Over the last few days, hackers have exposed the accounts of millions of users of the infidelity-assisting dating website Ashley Madison (tagline: “Life is short. Have an affair.”) to public scrutiny. In the aftermath, individuals across the world have seen details of their private lives suddenly become very public.
The breach has also exposed the accounts of a number of people who might be considered to be public figures, including at least one person so far who is involved in Maine politics. I doubt they’ll be the last.
The response from many has been gleeful indulgence in knowing the details of others’ personal activities, paired with various degrees of moral condemnation for the users, who are mostly assumed to be cheaters or adulterers.
Some degree of rubbernecking is to be expected here. The hacking is legitimate news, and the insight into the private lives of others that it has afforded, in an aggregate way, can be revelatory.
The Associated Press, for instance, found and reported that hundreds of U.S. government workers, including employees at the White House, Congress and in federal law enforcement agencies, had used their work computers to join and browse the site.
What’s less defensible, however, is dragging the details of the private lives of specific individuals into the spotlight for public shaming (as the hackers did on a large scale), even if, in most cases, they are already public or political figures.
There are a number of reasons why this is the case.
n First, some may be exposed to serious social and economic consequences and even violence as a result of their outing.
“Gay sex is punishable by death in my home country, so I wanted to keep my hookups extremely discreet,” wrote one Reddit user from Saudi Arabia as word of the breach spread. “I have almost managed to get together enough money for a plane ticket; I do not think it will be safe to ever return since there is incontrovertible proof (pics, chat) on AM that I’m gay.”
n Second, simply the fact that someone’s email was used on the site doesn’t tell us the whole story. It could have been used by someone else (deliberately or as a result of a typo), or they could have had reasons other than adultery for using the site (like research or simply for a vicarious thrill).
n Third, and perhaps most importantly, it’s none of our business. Even married users who used the site for hookups may have been in an open or nonmonogamous relationship – and, if they weren’t, that’s an issue between that person and his or her spouse, not the public at large.
In Maine politics in particular, personal lives have long been considered off-limits.
Eleven years ago, when then-Christian Civic League Executive Director Michael Heath began threatening to out members of the Legislature who were gay and closeted, it prompted an immediate and powerful backlash. Some straight representatives even stood up on the House floor and declared themselves to be gay in solidarity.
Most people involved in politics in Maine have probably heard rumors and sometimes even seen proof of the private, morally questionable activities of political figures. The Legislature is like high school in far too many ways. But, for the most part, Mainers don’t believe these activities should be made into public fodder.
Even Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage, who usually has no problem lobbing insults and personal attacks, has ruled personal and romantic lives out of bounds.
“Already passed on doing that, and worse, more than once. Not my thing,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some cases where such activities by public figures might be politically or policy-relevant, and subject to public disclosure.
As former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (now a freelance columnist for this newspaper) once put it: “The right to privacy should not be a right to hypocrisy. People who want to demonize other people shouldn’t then be able to go home and close the door, and do it themselves.”
I have no moral qualms, for instance, about reality TV star, public moralist and professional anti-gay activist (and admitted serial molester of his sisters when he was younger) Josh Duggar being outed as an adulterer based on his Ashley Madison account. He’s a demagogue and a hypocrite who has pushed policies that damage the lives and relationships of others while draping himself in a mantle of moral righteousness.
In other words: If Michael Heath shows up on the Ashley Madison list, I’ll be writing about it.
Mike Tipping is a political junkie who works for the Maine People’s Alliance. He can be contacted at:
writebacktomike@gmail.com
Twitter: @miketipping
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