Beware the Trust-Seeker

In the wake of the 2015 Ashley Madison hack (HT: GeekPress) comes the following lesson about trust:

In the west of England, Michael could hardly disagree with this. Even as he sat in his home office, reading the developing news about Ashley Madison and wondering if his wife was doing the same, he was well aware of his own culpability. He didn't think he had anyone else to blame but himself. Who was he really going to blame? Ashley Madison? "I think it would probably be a little naive of me to expect high standards from a company that was promoting itself as a meeting point for people looking for adulterous affairs. It's a bit like [lending money to] your drug dealer and expecting him to pay it back." Michael simply accepted what was going on and watched, with a numb fascination, as the crisis rolled on. [bold added]

This reminds me a little of an episode when I was young, and working my first job at McDonald's. A coworker pressed me for a turn at the cash register and, in the face of my reluctance, asked me if I didn't trust him. (This didn't reassure me in the least.) Lacking a spine in those days, I gave him a turn against my better judgement. The register was short by ten dollars at the end of my shift and that was, rightly, the last time I worked the register for a long time. That episode and seeing others like it have taught me that talk about trust (or, here, any unsolicited promise of discretion) is often a red flag. One should reconsider whatever action one is contemplating if that issue comes up at all.

-- CAV