Pretty much.
I don’t think for a second that Vicki’s actions were borne out of ignorance.
Had she truly, accidentally said something in passing to the Headmaster (as in, she assumed they already knew) – MAYBE. Seeking out the Headmaster because the lesbian can’t be trusted around kids? Fuck that, that’s malice.
It’s not really about whether or not Jack should honor his wife’s request – I could argue either way (“forsaking all others” vs. Vicki’s an asshole). It’s a given, though, that if he does, he’ll lose Janet’s friendship, which he doesn’t deserve.
If telling Janet that Vicki was the one who spilled the beans would benefit Janet in any way, he should tell. I can’t see any way she’d benefit, though.
Throw wife under the bus, tell Janet is she asks. (and she WILL)
As Jack, I’d say something like, “Oh, you want me to keep this secret? Honey, I want you to go to Janet, apologize profusely, and make right the thing you did.” Would she then be obligated to do what I asked?
Of course not.
I love my wife dearly, but one of the reasons I love her is that she won’t ask me to do something I consider unethical. She’ll ask me things that I don’t consider important, and I’ll do them anyway because it makes our marriage stronger, but that’s very different. Asking someone to lie to a friend about something important? I’d flat-out refuse to honor such a request.
I think it depends on what Jack wants to do with his marriage. If he wants to keep the marriage, then keep his mouth shut. It’s a matter of whether he can live with that woman and what she’s done. If he can’t live with what she’s done, then divorce her and tell Janet why. Either way, Vicki is long overdue for intensive therapy.
My loyalty to my wife is going to be higher than my loyalty to a friend. So I would reluctantly keep her secret.
But this would be a stunning blow to our marriage. Vicki’s actions were not only a betrayal of Janet, they were also a betrayal of somebody Vicki knew was my close friend. As I said above, I place loyalty to a spouse at a very high level. I’ve now discovered that Vicki’s sense of loyalty to me is apparently much lower. So my ability to trust Vicki would be greatly diminished by this act. Our marriage might or might not survive this.
This. And they all live happily ever after. Except Vicki, who will find nothing but emptiness and bitterness, never again to feel any love with another human being.
So where’s the NBA thread you mentioned?
I think it is his duty as a good-hearted human being to be honest about what happened, yes. I would never cover for someone who was manipulative and conniving.
All the events happened in the early 80s, correct? Including Jack finding out Vicki outed Janet to her boss? 
So we are to respond as though we were living in the early 80s, not according to the culture today?
No. She is unworthy of any form of loyalty or respect; both a bigot and a betrayer. He should tell everyone who will listen what she did, and do his best to ruin her reputation. Both in retaliation for her act, and to deflect the smears that she will most likely be leveling at him sooner or later regardless of his actions given the kind of person she has shown herself to be. Probably false accusations of being a child molester if they have children; otherwise it’ll be false accusations of domestic violence.
And then, having reached a common level of bigotry and betrayal, the couple can resume their normal married life as equal partners once again.
I disregarded that portion. I guess if the friends and family/surroundings/philosophies of people answering have changed drastically since the early 80’s maybe that would be a factor. For me, it’s not.
Say what? Where’s the “bigotry” in rejecting or retaliating against the wife’s behavior? And I don’t think anyone should marry someone who behaves like she did. Or be her friend or business partner for that matter; she’s shown how untrustworthy and malignant she is.
I only got as far as this, which my brain read as “Jack leaps out of bed, tripping over the bedspread, tells Vicki where he’s going while hopping on one foot as he ties his shoe midair, and races through a comical mishap with a revolving door to his friend’s side.”
I’m struggling with this one. I want so very much to believe in the vows and forsaking all others, but I am really feeling anti-Vicki. I find myself asking “how do you end up married to a person you know so little about?” but I’ve done it, twice now.
What did they do to you as a child? It was rough, right?
As Vicki is his wife, he is bound by ethics and honor to keep the secret. Der Trihs’s position is bizarre, rambling nonsense. Someone else acting unethically is not a Get Out Of Acting Ethically Yourself card; that isn’t how grown adults behave.
What it means for his marriage to find that his wife is a nasty, treacherous backstabber is another matter.
Right. It’s not bigotry when you hate other people. And you’re completely justified in doing terrible things to people if they do something terrible.
Sorry Vicki… Three’s a crowd. There is no room for hateful bitches in my life. I certainly wouldn’t want to make children with you.
Is it Jack Bauer? He would kill the other teacher, and the girlfriend, and the principal, to protect his wife’s reputation. Or to establish his credentials as a badass. Or to protect his daughter, or to protect his cat.