Dearest Rachel –
“I read the news today, oh boy…”
Yeah, this is the sort of topic I’d rather not be talking about here. Like I’ve said so many times before, talking about politics on the internet is something that will get you strung up by half the population of the place – if not by both halves. Everyone has their sacred cows, and nobody wants theirs milked, or turned into steaks, regardless of how richly they need or deserve it.
At the same time, this is the sort of thing we’d discuss face to face, back when we could. Moreover, with your departure, and certain situations that attend that departure, there are a few things that have occurred to me about the stories that have recently made the rounds that are that much more germane to my own situation (and I promise I’ll explain that in greater detail as I go along, as unlikely as that might sound in the moment).
The ‘good’ news, if you can call it that, is that I could probably leave out any names to these stories, and if someone were to read this letter in a few years’ time, especially without looking at the date stamp, they could easily assume I’m talking about someone else entirely – because those in political circles never learn, and human nature is what it always has been, so this sort of thing is almost guaranteed to happen again, although not necessarily in such quick succession. And with that having been said, if they do check when this was written, and compare the two concurrent stories I’m juxtaposing, it wouldn’t take a lot of research to figure out who the two specific individuals are that I’m talking about.
But as our friend Ellen would put it, that’s “too much like work” for most people. That allows me to proceed from here with the assumption that no one is going to take the time to look up the names and stories that have been crossing my path over the last few days, and go a certain distance toward explaining why it’s so hard to start a relationship in and at this age.
The first story has either been under a week or over a decade in the making, depending on who you believe, or want to. It would seem that a certain member of Congress has been having what might be referred to as ‘zipper issues’; as in, he can’t seem to keep his closed up as he ought – and I’m not talking about the occasional bathroom faux pas. This is where genericizing the story is easy; even that commencement address that we first found out about in an anime music video some twenty years ago acknowledges that “politicians will philander” as practically axiomatic. This fellow isn’t the first by any stretch of the imagination, and Lord knows that he won’t be the last, unless our entire political system crumbles to dust overnight.
What’s particularly unusual about this alleged discovery – if that’s truly what it is – is that there are conflicting reports about how long it had been going on, and who was aware of it. Some are saying that it was an open secret that had been going on for years – even among members of the press, which seems odd, as this is the sort of red meat, “speaking truth to power” material that ought to be their stock in trade – and considering the stories of women suddenly coming forward to testify on camera about what this man had done to them, that certainly seems to be the case, since some of the incidents date back a decade or two. At the same time, there are a great number of the members of his political party – some of whom who claimed to be close to him, engaging with him socially on a regular basis – who claim to have had absolutely no idea that he’d been up to such things.
Taking the latter assertions at face value – which tends to be a Bad Idea; politicians, unlike most citizens, seem to require being considered ‘guilty until proven innocent,’ but let’s roll with it for a moment – this has got to be a terrible betrayal by this fellow. You think you know a guy – known him for a decade and a half, in fact – and all of a sudden, it turns out he has this thing for, let’s just say, not taking “no” for an answer from women. It’s a scary realization.
Now, you’ve been hearing a lot from me about my troubles in trying to find ‘Megumi’ over the past few years; what if this is exactly the sort of thing she’s afraid of? Now matter how well, or how long, she may have known me (or anyone of the male race), there’s no guarantee that he’s not going to turn into some kind of scumbag who wants more from her than she’s willing to give. And if she trusts him too much, she won’t find this out until it’s too late, and she suffers horribly for having done so.
Which leads me to the second story, which is just breaking as I’m telling you about it, so I may not have all the details, or they may be incorrect, and almost certainly will be incomplete. However, as with the first, I’m not going to name names, and keep things somewhat vague, so it could be genericized as well – although this is a little more extreme, as it takes the first scenario to a semi-logical conclusion.
Yes, it involves another politician, which is why it’s in the news, despite happening half a continent away. And as with our first fellow, this man had his political career (on a state level, rather than a federal one, but no matter) utterly torpedoed by several allegations of, erm, assault, and ended up retiring to the private sector about the same time as you allowed me to retire. Evidently, things were not as harmonious at home as they were between you and me, because they were in the middle of what has been described as a “messy” divorce. Well, it would seem our second man decided to resolve matters in a rather final manner; with a couple of bullets, at least one each for himself and his wife. Problem supposedly solved, albeit now with the need to answer to a Higher Authority for his final actions.
Again, I’m sure this will be coming as a total shock to his neighbors and former colleagues in both the public and private sector, and perhaps even more so as further details leak out. Additionally, I don’t know how long his wife had been with him prior to both this moment and the original accusations that brought him down, but clearly she was long since regretting having made any vows committing herself to him.
With that being said, is it any wonder that women don’t want to deal with this sort of thing anymore? At our age, there’s no time to find out what kind of person I might be; and who knows what I might turn into over the course of several decades? I can see why they would conclude that the dating scene just isn’t worth it; it’s too dangerous. I don’t like it, but I get it.
Meanwhile, it occurs to me that while drumming our first miscreant out of the public sector (and possibly into prison; yes, some of the accusations are that bad) might be warranted, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on his missus. The juxtaposition of these stories is such that I could see fellow number one eventually becoming fellow number two in due course. It’s entirely possible that the theoretical reader of years to come might actually recognize the individual I’m speaking of, but not recall which one he was when I wrote this. I also don’t know if asking you to keep an eye on him will help matters – clearly, he’s not in touch with his better angels, by and large; what more could you do to aid him, especially at this point? – and wishing him well isn’t merited in the slightest, but someone’s got to keep tabs on him to prevent this from escalating that much further.
Ordinarily, this should be some sort of lesson about “finishing well” and being ‘good’ even when you’re not aware of being watched, but expecting a politician to learn this lesson is expecting far too much. On the other hand, we all have our weaknesses, and the sight of such consequences ought to give us pause, like the senseless young man of Proverbs 7. Wish me well, honey, that I don’t fall into such a trap (not that opportunity presents itself, but you understand), and keep your eye on me all the same. I’m still going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 