27 piped up to “Moral Dilemma Friday: Would You Tell For Money?”

1. Emmy Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 9:42 am

   1 Going to have fun with this one… Well, they’re not married, and as far as I’m concerned you are or you’re not. Just because he inseminated her a few times doesn’t mean they’re joined at the hip. If he chose not to put a ring on her finger, it’s because he’s not interested in being only with her, so it should come as little surprise to find him stepping out with another. I’d take whatever money I can get and go shopping. The Ferragamo store over in Waikiki is having a two day sale. I’m SO there!

2. Marianne McA Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 10:09 am

   2 LOL. That’s hard, because I don’t think either of them behaved well – if Angelina doesn’t respect other people’s marriage vows, why should I be concerned for her relationship? But, as you say, the children… Don’t know. It still seems like a sleazy thing to do. But I’d be tempted.

3. anika Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 11:28 am

   3 This isn’t much of a dilemma for me. I wouldn’t take a photograph. It’s not my place to judge, they may well have an open relationship for all I know. I would carry on about my business and keep what I saw to myself.

4. Sparky Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

   4 I grab her off him by the hair then latch onto Blad in rather insane, stalkerish abandon. Oh, wait, this isn’t one of the options. Let me take a second guess. Morally I would not reveal if I found a stranger was cheating – it’s their life, their business. I certainly won’t judge him for infidelity – his life, his business. They may even have an open relationship for all I know However this is one where my morality would be overwhelmed by my greed (not because my greed is overly strong but because my morals aren’t overly taxed by this). He’s a celebrity. He knows the press are interested in him in slightly terrifyingly intense manner. And he’s having a clinch with someone who isn’t his partner in PUBLIC? Such cavalier stupidity on his part would lead to me being less concerned about selling. I’d sell because, even though it’s a violation of his privacy, he has pretty much shredded his privacy himself

5. Scott Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 12:39 pm

   5 It would be tempting to take pictures and sell them to a tabloid. However, truly honestly, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass who Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are snogging.

6. karen alana scott Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 1:02 pm

   6 As horrible as this sounds… I don’t know them… they are celebrities… they should know better. I would totally take advantage of this… you know someone will… I feel bad saying this but…. I would hope they (Ang and Brad) would work it out.

7. karen alana scott Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

   7 and yes my name REALLY is Karen Scott

8. Karen Scott Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

   8 Lol, welcome Karen Scott!

9. Dominique Adair Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

   9 I wouldn’t take a photo but I might hang out and watch…

10. West Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    10 I don’t know them, it’s not my business, I woudn’t even be taking the picture. Well, they’re not married, and as far as I’m concerned you are or you’re not. Just because he inseminated her a few times doesn’t mean they’re joined at the hip. If he chose not to put a ring on her finger, it’s because he’s not interested in being only with her, so it should come as little surprise to find him stepping out with another. Emmy, I disagree with you. That may be your belief, but it’s not everyone’s. I personally see no reason to get married. It doens’t mean that I love my boyfriend less, or don’t really want to be with him. It means that I don’t need a piece of paper from the goverment or a church to validate my relationship. A commitment is a commitment. if Angelina doesn’t respect other people’s marriage vows, why should I be concerned for her relationship? Marianne, why do you put the blame on Angelina? Even if they did have an affair (and I won’t judge whether they did or not, since I don’t know them and wasn’t there), she’s not the one who was married. She didn’t have a commitment to someone at that time. He’s the one who was married, he’s the one who needed to respect his vows. Why is it her fault he left his wife? He made the choice-it’s on him.

11. Tuscan Capo Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    11 I think you missed the first opportune moral dilemma question, sweet Karen. It might well be: would I take a photograph? My answer to that question would be no.

12. dew Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

    12 So it would be *me* breaking up a couple if I sold the photos for bundles of money, not the person cheating on their SO? Ummm, right. If a celeb doesn’t want to be photographed doing things in public, then they shouldn’t be doing those things in public. I’d sell those photos to the highest bidder ASAP! It would probably be a matter of time before some other photographer snapped them doing things they shouldn’t be.

