I'm Having a Hard Time Feeling Sympathy for Maria Shriver

Normally I couldn't care less about celebrity crap but this affected me as a Californian.

The PTB brought in this yo-yo Ahnie for one reason and one reason only -- to squash the billion-dollar lawsuit against Duke Energy who was responsible for the non-energy crisis energy crisis. Rates doubled and tripled in some areas and they NEVER WENT DOWN.

The details about how we ended up with Ahnie are long and sordid with lots of help from Baby Bush and Cheney in the mix. However,
during the election 16 women came forward and testified that Ahnie had inappropriately groped them -- most happened while they were doing their job. The GOP dismissed them as political operatives. Fine, that's what the standard response would be. But Maria came forward and defended her pervert husband and basically called his victims liars.

I'm sorry, one or two women making that accusation in a political election is one thing, but 16???? I don't for a minute believe she is stupid so the only conclusion is she was part of the cover-up. She may not have known about the out-of-wedlock kid(s) but she HAD to know about her husband's philandering. Had she stood up for those women and for the people of California, AND had she not talked Oprah into giving him ONE FULL HOUR of free publicity (without offering Davis the same), we would not have ended up with Der Gropenator.

So, pardon me if I'm not cryin' a whole lot of tears here.

Enabler.

She made her own choices. I don't think
she is to blame for Arnold's ways, but I
don't feel sorry for her either.

I feel badly for the kids....

known and unknown....

while he was running for the president. I am always amazed that she got such a pass when she supported her husband's run for President, with the full knowledge of his affair (if not his love child, too.)

Maria married a man who stated that blowjobs
were "not cheating".

And EE was suffering from CANCER at the time
of their scandal.

So, yes, I feel sorry for EE, but not for Shriver.

and believed him when he told her it was all in the past. I have been in her position and know how terribly painful it is. I wish for nothing but healing for the entire family.

My guess (which is at least as good as yours...) is that
she knew darn well he was never faithful, but that she
couldn't easily "look the other way" once the kitty was
out of the bag.

quite another if that groping leads to knocking one of them up.

perhaps i just don't want to.

I think her ambition blinded her to the real danger they were putting the Dem party in if he won the nomination. Lots of people are ambitious, and no one is perfect. Not EE, nor Maria Shriver. The good of both outweighs the bad. That is the difference between them and Republicans who act selfishly

her husband didn't grope 16 women before he ran for president and they all came forward and complained but were ignored and called liars and she knew about it and went out and called those women "liars" based solely on the word of her husband.

Elizabeth took a big step backwards from John when that whole sordid affair went public. She stood by him until New Orleans--and once he announced in NO, that was the beginning of the end. You basically never again saw them together as a couple in public. It was a few months later than he withdrew suddenly. I cut a lot of video during that time, and not knowing the backstory unfolding, I though "wow, they both go out and campaign in different areas-that's cool". I didn't put two and two together until it all came out about his out of wedlock child and the idiot he had her with.

I remember seeing Maria smiling, etc., doing California tourism spots with Schwarz... and this was well after he'd been in office.

comparing the two is not even remotely the same.

I don't remember any of that.

And she knew about the mistress, from what I remember.

See, it's OK if our guy and gal does it, right??? I hate double standards.

have sworn the baby was kept from her for a long time and he kept lying
and lying until that bitter end. I thought I remembered that he
did admit to a (I guess acceptable to some women)one-nighter but that was it.

not the love child.

How come it is OK when our side does it??? I hate double standards.

personal life." If it's there's the person is a scumbag.

sometimes it's less about the sin and more about the hypocrisy ...preaching one
thing and doing another

I think women with issues get involved with men who are narcissists, cheaters and
liars and they are swept in by the liar. Deep inside they probably
know the guy's cheating but don't want to believe it so they chose to
believe the lies. Until the woman breaks away,(usually the liar/cheater dumps
them), they can not heal and face the issues that made them stay.

that's my armchair analysis...:>)

his continuing quest for the presidency. Could you imagine if he had won the nomination and then this came out?? Can you say, "Madam Vice President Palin"?

Rec

I totally agree with you. I mentioned this earlier in another post. She decided to stand by her man.

but there had to be indications before the marriage that he was a scummy womanizer before she met him. I can understand enabling for a little bit, but there's just no excuse for it on this scale when you have that kind of political and financial means.

