What a ridiculous claim. I’m sure the irony will be lost on you, but I wager you  don’t ‘t have any facts to counter anything I wrote. Smear away because you don’t like the truth.

They are both sexually and emotionally dysfunctional in a variety of ways and degrees, and in many cases are  an indication of profound psychological and emotional problems.

To say “neither is violent per se” is just a way to cover up a lot of real violence perpetrated by a large number of homosexuals. A considerable number of homosexuals have a violent
sexuality and intimate relationship mindset.

Grouch: regarding pornography, some studies seem to indicate that widespread
Internet pornography coincides with a decline of rape.

Just as widespread broadcast of cigarette ads coincides with many people being thinner because they smoke. Interesting how we can distort any bad thing to make it sound good. There is absolutely no truth to the claim that consuming pornography reduces a propensity to rape in a rapist’s mind.

On the contrary, porn teaches people to have a debased attitude about sexuality and to treat others in a debased way, in order to get their sexual kicks. How far each porn consumer will go with in this direction to the point of harassment or violence also depends on other aspects of their psychology.

I respecfully doubt your friends are representative of French society. Consider the Polanski case: didn’t Woopie Goldberg claim it was not “rape-rape”? (I suppose she meant that true rape is with a weapon or uses massive physical force?) Is Woopie Goldberg representative of American society?The French, however, have had in the past decades several high-profile inquiries and trials where horrific sexual acts were alleged (we’re talking pedophilia, murders, etc.) and it turned out the claims were bogus (see the Outreau and Allègre cases). Because of this, many in France are prudent when they hear lurid allegations. Everybody knows that DSK is a smart man with immense ambitions, and such people tend not to do so rash as to rape a maid one year before the presidential elections to which they aspire. Thus, it is natural that people initially doubted the allegations.

So, indeed, I myself and many in France believe that extramarital affairs that do not impair the ability to govern are not to be discussed in the press. What happens in a couple is private – maybe they have an “open marriage” (both partners can have sexual adventures outside), maybe they’re staying together for the kids but don’t love each other anymore, and so on. Who are we to judge what’s appropriate or not?

This all stops, however, when crimes are committed, or at least, professional behavior becomes unprofessional. It should also stop if the politician makes public claims about morality – for instance, by touting “traditional family values”.

@google-7a1b985e51b998eae5d4d88bdf2c31d1:disqus Alessandra Reflections Reflect: Excuse me, but what exactly is wrong with homosexuality and promiscuity? Neither are violent per se; regarding pornography, some studies seem to indicate that widespread Internet pornography coincides with a decline of rape.

“If my husband mentions Strauss-Kahn at work, his co-workers fire back
that our politicians aren’t perfectly behaved either–why, just look at Bill Clinton! It’s true powerful men the world over have tried to get away with things, but the relevance of the Bill Clinton argument eludes
me. Monica was a willing participant. Monica liked cigars. If she had said, “I don’t want a cigar anywhere near me,” we would have had a whole different problem with what happened in the Oval Office. I think
we, as Americans, make the distinction between extramarital dalliance
and act of violence.” 

What Americans have trouble facing is sexual exploitation and harmful personal relations, when there is no physical violence involved.

Lewinsky had an entire personal history of serious psychological problems (family history and personal relationships). Her “desire” to have sex with Clinton was nothing but one more expression of these
problems (and not the first one). Seriously troubled people are the first to consent to self-exploitative and self-destructive and irresponsible actions.
Your characterization of the Clinton-Lewinsky interaction as a “dalliance” just goes to show how 
much in denial society is about how sexual and emotional exploitation works in practice. Clinton exploited Lewinski’s troubled psychology to his heart’s content. Given his putrid mind about sexuality and women, no
surprise there. There is nothing trivial about an older piece of turd exploiting a
younger person full of psychological problems, including sexually. It takes two to have any sexual interaction, and it takes a slime of a human being to engage in any kind of a sexual act with a completely
exploitable person, who is not capable of having a single, wholesome personal relationship, because of their many psychological problems. This was Lewinski’s profile.

The many older victims of the Catholic Church’s abusive priests were in a parallel situation to
Lewinsky. Many of the older victims were vulnerable, with psychological problems and suffering a tremendous power difference compared to  their abusers. Easy to abuse, exploit and manipulate. Nobody pointed a gun to
their heads or used physical violence. Just like turds of older men like Clinton who exploit younger women who are full of psychological problems.
The fact that their respective sexual interactions did not involve physical violence does not erase the fact that emotional exploitation (leading to sexual interactions) is also one very serious type of harm. And to frame such interactions as consensual when there was a serious component of exploitation is really disingenuous and
dishonest.

I think that French people need to change their privacy laws for public figures. Otherwise the French public can’t point their fingers at their misbehaving elites, both the public and the elites are all happy with their infamous omerta…
 

And I know what I’m talking about : I am one of them.

(by the way, please  excuse my english :-)   )