Resignation = justice

I've found it somewhat amusing to watch pundits and other public figures try to come up with practical reasons that Anthony Weiner should resign: (1) if his judgment is this bad, he could do real damage to the country; (2) no one will take him seriously, now that he's disgraced himself; (3) no one will work with him, because he's obviously a misogynist and a sociopathic liar. 

And so on.

I think it's much simpler than all that. It's as simple as something parents teach their kids: "When you behave badly and get caught, you get punished. Once your punishment is done, you get a fresh start. But you don't get a fresh start until the punishment is done, and you don't get to behave badly and not get punished."

This is consistent with our general notions of justice and fairness: "Actions have consequences. If you behave badly, if you harm others...there should be repercussions for you, roughly proportional to the badness of your behavior and the harm you did to others. Then you get a fresh start."

At this point, Rep. Weiner hasn't had to suffer any real consequences. Oh sure, he's had to apologize, and he's felt embarrassed and ashamed, and a lot of his relationships are strained. But those things are just a by-product of the revelation of the truth...they're not an actual punishment.

At this point, in other words, Weiner is like a kid who got caught sneaking cookies, but hasn't yet been sent to his room. He feels embarrassed, he feels ashamed, he knows he did wrong, he's said he's sorry, he knows Mommy and Daddy are disappointed...but it doesn't end there, because he hasn't been sent to his room yet.

The problem with Weiner (and with members of Congress in general) is that we have no means of sending him to his room. So, the calls for his resignation are ways of saying, basically, "Punishment is appropriate in this case, but we're unable to punish you. So, punish yourself."

Footnote: An even SIMPLER justification for his resignation is this: "You're too despicable a human being to serve in a position of honor. Go do something else." And an even simpler one is this: "You're gross. We don't want to see you right now. Go away."

Comments

[Tom]

Good analogy, I like it.