‘Embarrassment before dishonor’

‘Embarrassment before dishonor’ | MetaFilter On recommendation from #1 child, I've been peeking into Metafilter more frequently. I've seen everything from recipes to "how-to's" on anything you could think of. There are also occasionally just plain ole' good discussions on issues of the day. This particular discussion is on a story out of Oconomowoc (bonus points for non-Cheeseheads who can pronounce that) last week.

OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - A man said he broke into an apartment with a cavalry sword because he thought he heard a woman being raped, but the sound actually was from a pornographic movie his upstairs neighbor was watching. “Now I feel stupid,” said James Van Iveren, who has been charged in the case. “This really is nothing, nothing but a mistake.”

I read about it the other day, but I'm sorta trying to keep the blog PG-rated, and there was just no possible way to comment on that story without crossing WAY into R-rated territory. MetaFilter, on the other hand....... I only wish I could come up with some of the things their commenters say. This, for example:

"Oh god. I saw the dateline of 'Oconomowoc, Wis' and read 'breaks down door armed with a cavalry saber', and I just kept thinking Please don't be someone I know, Please don't be someone I know... And fortunately, I don't know him. But the fact that it was even a possibility suggests that Oconomowoc is an odd place. That's what we do in WI; beer, cheese, Harleys, serial killers, and crazy. It's the weather. It turns us all a little mad, doncha-know?"

I have to admit when I read "Oconomowoc", I also thought immediately of someone I know who lives there, but relaxed when I remembered that the saber is safely in northern Wisconsin. "Beer, cheese, Harleys, serial killers, and crazy". Yep, pretty much sums it up.