granted, you can lose a customer or two for various reasons. When I was in business I lost a customer because the tape I was listening to happened to be playing AC/DC's "Shake a leg" when she came into the store, and some customers or potential customers complained about the way I dressed or that I would sometimes be eating while on the job (sheesh, with a one person store that didn't even make money for the one person, it is kinda hard to get a meal break and I always stopped eating on the rare occasions when customers came in).

But if enough people like what you are selling, in this case, progressive legislation and progressive rhetoric, then you can stay in business in spite of the critics.

[pipi_k]

25. Not really...

If Americans are their employers, we have the right not to see the things we pay for via our taxes being used for things that aren't job related.

As a taxpayer, I expect these guys to do their jobs and save the creepy stuff for their own time or their own computers.


Otherwise I don't care what they do at home or when they're not supposed to be working.

[dynasaw]

3. Don't Elected Officials Have Enough Work to Do?

For people who have never worked inside government let me just say there is usually tons of
work: reports to be read, legislations to scrutinized, round upon round of meetings, but this guy
has time to engage in silly Tweets?

[quinnox]

4. So you would support a resignation then

Wow, this is amazing to me. I'm not that uptight.

[Arctic Dave]

9. Your right, I'm sure you work non-stop from the time you wake til the time you sleep.

What are the hours for a congresscritter? I'm mean, tweeting, that takes an entire, what, three seconds.

[frylock]

23. how long does it take to drop trou and snap a pic of your dick?

[Arctic Dave]

29. I would assume about the same amount as it takes to drop them to use the bathroom .

Maybe some here with their chastity belts might take a little longer. That being said, how do you know he did this at his office?

[sabrina 1]

30. Lol!

[nomb]

5. And I became the butt of national jokes 24/7 while my co-workers, friends and boss deserted me?

hmmmm, I'd resign and try to find somewhere where no one knew me to start over........


Pelosi and Reid cut him loose, Jon Stewart who was his friend and former roommate has been remorseless, former girlfriends have called on him to step down, donors are looking for other candidates, etc etc.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

6. Well what can you say

Most Americans are very immature concerning their sexuality. We really need to grow up. But apparently some Democrats want the Republican psychosis with sexuality to be the status quo

[seabeyond]

10. weiner a perfect example of the immaturity. and... porn at work gets you fired in corp world. nt

[Skip_In_Boulder]

32. Well that depends on

how far down on the food chain you are in the corporate world.

[NeedleCast]

8. Wouldn't bother me at all

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. Let's discard any privacy they have. Post the contents of all their computers online.

Tap their phones, read their snail mail.

I guarantee that there'll be more salacious findings on the (R) side of the aisle.

Here's the rub;
The republicans caught with their hands down their pants will tearfully repent, publicly beg God (and their spouses) for forgiveness and have all their sins washed away.
The democrats (especially the few progressives among them) will be on the 24 hour corporate news cycle while their "supporters" fight one another to see who can distance themselves furthest using phrases like "I'm not hung up about the morality, but how can (s)he be so stupid?".

Meanwhile, the job offers from lobbying firms don't gather too much attention.

[JuniperLea]

13. Porn can ruin some men and absolutely make them perverted and creepy...

When they can no longer "do" live women and can only do it with porn... "regular" porn... that is perverted and ultra freaking creepy.

Not all men let it go that far...

[pipi_k]

16. Why does it have to be perverted and creepy...

to only be able to have sex with porn and one's own self?

Maybe it's less about perversion and creepiness than self esteem issues. Trust issues. Fear. Guilt.


I'd rather see a man who can't perform with live adult women "do" themselves than a little girl any day.

[JuniperLea]

28. You might want to find another word in that case...

Because you are bastardizing "perversion" when you twist it like that.

[JoePhilly]

24. Now compare that to ...

Gambling, smoking, alcohol, marijuana.

Some people abuse one or more of these ... some partake in moderation.

All of this sounds like morality laws to me.

[JuniperLea]

31. Well said...

There is a huge difference between use and abuse.

And alcohol is the REAL gateway drug... just sayin'.

[moobu2]

14. it wouldn't bother me at all. I hold hypocritic republicans to a higher standard

because most of them claim to be better than the rest of us, "family values" and all that crap.

[lynne]

17. Are you comparing the two acts as equal?

Private legal porn is between spouses. He chose to expose naked pics of himself in a public environment. The stupidity factor alone is enough to call for a resignation.

[Inuca]

18. "the stupidity factor"

Agree, that's the main point.

[Cid_B]

26. +1

Just so dumb...

[frylock]

22. who's horrified? i'm lmfao at the stupidity of it..

and the lengths some people here are defending his stupid lying ass. we all know if this were a repub there would be no "invasion of privacy" and "it's no big deal" from the amen choir round here.

[Zax2me]

33. It depends-would he lie about that too day after day in interviews?

Blame it on being hacked?