Weird Times

 There are two stories that are not political that I think testify to the weirdness of the age we live in - where "information" is abundant but unreliable.

The first is the Kate Middleton saga. It is, of course, very sad when a young mother has to confront a cancer diagnosis. There is a superficial plausibility that they wanted to take time in order to tell their kids, in order not to upset them, though there is no good time for that conversation with young children. More astonishing is that "the Firm" so bungling the media approach to this. The photoshopped picture, the complete absence until yesterday...who thought that was a good idea? Into this void, every conspiracy theory expanded. 

The second is the Shohei Ohtani gambling story. Ohtani is one of the most bankable stars in all of sports and his interpreter (perhaps) racked up huge gambling debts and money from Ohtani's account was used to pay it off. At first, Ohtani said he was helping a dear friend out, then he switched his story to one where his friend stole from him, which strains credulity.

In both cases, we have a hamfisted series of public statements though for different reasons. Ohtani commented too soon and the Royal Family not soon enough. The absence of even a cursory statement from Middleton created a set of conditions where people could fill in their own plausible and implausible theories. Ohtani committed to one story (I paid my friends debts) which became a problem because he may have violated baseball's rules and California law in doing so, so he switched his story.

There is a particular type of moral scold who is wagging their censorious finger at everyone who advanced theories about Middleton, under the guise of "she deserves privacy". Does she? Isn't she a public servant employed at the taxpayer's expense? We freaked out when the Secretary of Defense was out of commission and incommunicado for a few days, and while the Princess of Wales is considerably less important than the SecDef, it's still a public position and there were months of this rather than days.

What's more, it's increasingly harder to understand what "deserves" or "should" means anymore. There are lots of things that "should" happen, but they simply won't.  Middleton should've been able to say that she had surgery and that complications ensued that will require more treatment until she had a chance to talk to her kids. She didn't do that and - as a public figure - speculation bloomed. Did she "deserve" that? No, probably not. Is anyone - and I mean ANYONE - surprised that it happened? Similarly, baseball's rules are VERY clear about gambling. Does Ohtani deserve to be suspended for helping a friend? No, but he likely broke a sacrosanct rule and what did he actually expect?

I hope Ms Middleton makes a full recovery and enjoys a long healthy life watching her children grow up. I hope Shohei Ohtani does not get the Pete Rose/Shoeless Joe treatment, even if he does get a lengthy suspension. I also hope that the people who are responsible for public relations can learn something from this ridiculousness.