13. Dee Tenorio Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

    13 Well, on the one hand, I wouldn’t take the picture. I just wouldn’t think much of him on a personal level. (I always lose respect for people who are definitely cheating. Period.) Having respect for someone else’s relationship isn’t the point. Having respect for myself after I make money off someone else’s humiliation is, and I wouldn’t. I’ve never liked the washing of hands that a person who is not involved is not responsible when involved with a married other. You take part, you bear part of the responsibility in hurting the cheated upon SO. Own it or don’t do it. It’s pathetic otherwise. And, it simply must be said, anyone who starts a relationship based on infidelity shouldn’t be surprised if they’re the next to be cheated on. I’m not saying it’s not possible for a one time cheater to reform. I’m just saying one shouldn’t be surprised if they do it again.

14. Marianne McA Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    14 West: I think that in the case that Karen made up Angelina would be the person I was hurting – that is, Brad has decided to cheat on the relationship, so I don’t have much compunction for his feelings at this point. If it was Angelina doing the snogging, then it’d be Brad’s feelings I’d have to consider. On the broader point, I understand your argument, and to a degree I agree, that as a married person, it’s my responsibility to keep my vows. Still, I do feel it’s wrong to have an affair with a married person – I just do.

15. Marianne McA Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 7:55 pm

    15 Sorry to post again, Karen. West, I went to do the dishes, and was thinking about your question, and it made me realise why I gave my original answer. If Angelina believes – and who knows what she believes IRL – that she didn’t have any responsibility towards Brad and Jen’s marriage, because she didn’t take any vows – then, if you turn that into a universal moral principle – she must believe that I don’t have any responsibilty to her relationship with Brad, because I didn’t take any vows. So, by her own moral code, it’s up to the people within the relationship to maintain it – bystanders are free to do what they like. So, applying her moral code to this dilemma, I’m free to do what I like. (i.e. I’m only doing to her what she’d feel entitled to do to others.) That’s all wild speculation and supposition, but it’s explained to me why I felt the way I did when I read the dilemma. And, obviously, in real life, she wouldn’t be the only innocent party that would be involved – as Karen says, you wouldn’t want to hurt the children.

16. Emmy Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 7:57 pm

    16 Think Karen should do another post about marriage, lol. Then I wouldn’t have to get off topic and tell West that people DO need a piece of paper from the government to validate their relationship, if not their feelings. There’s little legal things like insurance, property rights, medical decisions (ie: wouldn’t be able to visit in a hospital, or have any say in disposition). That’s one of the reasons that GLBT people are so dead set on having the right to marry. Slightly back to the topic…I agree that a piece of paper isn’t going to stop a cheater from being a cheater, but then Angelina knew when she hooked up with Brad that a cheater was exactly what she was getting.

17. Shiloh Walker Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    17 Uh…I couldn’t care less if I saw Brad Pitt sucking face with somebody other than Angelina. I doubt I’d even notice.

18. West Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 9:31 pm

    18 There’s little legal things like insurance, property rights, medical decisions (ie: wouldn’t be able to visit in a hospital, or have any say in disposition). If that’s the way you feel, then fine. It works for you. It doesn’t work for me, and others like me. I personally feel that insurance is a lousy reason to get married, property rights can be worked around, and there’s this little thing called Medical Power of Attorney to guarentee your right to make decisions for your partner. I know, because my best friend has one for me. I don’t trust my parents to do what I want, so I put her in charge of it. I’m sure I will someday put a partner/significant other in charge of it with a MPoA. It can all be dealt with. For me, the goverment in no ways needs to be involved in my relationship. That is not to say that I don’t appreciate that there are people who wish to be married. It is very imporant to them. I understand and appreicate it. I fully support gay marriage, because the right is so important to them. But it doesn’t discount those of us who feel differently. A couple who has been married for ten years is no more committed or valued than a couple who has been together for ten years without marriage. My problem with your statement, Emmy, is that you completely discounted and devalued their relationship, seemingly because it’s not what you believe people should do. They don’t see the need to get married. I understand that. Neither do I. But it doesn’t mean than those of us who are not married love our partners less than you love your husband.

