Sexting Isn’t the End of the World, Until it Is: The Tragedy of Anthony Weiner
You've either been there, or you know someone who has been there.
You’re texting someone you don’t exactly know from Tinder or otherwise, and things are getting intense. While we all love the “SEND NUDEZ” joke, maybe you’re actually considering it. What’s the worst that could happen?
This week we learned that the worst that could happen is bad—really bad. Is it the end of the world though? Actually... maybe. Yes, we say without hyperbole that the end of the human race could literally be because of sexting.
If you were to make a Mount Rushmore of sexters, the George Washington would undoubtedly be Anthony Weiner, a disgraced former congressman who stepped down after his salacious sexts were revealed. Weiner, a married man, was caught living up to his name texting inappropriate photos to women, so he stepped down from congress and promised to change his ways. And like you "promised" your parents you’d go to services on the Jewish high holidays, not all promises are kept.
Not only did Weiner continue to sext, but he actually started to talking to 15-year-old girls, which is frankly disgusting and obviously a huge no-no for anyone—never mind an influential politician. But while this behavior is repugnant and horrible, it should only affect a few people, right?
Wrong.
As you can imagine, this drama probably took quite the toll on Weiner’s friends, family, and marriage. While it potentially could have ruined Weiner’s wife’s life (say that three times fast), it was only the second most stressful situation she was in, as Huma Abedin was also busy running Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Talk about a rough year.
Here’s where we get to the apocalypse. Remember the week before the presidential election when FBI director James Comey released a letter to congress saying there was new information revealed, from an unrelated FBI case, pertinent to Hillary’s email scandal? That “unrelated case” was the FBI looking into Weiner’s affairs, which overlapped with Hillary as Abedin was corresponding with both her husband and the presidential candidate.
Back in late October when the letter was revealed, you literally could not turn on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC or go on Facebook or Twitter without hearing about the story. It was a setback for Hillary's campaign, as questions re-arose of her moral character and fitness for the office. While Clinton made many mistakes during the 2016 campaign, this letter was absolutely disastrous, and she has Weiner to thank for it. This is not the sole reason she lost the election, but according to 538 math wiz Nate Silver, “Hillary Clinton would probably be president if FBI director James Comey had not sent a letter to congress."
That was fun to relive for you, a sheltered Syracuse liberal, wasn’t it? Well, let’s catch up to today's drama. Weiner’s actions deserved severe punishment, and last Monday he was sentenced to a mere 21 months in federal prison. It seems we've been punished way worse, though. Weiner wasn't the biggest news of the week, as headline after headline is about our current President, Donald Trump, escalating talks with North Korea.
The prospect of nuclear war between the US and the “Rocket Man” known as Kim Jung Un has us freaking TF out, with Trump announcing in the Rose Garden that the US might have to take “devastating” military action in North Korea. Trump made these statements on Monday, just hours after Weiner’s sentencing. On that day, we saw the full spectrum of news regarding Weiner’s actions: he gets his prison treatment, while our current president discusses the startlingly real possibility of nuclear war.
In two years, one of two things will happen to Anthony Weiner. He will either be released from prison, or he will be dead as there will be no America for him to be released to due to nuclear devastation. So as you hold your friends and family close when the apocalypse comes, just remember this could have all been avoided if one random congressman could’ve just kept his stuff in his pants and off his phone.