:thumbsup:

PB

...rather than just the small prism of the latest revelation, Ahhhhnold has long been a philandering asshole/sexual predator and this is merely the tip of the iceberg...one has to wonder how long she has actually known the truth...and how much more is bound to come out...

My strongest argument for disagreement is that no one can know from afar what was in her heart or her head. Much as I never criticized Hillary Clinton for her decisions and actions during her travails, neither can I - no, "dare I" - criticize Maria Shriver.

We all tend to apply our own filters to such matters. That's normal. You're doing it. I'm doing it. But in the end, the only filter that matters is hers. You suggest she was part of some coverup. I am not saying that's impossible, but I am saying I can see it as the least of the issue for her, on a very personal level. There were many other things that I'll bet were more to the fore for her. Like a long marriage. Like four kids. Like public humiliation. Like her possible inability to admit things to herself. Who knows.

I sure don't.

I'll probably never take a side in this. I have never cared much for him. But I'll leave her be. On the matter of their marriage and deepest personal thoughts, who am I to judge?

the real issues i'm concerning myself with are the state of this union when it comes to sep of church/state, and the media turning selective and tabloidish, to name just a couple. that's what has me in a knot. the scwarzeneggers belong in the national enquirer.

of sexual harassment. Her marriage is her business until it's used by her husband to get elected in my state.

It's called "being in denial", and I suspect Maria had a really intense case of it. Having dealt with my share of assholes in my life, I can understand how she wouldn't want to believe the accusations made against the guy she loved--or thought she loved. Being in love can blind a person, even when it involves lots of accusers, especially when one has self-esteem issues. From what I have been reading about the way he supposedly treated her, it wouldn't surprise me if she had those.

no stranger to denial. Maria had to work with the campaign to counter the abuse stories that popped up at the end of the campaign. She wasn't floating around in a bubble somewhere.

Whether you judge her for it is another thing, but it does say something about her.

Some filters can detect patterns quite accurately.

her and stand by her, her son changing his online name to Shriver. I pity a dissolution of a marriage because there was love once. But my greatest pity is for their children, any children the ss man's son fathered and the women he's hurt all his life. He is scum to me.

Makes sense & thoughtfully takes into account her children & other "non-political" issues that could have lead to her decision to stand by her man. Thank-you for being reasonable.

:hi:

Stinky the Clown, your reply is the best I've seen in this thread.

I'd like to make clear I'm only speaking of the victims in this one affair. All of the adults involved should have known better. I've never found it difficult to believe Arnold touched women in sexually inappropriate ways. Any person he groped against their will is, of course, also a victim.

In the aftermath of this one specific affair my heart goes out to all the children. They had no control over the actions, or inaction of their parents.

People personal relationships are their own. If she got whatever it is she wanted from him during their married years. So shrug. People want different things from marriage. When he was a younger, famous Hollywood actor and political power house I imagine it was more fun to be married to him. Clearly he used her to get into politics. You know it isn't amazingly new now that he's a fat, sixty year old with a closet of illegitimate babies and shes still and attractive rich 55 year old that she wants out. So screw him, she is moving on.

I don't think she was exactly looking for sympathy as looking to get out of a marriage she now no longer cares for. She also apparently was trying to avoid as much of the * storm as possible by waiting as long as she did to make this move.

for the recall of Davis that allowed Arnold to become governor.

Bush and Cheney allowed the corporations to manipulate the electricity in the state while Gray was governor and then blocked investigations. It was crystal clear to me that the electricity prices were the fault of the Republicans.

It was also crystal clear to me that Arnold mistreated (to put it mildly) women. I recall something about him threatening to put a woman's head in the toilet. (I am positive Arnold was majorly abused as a child and has serious problems underneath the charm he can exude.)

During the campaign, Arnold went on Jay Leno's show and many radio shows. TV stations played Arnold's movies constantly. Gray Davis was not given any free TV or radio time.

