When a former prosecutor and attorney general, known for his toughness on crime and his holier-than-thou attitude to criminals, brings himself down so thoroughly, so boldly, by foolishly, arrogantly, misogynistically, and self-destructively paying for sex, it's big news.
When he takes, as his nom de plume (nom de guerre? nom d'amour?) the name of George Fox (1624-1691), the founder of the Quakers, a man famous for his pacifism, his unconventional sense of an individual's access to God, and his commitment to social justice, well, we have the beginnings of a very, very odd and sorry tale indeed.
Poor Silda! Poor Spitzer girls.
And, just for once, can we be spared the spectacle of the wronged wife standing by her man at the news conference? Poor, poor woman. I liked Spitzer and feel inclined to pity him but then I try to wrap my head around what it means for a man who's busted prostitution rings, been married 21 years, and raised three daughters to call up "Kristen" and ask if she can do some "odd things," and I feel pretty nauseated. Blech.
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Books, food, friends, and Virginia Woolf. "I spare you the twists and turns of my cogitations, for no conclusion was found on the road to Headingly, and I ask you to suppose that I soon found out my mistake about the turning and retraced my steps to Fernham."--Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own
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4 comments:
I had a similar reaction when I read the news story, but I didn't read of his alias. A prosecutor friend once told me that police often refer to an assumed name as a 'goesby', as in, he goes by the name of .... George Fox as a goesby? I'd like to think it was a coincidence, just some name chosen for its generic sound, but then since it's Spitzer, I doubt that. Double blech.
Hi Anne,
I had the same reaction to Silda Spitzer at the news conference. This piece in today's Globe and Mail summed it up nicely:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080311.wcowente11/BNStory/International/
Best,
Kathryn (from Ox!)
Hi Kathyrn & Cam!
CNN reported last night that George Fox is a Spitzer contributor. Does that make it better or worse? I do think it's weird that he choose this old English name with a really clear moral history for his own Dimmesdale moment...
And the Huffington Post has about 3 blog entries by women all thinking the same thing about Silda: I think she may be the last wife who has to do that.... I'm sorry, but the dude had an open account with the club. I just don't see how he can work to regain the trust of his family on that one...
Isn't it surreal?
If you haven't seen it yet, here's "the real George Fox's" statement:
http://www.wnbc.com/politics/15564094/detail.html
-- "The real CAAF"
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