Warning: this is a complainy post about The McCheatersons

Here's a thing I see more and more and like less and less. And I think I need some re-assuring or something, because I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

I don't watch a ton of tv, but almost everything I see makes the following message extremely clear:  
Everyone cheats on his/her spouse.*

EVERYONE. All the time. It's normal. Who isn't doing it? Everywhere I look on tv (and lots of times in the news, too) someone is getting caught with his (or her) pants down (skirt up?).

I pretty much want to throw up whenever I see it, because here's the thing: it's a completely preventable situation. If you want to have lots of sex with a varied group of people, just don't get married (or marry into some polyamorous situation, I guess, where everyone knows the deal up front). Why is it so easy to normalize this?

Please don't mistake my disgust for righteousness. I've not been perfect in my relationships, but, I do feel that I can say that this behavior isn't just excusable. Why is it that we see it so often? Why for crying out loud?

What really concerns me is that people will see this, kids will see this, and think it's normal. And behave accordingly. And then people will get hurt. And the social fabric of society will start to unravel. And then the world will end in a swirly chaotic mess of cheating and dodgeball and you won't know where the death-blow will come from and then... wait. I think I went just a leetle beet to far there. Just at the end...

But you know what I mean, yes?


Oh for fuck's sake I am vanilla. I know it. I know that not all of these situations are black and white (I know from experience, on both sides). It's just that this really pisses me off.

Better pissed off than pissed on...


*I don't think this it true, but this is what popular media/tv/etc is telling me is true. I know plenty of very happy couples and I'll be damned before I believe there's cheating going on there.