Svend Robinson steps down

I doubt Svend Robinson and I agree on many issues. Yet when he stepped down today, after having “snapped” last week and stolen a ring from an auction, I was filled with respect for his courage and integrity.

Apparently, it is for reasons of ill health: he suffers from a rare and debilitating form of kleptomania…

Andrew Coyne wrote these words, but backed down shortly after:

On second thought, maybe we should cut the guy some slack. He did go to the cops himself, which suggests the theft probably was indicative of a disordered state of mind.

Exactly. Nobody is excusing what he did, but I know I’m capable of worse. The first instinct is to hide and cover up. Svend isn’t doing that. He’s voluntarily owning up and paying the price, and for this, I offer him my respect. Hats off to Svend. Update: A day later, and I’m starting to feel a little more cynical. It would be nice to believe that Svend came clean because he thought it was the right thing to do and not because he was caught or is trying to win sympathy. Who knows. Update 2: It was a lot nicer of a story when it looked like Svend had confessed by himself, rather than being caught.