Jacked

One of my co-workers, from her previous job, knows Jack Ryan. When I came in this morning, I said, "Hey--looks like your boy Jack might be out of a job..." Her immediate reply summarizes, for me, the problems of this case.



"I don't believe he did those things," she said. "I know Jack, and--she says he wanted her to have sex in PUBLIC?--I KNOW Jack. The thought that he did something like THAT--Besides, the divorce just ALLEGES those things. That doesn't mean they happened. You know, people hear what they want to hear and believe what they want to believe...."



Yes, yes they do.



Here's the thing, though. Try this experiment--it's instructive, I think.



Take every single statement Jack Ryan has made regarding the unsealing of his divorce records: all the things about the potentially-embarrassing allegations, the welfare and privacy of his son, etc.



Now. In place of "alleges that he forced his wife to attend sex clubs and pressured her to have sex in public and engage in similar behavior"...



...change the allegation to something that's not so likely to push the panic button on the family-values crowd; something a bit more acceptable in GOP-land. Let's try the following sentence--



"His wife alleges that he forced her to conceal portions of their joint income as they filed their taxes in 2000 and 2001."



Now. Go back. Using this (entirely false) allegation of tax evasion as the "big revelation", review Ryan's pleas for privacy, for the files to remain closed, allegedly for the good of his son / for the welfare of his family / to avoid embarrassment for his child.



Sounds...kinda ridiculous, don't it?



If this "scandal" had to do with anything other than sex, people (including, since I'm in a generous mood this evening, the media) would see Ryan's protests for what they are: a transparent attempt to hide behind his son's innocence. But because they see the words "sex clubs", immediately this becomes a sex scandal--not a disinformation scandal, which is what it truly is.



It's not about what was in those divorce records--it's about what he implied was in those records, and what he said would be the end result of unsealing them. HE said the end result would be embarrassment for his son; the fact of the matter is, the only one with even the potential to be embarrassed by those allegations is Ryan himself. Not for visiting a sex club--if he did--but for deliberately misstating his true reasons for wanting that allegation to remain hidden.