Would you out him?

In My Humble Opinion
1

You come to know that a politician posts here, but under a screen name just like the rest of us.

From his postings you learn some politically damaging but in reality innocuous piece of information (nothing illegal, involving gross dishonesty or nasty bullying or anything that would make his character the total opposite of his public persona)

Would you out him (or her)

Why or why not?

2

I wouldn’t. Everyone’s entitled to some degree of privacy and I would no more out a public figure on here than I would an average citizen.

3

Just to be clear, I am thinking here along the lines of stuff like:

  1. He is pro same sex marriage, but clearly hetrosexual with a wife and kids, but has admitted to a homosexual encounter in college that he didn’t enjoy
  2. He once got drunk in college and set fire to a hotel bed - something for which he made full restitution, regrets and learnt a lesson about drinking too much
  3. His mother had a bout with alcoholism when he was in elementary school, but she recovered and this is not public knowledge…
4

The examples you gave are IMO totally innocous, private facts, but would give a certain part of the public (overhyped by the media) ammunition against this person which would be undeserved. So, I’d be an asshole for revealing this information, and wouldn’t do it even if I didn’t agree with the politician’s agenda. It’s private information and should remain private.

5

I would think it wrong, but I have to admit that it would be very tempting if the person were a troll.

6

No, none of those examples are sufficiently important; they are just gossip fodder. I have no interest in hearing it much less spreading it.

7

bengangmo, I don’t get it. From your examples, what is there to out? You might have a point if:

  1. He is anti same sex marriage, but clearly homosexual, though with a wife and kids, and has admitted to a transsexual encounter in college that he rather enjoyed
  2. He once got drunk in college and set fire to a hotel bed - something for which he is eternally proud, has no regrets and now gives lessons in how to drink too much
  3. His mother had a bout with alcoholism when he was in elementary school, from which she never recovered and it is not public knowledge that she now lives in his basement eating newspaper and flinging kitty litter around.
    Even so, if his public face is intact, what point do you have in changing that? Do you simply hate politicians, or are you driven by some need to divulge to others the ‘secrets’ you hold? Is your life untainted by regrets of the past? I’m curious…
8

I loyally keep secrets. I can’t remember ever betraying somebody’s trust.

I would only ever do it in extreme circumstances, such as something horrifically illegal was being perpetrated and there was a moral duty that I should say something about it. But I don’t think a public forum like the SDMB would be the place for that, so even that example doesn’t apply.

9

I would never out someone unless I felt there was a public good at stake. I felt the information was relevant to character or indicative of political actions, or that some people would think so (I don’t care if you’re gay, but if your primary backers are the Evangelical Christians, they probably need to know that) then I might.

I would probably also talk it through privately with a few trusted advisers, and then give the person an opportunity to out themselves first. Depending upon the issue.

None of your scenarios would even register as outing reasons. In fact if someone did so based upon such a flimsy reason, I’d expect the outer to be suspended or banned.

If I found out that he was recreationally throwing puppies into Bosnian rivers, then yeah, I’d speak up.

10

Pretty sure unauthorized disclosure of another poster’s personal information is against the rules here. If it isn’t, it ought to be. I’d make it a bannable offense. There is no benefit to the board from doing so, and potentially great harm to the individual. Also, doing that is inescapably a dick move. If someone wants their identity known, they can damn well tell us themselves. Otherwise, leave them be.

11

I can’t imagine how #3 is anybody’s business or would even hurt his campaign. I can, however, imagine somebody wanting to the ass of a person who opted to humilate his mother by making that public knowledge, and while I wouldn’t ASSIST in the ass-kicking, I wouldn’t do anything to stop it other than, dialing 911 at a rate of 1 digit a minute.

ETA: The more I think about it, the more I think that an attempt to use #3 against a candidate would backfire. It would do nothing but engender sympathy. I doubt even Glenn Beck has sufficient combinations of odiousness and stupidity to try to use such a revelation against anyone.

12

So? You don’t have to be gay to be pro same sex marriage. One homosexual encounter does not make a person gay, especially if they don’t enjoy it.

So? Lots of people have done at least one dumb thing that they now regret. If he still regularly did things like this, maybe it would be of interest.

So? Lots of people have family members who have or have had problems. His mother’s (presumably) not running for office, he is.

13

But if someone anonymously outs the politician’s posts to the media, the Dope will not necessarily know who the leaker was.

14

True. I’m talking about outing them on the board, ie Oakminster’s real name is _________________, and he lives ________________________.

That sort of thing.

15

Exactly. The outing doesn’t have to be done on the board. Some level of proof would have to be required, though, and I’m not sure how that could be done. Just saying that Delaware69 is really Joe Biden isn’t going to be very convincing.

I voted “maybe.” I would not be likely to do it, and would start from a default position of not wanting to, but I imagine there could be some circumstance or other that might make me want to change my mind.

16

I wouldn’t, but IMHO anyone who posts stuff on a public message board no longer has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

17

I would agonize over it, but if it was someone who I thought shouldn’t win, I’d probably do it. Politics isn’t a game. When the wrong folks get in, people die. That’s not hyperbole. It’s too important to be gentlemanly about it.

–Cliffy

18

There are people on this message board that I have met in person. So you’re saying it would be okay if they posted details about my personal life?

19

RNATB, are you speaking legally or ethically? I agree that message boards posts have no such legal expectation.

20

Not really the same thing. If you posted about your personal life on a message board you’ve basically waived your privacy. Private conversation, however, is not the same as posting on a public message board.