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In the history of Chatological Humor Polls, the results of this one surprised me maybe the most.    From the first moment I saw that ad, I thought it horrendous:  Nakedly (ha) manipulative.   I am almost impossible to offend, and that actually offended me precisely BECAUSE I was manipulated into ogling an adolescent's butt, which resulted in my feeling guilty, which resulted in a profound internal monologue about the nature of lust; I wound up letting myself off easy and focusing all of my ire  on the commercial.  

I have no idea how so many of you were unjudgmental by this ad.  I am forced to conclude that the men didn't even find it titillating -- because if you did, how can you NOT blame the commercial?  -- which brings me back into a testy conversation with myself.

Gr. 

This article is fascinating.   Well worth reading.   And yeah, I can't say I would never do anything unethical.   All I can really say is I haven't yet.   One day at a time, like a 12-step program. 

I think for me the deciding factor would be harming others.  I don't think I could ever do anything unethical that clearly would harm others, however desperate I might be.   But if I could talk my way into believing that the only risk was to myself, who knows?

Here's a little section from the article:

Human beings commit fraud because human beings like each other.

We like to help each other, especially people we identify with. And when we are helping people, we really don't see what we are doing as unethical.

Lamar Pierce, of Washington University, points to the case of emissions testers to explain this. Emissions testers are supposed to test whether or not your car is too polluting to stay on the road. If it is, they're supposed to fail you. But in many cases, emissions testers lie.

"Somewhere between 20 percent and 50 percent of cars that should fail are passed — are illicitly passed," Pierce says.

Financial incentives can explain some of that cheating. But Pierce and psychologist Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School say that doesn't fully capture it.

They collected hundreds of thousands of records and were actually able to track the patterns of individual inspectors, carefully monitoring those they approved and those they denied. And here is what they found:

If you pull up in a fancy car — say, a BMW or Ferrari — and your car is polluting the air, you are likely to fail. But pull up in a Honda Civic, and you have a much better chance of passing.

Why?

"We know from a lot of research that when we feel empathy towards others, we want to help them out," says Gino.

Emissions testers — who make a modest salary — see a Civic and identify; they feel empathetic.

Essentially, Gino and Pierce are arguing that these testers commit fraud not because they are greedy, but because they are nice.

"And most people don't see the harm in this," says Pierce. "That is the problem."

I see your point about Abscam.  Of all of these stings, the one that bothers me the most is the idea of busting drug users for being in possession of a drug YOU have sold them.  I cannot for the life of me understand how this is legally justifiable.  It's certainly not ethically justifiable, IMO.

Wow.  I had missed this.   This is seriously disgusting, right there at the bottom of the slippery slope, with its face in the goo, getting its arse smashed every time someon else plummets to the bottom.  

The fact that this involved an attractive young female cop reminds me of the other onconscionable sting:  Prostitution.  We have dealth with this before.   I made the observation that though I would never hire a prostitute, I would be far more likely to in the case of an undercover cop:  There would be something about the woman and her demeanor -- maybe she'd look healthier, smarter, less desperate, less vulnerable  -- that might well be the flipping point for some men.   

I got yelled at for that, but I think I'm right.   I think prostitution stings are loathsome, and might well entice some men who wouldn't do it otherwise. 

In our book, Gina said that she would consider holding hands a betrayal, and would consider ending the marriage over it.   I said I didn't consider a single intimate kiss a betrayal.   So there were very differing thresholds.  We did a poll on this aeons ago, but I think it's time for another. 

Well, no.   I do not think they are the same, and for a pretty obvious difference. 

Caitlin and Rachel could supply the Rib with an experience I could not. 

This is an awkward question to answer using real people and real names, so I'll say, yes, I'd be less troubled if my spouse had a fling with Siobhan or LaKeisha, than with my good friends Biff  and Mohammed. 

I'm definitely going to try this. 

My memory of the test I took in seventh grade is very dim; it was one-on-one, for a scientific study.   I recall two questions in particular:  "What does the expression "any port in a storm" mean?    And I was given a list of one-digit numbers and was asked to repeat them backwards.    I hadn't heard the port-storm thing before, but correctly sussed out its meaning.  And I got the numbers right by repeating the sequence in my head several times, each time barking out, sequentially, three digits backwards. 

My mother told me later (she was a teacher, and part of this study) that the point of the second one was to see whether the kid developed a "system" to try to remember.  I had.  

I hesitate to say this because it might sound like a defense of Limbaugh, but I don't understand why he was detained at an airport for having Viagra in an unlabeled container.  I do that all the time with meds on a trip:  Take what I need and put em all in one vial.

I have absolutely decided to turn and cough everytime a hand explored my crotch. 

Er, not EVERY time.  Every time at an AIRPORT.  

I decided not to corporally punish my kids by asking myself a simple question:  Husband and wife don't reprimand each other with slaps, so why is it okay with kids?  What kind of lesson is that delivering? 

Molly reminds me that I actually did whack her in the tush once or twice for bad infractions, but I did it with all the force of a tickle. (In Yiddish, this is called a "potch," as in "I'll give you such a potch...")  Basically, it was like spanking a dog with a tissue, which I also did.   Or with a derder, which Caitlin's mom did.  

Okay, we end the update here, and with a reminder that The Post Hunt is June 3.   It's particularly diabolical this year, including one step so devious we will be booed EXTRA HARD when we explain it.