Interesting moral dilemma re: Foley and pedophilia

[coalition_unwilling]

Yesterday, as I watched the various news round ups of the Foley Foley-gate and coverup, I started cackling madly. My wife got really annoyed. When I explained that seeing the Repukes go down in flames because one of their own had violated ancient taboo on pedophilia after all the tired rhetoric about "family values," my wife responded that she had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child and that her feelings were with the pages who may have felt they had to play along with Foley to preserve their status and now probably wish only to hide their heads in shame.

My wife's position is that I shouldn't be taking such obvious amusement from watching the Repuke machine flame out when the flame-out is coming at the expense of abused children. My position is that such cosmic justice -- which makes the downfall of McCarthyism look like a minor romp by comparison -- played out in front of my very eyes deserves mad cackling.

But today, as I eat lunch at work, I'm wondering if maybe I'm a little twisted to be deriving such pleasure from Foley-gate.

Any thoughts\reactions to this?

[Monkeyman]

1. I feel for the Pages But I do not feel pain for Replugs who covered it up

[coalition_unwilling]

4. It's the whole notion of watching their "family values" BS unmasked

before the eyes of their own supporters that prompts such massive glee on my part. I think it's got the dimensions of Shakespeare's Malvolio (and Moliere) all rolled up into one.

[greyl]

2. The whole story has many parts, and it's ok to feel differently

about the various parts. Being comfortable with ambiguity is a virtuous trait of rational liberals. ;)

[flobee1]

5. Those that cover up abuses

in congress are no diffrent than the pastors that "relocate" pedophile preists to avoid any scandal and are just as vile as the pedophiles

[greyl]

12. I agree. nt

[uppityperson]

3. It is because I feel for the pages that I am laughing at the abusers

being caught. Arrogant creeps who thought they could get away with whatever they wanted while passing laws against their crime, AND complaining about those not like them having low moral values. I feel a couple different things. Much sorrow for the abused. Ironic laughter for the abusers.

[DRoseDARs]

6. Does she chide people for laughing when they're in physical pain?

Similar phenomenon. She just needs to let it slide, your reasons for laughter are fair. And if she hasn't already, for the sake of her health and emotional well-being, she needs to see a counsellor just to make sure she isn't suppressing any unresolved emotional trauma.

[notadmblnd]

7. As far as I know the only exploiting the young pageswas a RW blogger

which has since removed the victims photo and identity from his website (I think the article is at Raw Story). Other that than I haven't heard of a victim being exposed publicly or talking openly to the public about it.

[TahitiNut]

8. It's the repeated mistake.

Imagine a Congress with no partisanship. In such a Congress, I cannot imagine that the sole objective would be to ensure that pages weren't subjected to sexual predation. There'd be no "conflicting objectives" of any kind.

Even today, there is virtually NO ATTENTION being given to any steps taken to assure that pages aren't subjected to sexual predation.

Quelle surprise!

[Hav]

9. .

Why do people find it amusing that the whole Repub house is falling together? It's because of the way they themselves acted. Their "moral values", their "bring honour and integrity" back to the White House and all the years they hunted Clinton's cock which they are still doing to this day.

I don't think that it's simply amusing that one of them got caught being the pervert. It's because of what they have preached in the past. Payback's a...(not allowed on DU ;))

[mondo joe]

10. "If you can't enjoy the downfall of a hypocrite....

"If you can't enjoy the downfall of a hypocrite, you have lost all zest for life." -- NYTimes ethicist Randy Cohen

[intaglio]

11. Schadenfreude

is not a pleasant thing to observe - but it is great fun to have. Another way of looking at it is that if you don't laugh you'll cry

[jsamuel]

13. To take joy in the fact that the scandal happened is bad, but taking joy

in seeing the perpertrators of the crime be brought down is not. These are people who claim the highest moral authority while making torture legal, stealing from the poor, giving to the rich, and being racist.