Every once in a while you see it. The blatant exposure of somebody or something that was best left unknown. To those that do it, it was a passing incident. A way to make a quick and dirty buck. To those unmasked it was life altering, perhaps life shattering. This is the world we live in. The need to know universe of legitimized stick-your-nose-in-somebody-else's-ass society.
The other day I read an article about a guy that won the lottery and promptly got arrested for outstanding warrants. Between the lines you could tell the guy made some mistakes but, seemed to have straightened himself around. He wasn't convicted of any crimes, only accused. What is more, they were petty and a long time ago.
Maybe it's because newspaper reporting has long since gone down hill and it's really hard to find interesting writers that have something truly relevant and unique to contribute to today's reader's mundane existence. The article went on and on about this guy's past. The author was good enough to mention that the guy had a steady job and implied that he has a pretty good head on his shoulders. His plans for the money are sound and well thought out.
Talk about low hanging fruit. The article, which was syndicated, plastered the man's picture, name, amount of winnings, and intricate details of his distant past for all to see. All I got out of it is that the author and paper irresponsibly attempted to ruin a man's reputation based on some mistakes he made 20 years ago.
It reminded me of the time the Toronto Star, incidentally after the Globe and Toronto Sun (National Post wasn't around yet) refused to do so, ran a multi page expose over several days exposing a man and his family who was wanted by the mob.
Anybody will tell you that we live in a world much different than the one our parents grew up in. But, I'll tell you that compassion, discretion, and common sense have become so far removed from the minds of modern day adults and their offspring that perhaps we should think about bringing them back into the school curriculum.
