Should We Publicly Shame Cheaters?
Dignity in silence or bring them down in a blaze of glory?
Last night my friend messaged me, “Well…why didn’t you think of this?” followed by a photo her husband took on his way home from work. It was of a very busy, very public roundabout in our city. Someone had placed a large white make-shift sign for all to see, and in big black letters had written the name of a man, his address, and the words “PAYS PROSTITUTES FOR SEX.”
I should explain. Eighteen months ago, I discovered my husband had been frequenting prostitutes/escorts for possibly our entire marriage, all over the country. One in every port, if you will. I remember the day I discovered everything. I said in a haze to my sister, “This is big, right?” It was as if I couldn’t quite grasp the magnitude of it all. She had looked at me with wide worried eyes and nodded. It has been the single most devastating event of my entire life.
So when my friend sent me this photo last night, I was flooded with all kinds of emotions. I knew exactly why they had done this. I could relate to the anger, rage, humiliation, need for revenge and publicly hurt this person who had lied to them. I could feel their sorrow, their heartbreak, the writhing pain that comes with this kind of discovery.
