Lessons Gained from Rep. Weiner

On the evening of Friday May 27^th, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner sent a lewd photograph of himself via his Twitter account to Seattle college student, Gennette Cordova.  For over a week Rep. Weiner and Cordova claimed that Weiner’s account was compromised and after realizing that the photograph was sent from his account, it was quickly removed. “Look, this is a prank, not a terribly creative one and it’s a distraction,” Rep. Weiner told NY1 TV.

Yesterday, June 6^th, Weiner finally came clean to the press saying, “I regret not being honest about this. I was embarrassed, I was humiliated. I was trying to protect my wife. I was trying to protect myself from shame. Once I realized I had posted it on Twitter I panicked, I took it down and said I’d been hacked.”  Rep. Weiner is one of many politicians who underestimated Twitter and it will probably end up costing him his seat in Congress (despite claims that he won’t step down).   Although he may not have had a serious relationship with Cordova, it exposes his flaws and that he had several online relationships (sent lewd pictures also) without his wife’s knowledge.

It’s amazing that any politician would even think they could get away with doing lewd things, the public is always watching because you represent us!  How could Weiner not have learned from Representative Christopher Lee of New York, who sent a similar photograph to a woman he met on Craigslist and resigned in February of this year?

Here are the lessons we should take from these moronic politicians:

1. If you are a married man (or not), you should never take and send pictures of you in your underwear to other women.  It will be leaked; it will be shared no matter how secure you think the image (or your ego) may be.  “A picture tells a thousand words.”
2. Don’t use social networking sites if you are not sure what you are doing.  Weiner and Lee both posted the photographs so denial (claiming accounts have been hacked) is almost impossible to pull off with the way data is stored, monitored, and shared digitally.
3. Accept blame for anything online as you would in your everyday life.  People like Kobe Bryant, Martha Stewart, and Michael Vick have been able to repair their image after accepting the consequences of their actions.  Those who deny and lie like Weiner end up with more trouble than they had in the first place.
4. Lastly I share my social media, social networking, online, and real life Golden Rule: Do not post, share, or say anything to the public that your mother or grandmother would not approve.

Remember folks, the internet is not a toy but rather a tool that when used correctly can connect everyone, allowing us all to share and grow together.