As I watch the very public sex scandal spectacle of former NewYork Governor Eliot Spitzer, I am left to ponder just WHO the victims in this tragedy REALLY are?

Mr. Spitzer being the perpetrator of his OWN demise could hardly be counted as a victim, although he seemed to plead for such recognition in his resignation speeches. His sincerity in apologizing for his actions might actually be masquerading as regret for being caught. Two VERY different things. I’ll leave that for you to decide.

I look at his dutiful wife Silda Wall Spitzer, standing by his side, and wonder what’s going through her mind. Did she REALLY want to be there or did she feel like bolting from the stage and the glare of television and camera lights? No doubt she has entertained thoughts of what her next steps will be, but most likely her actions will be better thought out and with MORE concern for her child and family, than Mr. Spitzer exhibited.. My guess is we’ll see her name shortening back to just Silda Wall some day soon, but who knows? Perhaps she can find room in her heart to forgive her philandering husband.
But is she a victim in this scandal?
Did she ask for this? Did she play a part? On both counts I vote no, I believe she’s an innocent bystander so I’d have to say she’s a victim of this man’s actions.

So what about Ashley Dupree? Is she a victim?
That appears to be a trickier situation on the surface perhaps, but I ask: Is the thief a victim of his “fence”? Unfortunately Ashley by her chosen vocation set herself up as a willing participant in this man’s criminal acts. Some might question what made her choose to become a prostitute, and there could be MANY reasons, but I will challenge ANYONE who claims that she chose that “profession” out of a need to survive simply based on her opulent lifestyle. Oh the tales her upcoming memoirs might tell of other “trysts” with the wealthy and powerful…
I’m sorry Ashley, but although you didn’t choose this scandal, it chose you simply by the life you lead. Your “fence” got caught and you along with him.

So then is the Electorate of New York the victims here?
Can they be blamed for electing to Governor a man who would eventually betray their trust? A man they believed that, by his actions as Prosecutor in the Attourney General’s office, would champion honor, integrity, and moral family values?
Here I would have to side with the people. They were deceived by a man who apparently came to believe that he was “above the law”, or at the very least that he had become invulnerable to the laws the rest of us have to live by.
In my view the people of New York were victims too. Maybe even all the people of the US could be seen in a similar light, being forced to watch yet another of their administrators of Justice and Governance fall from grace into dishonor.

But I’m not done yet..

And this is where I get REALLY upset. I get really angry when I think of what this scandal is going to do to his three daughters. They’re ALL of an age where they will understand what he’s done, and they will ALL have to face the public humiliation in front of their friends and classmates because of their father’s actions. We all know how brutal kids can be to each other, and the twitters and giggles as they walk down the school halls reaches even MY ears.
These 3 girls are the TRUE victims in all of this and will bear this shame and humiliation for the REST of their lives!

And for that Eliot Spitzer I say SHAME ON YOU. You deserve all you get, but my guess is you won’t pay the FULL PRICE you owe!