19. West Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

    19 If Angelina believes – and who knows what she believes IRL – that she didn’t have any responsibility towards Brad and Jen’s marriage, because she didn’t take any vows – then, if you turn that into a universal moral principle – she must believe that I don’t have any responsibilty to her relationship with Brad, because I didn’t take any vows Marianne, my problem was that you pointed out her lack of respect for his previous marriage. My point is that I’m always hearing people bash her, and the real blame lies with him. He’s the one who chose to end his marriage. We don’t know the truth of what happened. We weren’t there, we weren’t involved. But it’s not on her. It’s on him. If I’m in a relationship, married or otherwise, and I’ve made a commitment to someone, then it’s on me to uphold that commitment. If I cheat on someone, even if the other person knows I’m in a relationship, the blame of that still falls completly on me.

20. Fae Sutherland Posted: Jan 9th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    20 It’s my opinion (note I said opinion, lol) that a marriage in which there is infidelity so blatant that a famous person would be stupid enough to mack with another in public…the marriage is doomed anyway. It’s just a matter of time. In this case I’d firmly believe that Brad wanted to get caught, because otherwise he wouldn’t do anything so stupid as he was. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d for damn sure, if I were Angelina, want to know my man was messing around on me. What, like not letting her find out he’s a skeevy cheating bastard is to Angelina’s benefit or something? We’d be doing her a favor? What? In which case, yes, I’d take the photo and I’d take the checks the papers gave me for said photo. And a couple months later Brad would get back with Jennifer and Angelina would adopt another dozen kids from a third world country or something and the world would keep on spinning.

21. Dee Tenorio Posted: Jan 10th, 2009 at 12:26 am

    21 Another smart move would be to see if there’s a film crew around somewhere doing a wide shot, lol.

22. TrainWreckIdeas Posted: Jan 10th, 2009 at 12:43 am

    22 After the whole Aniston incident? I would so make money off this. Angelina seduced Brad while he was married, so this can’t be any worse because they are not. It would be much more of a dilemma though if this was someone else.

23. Marianne McA Posted: Jan 10th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    23 West – first of all, I agree I don’t know anything about Brad, Jen or Angelina in real life. Secondly, I agree – from what little I know – that Brad would seem more to blame than Angelina, though, as you say, we don’t actually know anything: he may be innocent and the break-up may all be Jen’s fault. But I totally disagree that an individual is without fault if they have a relationship with someone who they know is married, or in a committed relationship. I’ve had that discussion with a close friend who was having an affair with a married man, and I understand – I think – that pov: it’s just never going to be my pov.

24. Julia Sullivan Posted: Jan 11th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

    24 Angelina seduced Brad while he was married Y HALO THAR MISOGYNY I mean, jeez Louise. Poor innocent married Brad, forced to cheat on his wife… I wouldn’t have a thing with anyone who was in a monogamous marriage. But I think that the person who’s breaking agreements they made is doing something even worse than the person who’s showing disrespect for agreements they weren’t party to. As for the other thing, it would depend. If it was somewhere behind the bushes at a movie premiere, I might be tempted to go for the paparazzo moment, because Pitt would be “on the clock” so to speak, and so documenting his unprofessionalism might feel more appropriate. If it was somewhere where he was in a “civilian” role, I wouldn’t photograph it, because people deserve privacy when they’re not actively courting the spotlight.

25. Seneca Posted: Jan 12th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    25 Honestly, I like Brad and Angie, so I would not do a thing. If it was a couple that I didn’t like, then yeah, I’d sell them.

26. Las Posted: Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

    26 I have a special hatred for women who blame the “other woman” while barely saying two words about the cheating man. Yeah, because he would have been faithful and true if it weren’t for that particular woman. Right. I also really hate stupid people, and a celebrity who KNOWS that the media goes rabid over them and still takes such a huge risk by cheating in public qualifies as stupid, so I’d have no moral qualms about making a few bucks off his stupidity.

27. Dee Tenorio Posted: Jan 12th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    27 I don’t blame her any more than I blame him. The point is, I don’t blame her any less. The only proviso is when SHE doesn’t know he cheating. Then she’s been used and it’s not her fault. But when she knows she’s complicit, of course she shares some blame. There’s no getting around that. He might have cheated elsewhere, sure, but since he’s cheating exactly right there, how is it not passing the buck?