Your comment entirely hinges on the following statement:
"If you found out your friend's spouse was CHEATING"
Let me rephrase it, and let's see if your statement still holds...
"If you found out your friend was a member of a gardening forum"
Given this second scenario, if I were to purchase billboards exposing their personal information, including pictures, address, and - important - their registration on the gardening forum, then I certainly would be to blame for the deplorable act of exposing personal information. I agree on this point entirely.
It is NOT my fault however, if society believes gardening is morally reprehensible, and they then incur shame as a result of having chosen to associate with gardeners.
Replace gardeners, with liars, cheaters, etc, and you'll see (hopefully), why I don't appropriate the blame for this hypothetical "shame for family members" onto the hackers. Furthermore, let's not pretend like the hacker's suddenly caused family trauma that never would have happened. That's incredibly naïve. In all likelihood, if there was infidelity, these relationships weren't exactly headed in a good direction to begin with, and their exposure as liars, and cheaters, would happen for a good lot of them anyways! And just to underscore my point, if they were gardeners, there would be no shame in it all.
So for maybe the 3rd time now, just so that I am completely clear - NO, exposing personal information is NOT cool, and I do NOT think it's right to do. However, the fall out being incurred by family members, has more to due with the nature of the exposure, than the exposure itself. I really genuinely struggle to see why this point is so difficult for some.
"If you found out your friend's spouse was CHEATING"
Let me rephrase it, and let's see if your statement still holds...
"If you found out your friend was a member of a gardening forum"
Given this second scenario, if I were to purchase billboards exposing their personal information, including pictures, address, and - important - their registration on the gardening forum, then I certainly would be to blame for the deplorable act of exposing personal information. I agree on this point entirely.
It is NOT my fault however, if society believes gardening is morally reprehensible, and they then incur shame as a result of having chosen to associate with gardeners.
Replace gardeners, with liars, cheaters, etc, and you'll see (hopefully), why I don't appropriate the blame for this hypothetical "shame for family members" onto the hackers. Furthermore, let's not pretend like the hacker's suddenly caused family trauma that never would have happened. That's incredibly naïve. In all likelihood, if there was infidelity, these relationships weren't exactly headed in a good direction to begin with, and their exposure as liars, and cheaters, would happen for a good lot of them anyways! And just to underscore my point, if they were gardeners, there would be no shame in it all.
So for maybe the 3rd time now, just so that I am completely clear - NO, exposing personal information is NOT cool, and I do NOT think it's right to do. However, the fall out being incurred by family members, has more to due with the nature of the exposure, than the exposure itself. I really genuinely struggle to see why this point is so difficult for some.