Some people like me did everything we could to keep Arnold out of office, but there wasn't much we could do except talk to our neighbors and vote.

those elements. Don't even get me started on stupid people who vote for celebrities just because they think it would be cool to have "Gonzo" or "The Terminator" as governor. I think they should have their voting rights taken away for failure to pass a basic I.Q. test but that's another thread. My point was that sometimes one person can make a difference and she was that one. If it was just her life that was involved it would be relegated to the "none-of-my-business" pile but she ACTIVELY intervened during the time the accusations were coming out thereby giving him the Kennedy anointment. SHE bailed his ass out and it affected 33 million of us.

dimissing the 16 accusers speaks volumes.

But I am finding it hard to believe she didn't know.

"Gonzo" Hunter S. Thompson would have made a much better governor (of Colorado). In fact, he once came close to being elected sheriff of Pitkin County, CO (Aspen)!

And besides, Bonzo was the chimp. :-)

I re-read it and had a "doh" moment. You meant what I knew. ;-)

never sends me birthday cards. I honestly can't remember the last time we talked on the phone, though (of course) everything on either side of 1969 might be a bit of a psychedelic swirl

Anyway, Maria, if you happen to read this thread and decide you need my opinion posted here, PM me and I'll try to figure out what I should say

Thanks so much.

It's lazy of me, I know, but with a million or so couples divorcing each year, I just never seem to find the time to tell many of them my views on their failed marriages

Why not move on to a topic that is more to your liking?

Peace,
LTH

I've seen, like, twenty of his movies, and they're all really bad. Look, I got several dozen gallons of chocolate ice cream in the freezer down by my hot tub, so why don't you drop by and we'll gorge. Say, do you still have that French maid's ... *kavoomph* ... oh shit ... SHIT! ... um ... yeah ... We're gonna have to talk later cause there's been a little accident here. Love ya! Bye!"

:thumbsup:

to speculate on how someone else should have conducted her marriage.

Even if it was 100 women who accused him of groping them...who knows if he promised never to do it again?

People do that shit.

And people believe because they want to.


Also, it's easy enough to be seated all nice and comfy behind our computers and speculate on what we would have done. Unless one is actually in a particular situation, it's all bullshit to say what we would have done. Wait till we've gone through it and then say what we did or did not do.

And I have always been one of her biggest fans, but I agree with your lack of sympathy.

That said, I wish her and her children well, of course.

She's a big girl and smart. She chose him, she chose the life, and she put up with the issues. An old story. That's the sympathy I have for her...in that she might have actually thought he was her best bet. She doesn't seem like a crass exploiter. She seems to have invested in the marriage. Mistake.

was in love with a man who quite possibly abused her in one way or another. And we can be angry that she was a party to the deception. Very similar to our feelings re Elizabeth Edwards. Mostly I'm sad they were controlled by their husbands. I wish their married lives had been happy.

"16 women came forward and testified that Ahnie had inappropriately groped them"

Even without that bit of news, I would have NEVER pulled the lever for A.S(S). Californians, much like Wisconsinites, Georgians, Michiganders, and Arizonans, must take responsibility and face the consequences of their collective voting decisions.

He has a long record. Why would she think he would change?

:shrug:

family might like. Saying she did not like the Yale, Harvard preppie guys. In the article, she was incredibably proud of that decision - though there likely was someone who would have shared her interests and have made a better husband than Arnold.

She was an adult when they married. The family likely had two choices - reject the marriage and have a permanent rift or accept reality - the latter is a far better idea.

are supposed to do when an adult member makes this kind of mistake - shut up (at least publicly) and get ready to help her pick up the pieces.

is a lying piece of shit. And if 16 women accuse you, it aint a coincidence.

and believe them. Everyone here is very cruel. It's hard to see the truth about someone you love and are married to.

Maria Shriver is not stupid, any more than Hillary Clinton is. They know the behavior of the men they are marrying they choose to accept it and defend them anyway.

Edit: Well, Maria is not accepting it any more- but she knew about it before she married him. Something about Kennedy women.

she took the easy way out, not with integrity

for her in this situation, she was totally complicit in helping bring this nightmare to California.

I think she wanted to wait until her parents were dead before divorcing.

She claimed an ongoing affair that included anything, and, apparently, everything, except penetration, calling their behavior "outercourse". I don't remember details, but (and to some extent, because) it was particularly sordid and disgusting. The affair supposedly occurred after A's marriage, and though the affair continued for some years, I'm pretty sure they avoided sex in a Clintonesque evasion due to the fact the girl was 16 when the affair began.

http://left2right.typepad.com/main/2005/08/outercourse.html">This link discusses the allegation, but the supporting news articles have expired. I'm sure I got some details wrong, but the whole thing is extremely creepy.

