Jack Tripper's affair and being human

Yesterday I was in asshole mode and took it out on a young brother in the blackospere who didn't deserve my flame post. My post is not excused in any way, I reacted to this bit of tabloidal news regarding Edwards in a negative way with no explanation of my telling this brother to "Grow-the-fuck-up".

Younger people, especially Gen-Yers, (but no different from Gen-Xers) of color have come up through the years in broken families and broken homes. Hell, most of us never even knew that divorce existed. We saw that that was what white people did on TV. For us, 'divorce' was simply just your father leaving your mother after a big fight. That was it. No courts, no checks, no lawyers. And in our communities targeted by politicians, druglords, members of Law Enforcement, etc., the dysfunctional and broken family added to hell we've seen over the past four decades after our 'liberation'.

The brother's anger or disgust towards Edwards could have been out of reaction to what we all think is the root of a broken home/society and its institutions that supposedly keep it together (marriage, church, baseball, etc.), or maybe he was just disgusted at Edwards in general, the problem is I reacted to whatever preconceived ideas I had that he may not may not have , and I was negative towards him.

Jack Tripper

I alway call Edwards Jack Tripper because he looks like Jack Tripper (duh). So Edwards had an affair. Now, I could say he was like Clinton, and be in a moral 'outrage' over him, but I'm going to leave Edwards som room for the benefit of the doubt that his affair was isolated and yes, he did it with a sick wife - because he's human.
We are frail creatures. We create these ridiculous archtypes of who we should be - moral, strong, straight-edged uber-people who, when facing difficulties will deal with the task at hand like a good little trooper and smile all the time while doing so. This is bullshit. No one has ever been that way and I no one should. Some of us will belly up top the task of dealing with a dying loved one, but may turn right-around and be total monsters to the ones closest to us who are not ill.
Some of us may deal with life's stresses not with a prayer or a visit to church as a retreat, but will head out to the boats late at night and gamble away baby-girl's college fund. So of us won't go on late night creeps for a bj from some faceless stranger, but will drink all night as a way of processing secret resentments to how their lives have turned out. Some of us will put their heart, lives, soul, and blood into loving their partner because they in turn, hate themselves.

So we don't know why Edwards did what he did. I can guess seeing your life partner dying in front of you and constantly being sick is not an easy thing if you truly are at the forefront of dealing with your partner. I might wind up looking like Jabba the fucking Hut if Wifey was on the terminal sick bed and I was taking her to chemo or whatever. What we should be as a society is build a culture that encourages people to know their limits and identify their weaknesses and strengths and be ok with that, and make sure that we better process our anger, griefs, depressions, and feelings of loneliness better. This way, we won't have to act out in ways that will impact our loved ones in negatively.