For instance, let’s say that I am seen going into and coming out of the local “house of ill repute” every weeknight.
Agreed, it is not clear-cut, and while we seek to avoid scandal, we don’t have to “jump through hoops” to do it. To use a simple example, let’s say I am taking a night class at the university, and I have a poor, struggling female classmate who needs a ride home late at night on a regular basis — she can’t afford bus fare, or the route to her house is unsafe, I drive right by there, there’s no reason not to. She confides to me that she has food insecurity and has been skipping meals because she can’t afford to eat that often. We stop by the drive-in and get a bite to eat while sitting in my car — I get something too, even though I’m not hungry, so she won’t feel like she’s sponging. We get in this routine. I’m a divorced man without an annulment, and people know this — I make no secret of my status. People might take it upon themselves to talk. That is just too bad. I’m taking pity on someone who lives in poverty. It’s a corporal work of mercy. I’m doing what I have to do, and if anyone asked me about it, I’d explain the situation, no need to volunteer it, but I’d explain if I were asked. They might walk away saying “sure, Homie, sure, ‘corporal work of mercy’, is
that what they’re calling it nowadays?”, while murmuring otherwise. Again, that is just too bad.
That’s a little different from parking my car in front of a bawdyhouse five nights a week, going in, and spending about an hour there. Those are optics that really don’t have any other reasonable explanation, regardless of how innocently I spend my time there.