According to the Urban Dictionary, that means "dry humping." C'mon, seriously?

Maria is not a child or mentally challenged.

i still have a brain

just saying that I don't necessarily feel
sorry for her.

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*if* it was just one, *if* there was no evidence supporting the claim and *if* he had no history of such behavior. But there were 16 of them and I'm not sure how ANY spouse could ignore that. And remember, those were just the ones who were brave enough to come forward. How many victims are really out there?

I'm not sure that Maria was so much the victim here as she was a volunteer. If she wanted to "save her marriage" by living in a perpetual state of denial, that's her business, but this was a political campaign and these were real victims and she purposely came out and defended him, effectively calling the victims liars which means she participated in the deception. That deception cost us $ Billions $. We would have never been saddled with Prop. H8 (the state Leg. TWICE passed a bill legalizing gay marriage and Ahnie vetoed it TWICE). The impact of the worst. governor. ever. will last for decades and she was a willing participant.

surprised that Maria Shriver did not see what her husband was really like. Many times I've seen a parent/parents in complete denial over their child/grandchild having autism. Happens all the time even though it is very obvious to others. Met one couple who have dedicated their lives to helping their child and knowing they missed the younger years where therapy could have made a tremendous difference because of their denial that there was anything "different" about their child.

I feel bad for the kids and for all the women that he assaulted.

She will be just fine. She has money, the pedigree and the security staff to remain untouchable media wise and can sit on her family's estate sipping mimosas while her personal therapist listens to her for hours and her personal manicurist files her nails. Look what happened with the last Kennedy marriage mishap? Andrew is now governor and is Kerry even still with the not so bright Bruce Colley? --is she still a "human rights activist"? The biggest sin Andrew made was letting the media know his wife was cheating. Maybe that is why Maria stayed mum. However, the illegitimate offspring and their mothers as well as those women who were assaulted or molested by the former California governor... they are not able to recover with such leisure.

I hope Maria uses her new free time as the ex first lady of the state of California to write letters of apology to the women she scoffed at and accused of being liars.

I'm having a hard time mustering any sympathy, too.

I was annoyed with her when she married him, just because he was a Rethug, but I never paid much attention to her beyond annoyance because I discounted her as just another legacy kid reaping celeb cash from a "career". But every time he made an appearance, with his swagger, my annoyance was kept alive.

It also irritated me when disappointed Dems would complain to her that she would say, "He's NOT really a (RETHUG), he's an IMMIGRANT!1 That's why he identifies with (Rethuggism) because of rebelling against government and union regulations back in the homeland. But I'm still a Dem." (Paraphrase)

But the CA Recall outrage, paid for by Darryl ISSA for himself, tipped the scales for me from gnawing annoyance that she foisted him on us to outright anger at her and her KENNEDY relatives for propping him up into the governorship.

Then there was Tweety, an insignificant mouthpiece, but who told real Dems in CA who were ready to FIGHT TO WIN by exposing all of the Nazi's dirty deeds, staring fiercely into the camera, "THEY'D BETTER NOT!1" And then at the election night victory stage, when scores of preppies in suits poured onto the stage, he crowed, "Here come the KENNEDYs!1"

I no longer refer to him as "Ahhhhnuld" because that sounds too affectionate. To me he is the scumbag, rapacious, LYING LIAR, Nazi predator.

Blame the wife for what your Governor did.

And who were the stupid CA people who voted for the turd in the first place. Hell...they went along with the Recall against Davis.

Maybe someday you can experience what it feels to be betrayed by a loved one.

As the old saying goes: Love is blind. I'm sorry she believed in her husband.

Hell, the woman is always wrong....blame her for her husbands disgusting behavior.

I could care less about her or Ahhhnold, I don't know them and I especially don't care to ever know anyone with an R next to their name.

I agree with you. She's just another craven product of a privileged political dynasty who wanted to play Queen of California, so she sold out any decency she may have once had to foist that idiot on our wounded state. Fuck him, and fuck her. I've been saying that since the recall farce, by the way.

