I Spoke to Some Sex Addicts About Anthony Weiner

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Unless you have been in a coma for the past few months, I don’t need to tell you what former congressman and current NYC mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner has been doing with his penis.

As Anthony has promised to "seek help," I went to a Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) meeting to see if I would find him there. Unfortunately, he was not in attendance, so I did the next best thing: asked other sex addicts what they thought of his behavior. Obviously, all names have been changed.

"Mike"

Mike, the first man I spoke to, has a past of becoming obsessed with woman and stalking them. This behavior has prevented him from having normal relationships and earned him a rap sheet of sexual assault and stalking charges.

VICE: What do you think of the whole Anthony Weiner thing?
Mike: You know it’s funny, we've talked about him a lot lately in our meetings. He obviously has problems, but it isn’t anything too unusual. He's what is called a "love addict’, he talks to these girls and they become obsessed with him, he gets off on that.

So he is definitely an addict? 

Without a doubt. A lot of people think sex or love addiction means you are having sex constantly, it's a popular misconception. I would say that is not that case for 80% of people in SLAA. There are so many people here, who, just like him, threw their life away by things like sexting, webcams, chatrooms, etc.

But it doesn’t seem like he is doing it all the time.

[laughs] Yes, he is. He just has something to distract him now and then.

"Scott"

Scott was an alcoholic, compulsive gambler, drug addict, and sexaholic. He used “prostitutes, sex hotlines, you name it.” 

VICE: What are your thoughts on Weiner?

Scott: I've been following him closely since this all started because it's really interested me. He clearly has a sex addiction, but his biggest problem is that he is in denial. Alcoholics Anonymous tells you the hardest problem to overcoming an addiction is crossing the “River of Denial.”  I remember watching him on TV, and he said the phrase “when I was doing those things.” That is a classic denial phrase. What he should have said was “When I did those things.” When I saw that I turned to my wife and said, “Oh man, this guy is in some hard denial.”

Is there any way he can stop?

Not without admitting to it. Which, in my opinion, he has yet to do. I have seen a lot of people come and go with all kinds of addictions, not once has some stopped without admitting to it. You know, one of the commonalities in sex addiction is leading a double life. In his life with his wife and as a congressman, he doesn’t acknowledge this other life he is living online. He won’t come to terms with it because he has this inherent narcissism that prevents him from recognizing any flaws.

"Daniel"

Daniel, like many others in SLAA, grew up with an alcoholic father who abused him. He began doing drugs at 13, becoming a full-blown addict at 16. Daniel become obsessed with various women and hired prostitutes ‘regularly.’ He has left SLAA multiple times just to fall back "into the same shit."

VICE: What do you make of this whole Weiner thing?

Daniel: I just feel bad. I know how hard it can be living with an addiction. With all the attention on him, I don’t fault him for falling back into the same behavior. He obviously needs help.

Where Should He Go?

He should come to one of our meetings, he would be more then welcome here.

@RyanPMcCarthy