For years, my colleague Dan Rodricks has entertained us with columns entitled "Guilty - but mostly stupid." They're tales of criminals who just don't get it, like the bank robber who scribbles a holdup note on the back of his business card.
Today I offer my own tale of criminal stupidity in the digital age - and the power that access to information holds to save us from terrible mistakes.
I heard the story from a young woman in her early 20s who was raised in a small community, way-out-West, where people are friendly and direct about who and what they are. This is not necessarily the best preparation for working in the nation's capital.
FOR THE RECORD
The address for the DTV Transition Coalition Web site listed in Mike Himowitz's Plugged In column in yesterday's editions of The Sun was incorrect. It should have been www.dtvtransition.org
The Sun regrets the error.
Not long ago, she was riding the Washington Metro home when she returned a smile from a presentable young man who subsequently engaged her in conversation - and asked if she would be willing to meet him for a drink.
"I'd never ever done something like that," she said, "but there was this spark, and I figured that as long as it was in a public place, it couldn't be too bad."
A week later, they met for lunch in Georgetown. "I took him to a little French cafe, and we really hit it off. We had very similar political beliefs, and he even liked the weird food I like - I'm a vegetarian. I don't hit it off with everyone I meet, so this was really a nice experience."
Not being a fool, she asked him a bit about himself, including the most important question for any young woman sizing up a potential boyfriend: Are you an ax murderer or serial killer?
Neither, he replied. He was in advertising.
That was OK. After a pleasant meal, which he paid for, the two parted on the best of terms, with promises of a return engagement. He even told her his last name - a big mistake, as it turned out.
That's because she inevitably felt compelled to do what her generation does when it meets someone who strikes an emotional chord.
"I was absent-mindedly searching for him on Facebook, just to see if he was on there, and he was," she recalled. "And his profile wasn't private, like most people's are. Very few people have it set up any more so that just anyone can look at their profile, but he did. I opened his, and saw a picture of him, and the profile says, 'In a relationship with:' And it gave the name of another girl.
"I thought, maybe they just broke up or something. Maybe he's not there with her. But he had pictures of him posted kissing her cheek on March 30. He was still obviously in this relationship."
