Monday, September 13, 2010

Advising the jealous wife to lie

Here is today's advice column:
Dear Annie: My husband, "Sam," and I are retired. Two weeks ago, we ran into one of Sam's former co-workers while out shopping. He seemed quite happy to see her. ...

When I finished shopping, they were still talking. This woman treated me like I was invisible. In the car on the way home, Sam said only that they were catching up on office gossip.

At home, Sam took his shirt off and hung it in our hall closet before going upstairs. I immediately grabbed it, and sure enough, her e-mail address was on that piece of paper in his pocket. I said nothing and put the shirt back. ... I feel so betrayed. How do I handle this? — Feeling Betrayed

Dear Betrayed: Give Sam the opportunity to be honest. Tell him you saw this woman slip something into his pocket and you'd like to know what it was, since he hasn't bothered to mention it. ...
No, this is horrible advice. The husband has been honest. He is obviously not having an affair with the woman, or he would not be relying on a chance shopping encounter to get her email address. The wife has a serious jealousy disorder.

To compound matters, Annie advises the wife to lie to her husband in order to try to entrap him into telling a lie. It is hard to imagine worse advice. Sometimes I think that these columns are written by malicious people who enjoy messing with human lives.

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