I can't forgive and forget these two women for what they did to my state by coming out and publicly supporting the gropinator and victimizing all the brave women who came out and reported what was done to them. The message to women is it doesn't matter what happens to you by rich and powerful men. California would be in a much better place (and maybe the country since we're a 10 percent of the economy) without the energy company supported overthrow of our elected Governor. Nope, I don't feel sorry for Shriver but I do feel sorry for all the children.

Remember what Shriver says were Arnold's first words to her: "Nice butt."

was 12.5%. Schwarze-Nazi's tenure in office grievously damaged California's working class.

I remember when the LA Times ran the story of the 16 women and most Californians were so caught up in the Arnie-craze that they got angry at the LA Times for 'trying to influence the election' or some such rot. No matter that the accounts came from 16 different women, most if not all of whom did not know one another.

Instead of considering the claims of these women seriously, Californians were angry at the LA Times for publishing the story.

Despite the fact that many of the working class bought the hype and voted for Schwarze-Nazi, I feel sympathy for California's working class.

But why should one feel any sympathy for Shriver? I'm unclear on that.

I don't know what was in her mind, or her heart. To judge would show more horrible things about me than about her.

is just that - no sympathy.

two women who knew they were marrying philanderers but still thought it was a private matter and didn't realize they would be publically humilated. Both made a deal with the devil but I still feel for the humilation they are enduring.

I feel MORE sorry for the children, and for the great people of California who did not vote for the Gropinator.

That was more important to her than any thing else...plus love can be blind.

sexual excesses?

name to make his political career.

She probably trusted him because she saw that he cared about their children and because he introduced her to Hollywood celebrities.

Without Maria Shriver, Schwarzenegger would have been a nobody in political circles. She lent him her family's reputation. It just rubbed off on him.

I understand that she is 52. She doesn't know it, but the best years of her life are ahead of her.

But she will never again enjoy the love that she enjoyed when she was a young mother and wife.

Schwarzenegger will end up buying women. He is just a loser, always was.

I mean.... There must be dozens of photos from Huffington Post we can choose!

and was still able to have enough "spark" from her association with him that she could do her charity work and have her place in the sun. It might have ended up just a "bargain"...but, I'd say that both of them benefited greatly from their relationship and their attractive children...and their fame.

I don't feel one way or the other about either of them. They had a celebrity marriage. There are so many of them these days that go badly amongst these wealthy people that it's hardly worth bothering about. They will both end up find and so will their children.

anyone stupid enough, tasteless enough, to marry arnold deserves whatever they get. i mean really, what the hell could anyone see in him. he's nauseating.

not one ounce of sympathy from me.

who lived unknowingly with her husbands mistress and then to find out she had a 13 yr old boy is callous and heartless. This has nothing to do with politics, this is about being a human being.

I can't believe how many people rec'ed this piece of garbage.

You know what callous and heartless is? Slashing the budgets for the handicapped, for the elderly and for animal shelters because you know those people can't get in their cars and protest your philandering @ss in Sacramento.

before the election. She was active in that respect.

Spousal betrayal and divorce are terrible. And she made the choice to cover up for her husband and lie to the voters of California for him. She's a big girl and that was her decision.

I only wish she had taken care of her marital problems instead of working to inflict the Grope on us. That would have been a different choice and it probably would have been a better one for all of us.

As far as Elizabeth goes, lying to the voters is lying to the voters. Don't confuse that with lying to yourself or graciously forgiving your husband for something that only affects you. Elizabeth Edwards didn't have the ability to forgive John for lying to us.

if the 16 women came out and accused Arnold
why did the people of CA vote him into office?

Lots of people don't care that women are sexually harrassed.

She wanted to be the First Lady of Ca.

n/t

Arnold is so out-of-control, he jumped the dowdy hired help.

That's just sad . . . and Maria enabled him.

up her ass. She bought it. He always talked about what a fantastic mother she was and the perfect life partner, blah, blah, blah. Having been in a similar situation I do feel for her. The kids though, all of them, they have the hardest rode.

Narcissists ruin everything.

to believe is true.

It's happened to me as well.

the truth is the fools were excited over the terminator being Governor. while california does lean democratic , it's not always very liberal. and a lot of people think if the republican supports abortion rights he is a moderate and not like those other republicans .

and it's fairly certain MS neither desires nor requires our *tears* to go on with her life, and all the better for her.

all I know is that this war on women has got to stop. I don't know if Maria is guilty of your POV but it's her personal life and we need to stay of out it. I would support Maria because she's a female and appears to be the victim along with their kids.

