Schadenfreude and Scandal

Since my return to blogging last month, I've made it a point not to immediately comment on a major news story until later on when all the initial rabbling is passed and the frothing at the mouth has been reduced to a drool.

And the raging carpet chewing has subsided as well

But, I can't help but tune into my inner schadenfreude at the Ashley Madison hack that's been going on. How ironic is it that a website meant for cheaters to anonymously hook up got busted and now has their shit out all over the internet for everyone to see!

I figured that government officials would have profiles on Ashley Madison cuz, well, they're government officials! What else completes them like having a piece of ass on the side? But I was just rolling over with laughter when I heard the infamous Josh Duggar had some profiles on the sight too.

To understand why I was so amused to see that a purported "family values" and "pro-traditional marriage" man like Josh Duggar had an account on Ashley Madison, it's because I have very little tolerance for sanctimonious, bah-bul thumping assholes like his sort. Those kinds of people might well have "hypocrite" tattooed on their forehead. And when their hypocrisy is exposed, I just grab my beer and popcorn and watch the fall from grace commence.

You gonna share that popcorn, Mikey?

There are two big lessons to be gained from watching the Ashley Madison scandal:

1. Do not cheat on your spouse (goes without saying, but it's amazing how many people don't get this)
2. If you're gonna cheat, don't be dumb enough to PAY for a profile on a cheating website. You WILL get caught, one way or another. 

Even the most diligently-covered adulterer can never completely hide their tracks; someone sees a credit card statement or gets a notice bounced to the wrong email, a website hack happens, the adulterer slips up and tells the spouse outright, or the spouse finds out the truth on their own. And if you've been spending your hard-earned money on this shit instead of putting it towards covering the needs of your family, well, you deserve whatever bad shit's coming. The infidelity is bad enough, but putting your family finances at stake to support that vice is inexcusable.

Before he was called to take over teaching a class at the Mt. Angel Benedictine Abbey in Oregon, my favorite priest from the other church my husband and I split time at warned us about schadenfreude. The Catholic Church teaches that to take pleasure in another's misfortune is a form of pride, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

I know I shouldn't laugh at Josh Duggar's fall from grace. But when you know something about how bah-bul thumpers operate and the mindset they carry, when one of them slips and causes a scandal, one can't help but feel vindicated. We saw that trainwreck coming a mile before it happened.