Thanks for sharing but I don't agree.

stood right next to him, even, when it suited her purposes.

His reputation was no secret in Hollywood, except to the facade Shriver wanted to maintain.

She got to be first lady of Cahl-ee-for-neee-ya and now that she's done with that ride, she's found religion?

to molest women during the campaign because that made us as bad as the GOP when they went after Clinton for his affairs. However, there's a big difference between consensual sex between adults (even if it is extramarital) and serially molesting strangers.

It's not really any of my business as I don't live in California and never watched all of the Terminator movies...

Okay, I think you basically hit the nail on the head in this case. I've always had my strong suspicions about Arnold, not just in cases of sexually harassing women or being an enormous (literally) douche bag, but I suspect he has a streak of violence in him. I wouldn't want to be his wife when he's in a bad mood, you know?

As for Maria... I'm not sure what her purpose was in marrying Arnold. If it was really anything that could be defined as love or mutual respect or if it was political for both of them. In either case, some things can be neither excused nor justified - 16 accusations of Arnold acting in such a manner, for example. Did Maria help cover it up? Did she ignore terrible things Arnold was doing because she had a purpose in mind politically or out of concern for her children? Who knows.

However, as it surprises none (that I know of) in the general population that Arnold behaved in this way, I don't think it comes as much of a surprise to her, either. I think she knew all kinds of despicable things about Arnold and what he did (and does). Why didn't she speak out about it or do anything about it in the first place? I have some (limited) understanding of the psychological reasoning, the cycle of abuse. I'm a young man with three sisters, after all. So I do have some sympathy for her.

Still... in her position she had certain obligations and responsibilities. I believe she abandoned them.

She will survive without having to scrounge for deposit bottles in the weeds. She won't be shopping thrift stores and feeding her kids on mac and cheese. She'll never apply for food stamps or Medicaid.

She comes from money, she's got money, and she has high-profile job connections. She can probably even find another husband, if she wishes.

I feel sorry for her kids.

And I feel sorry for the women and children of California not related to her or her Ahnold. They are the ones suffering.

and now has to deal with proof that he was a lying cheater and you feel no sympathy for her? i dont know who is a bigger asshole, me for saying i would not turn in 45000 dollars found in a house just bought or........

to come forward (and those are just the ones who DID come forward), she actively participated in the deception by effectively calling the victims liars. The consequences affected an entire state. Now, there are a lot of things that could very well make me an asshole in some people's eyes but me seeing Maria as a willful volunteer in one of the biggest political scams this state has ever seen isn't one of them. :shrug:

if not, cool, but i have and i believed her when she insisted she hadnt cheated... i was dumb. i think that she was duped by arnold.

I've been duped by a cheater -- I think everyone has, but she had to ignore serious allegations from 16 women. Duped is oe thing but 16 separate accusations is a whole lot of ignoring. If it was just her and her family involved I wouldn't be saying a word but her defense of him had serious consequences to an entire state.

about the 16 cases i will defer to your argument. I guess it is likely that she knew and lied in order to protect his political career.

the abuse stories from coming out but they did, near the end of his campaign for governor. Even then, the story was tanked by the conservative media (the LA Times had just been bought out by the right). Arnold famously said he would investigate *himself*. As it was, the story got little serious play.

Maria was not a wallflower, she was in the campaign.

call 16 groping victims liars. The 16 victims, remember them? Anyone? **crickets**

The only thing I blame Maria for is becoming an active participant in a monumental political deception. For whatever reason people with their own agenda seem hellbent into wanting to morph my OP into I somehow blame her for Arnold's dalliances.

Good grief, it's sexist not to do that.

us as in women and californians in general. i have pity for her children, but not for her.

one thing i've been wondering about that has been bothering me....maria must have seen GAS's love child in her house at least once. wouldn't she have made the connection, as that child is obviously GAS's child by his appearance. maria's not a dumb woman, couldn't she put two and two together??

is the wives standing next to the hubbies during the press conferences. If anyone has a theory, please even PM me, because I frankly don't get it. If it were me, no way in hell.