Tortured Masculinity

In the debate over what constitutes torture, Sean Hannity and Mike Guy are hardly the first members of the media to offer to be waterboarded. But, they have brought one new question to the debate: Care to make a little wager?

Fox News' Sean Hannity and Playboy's Mike Guy want you to know that they're man enough to take being waterboarded and, if you disagree, you should put your money where your mouth is.

Guy (who actually was waterboarded) put down a bet that he would last at least 15 seconds. Hannity's offer, made to Charles Grodin, got especially bizarre when he offered to be waterboarded "for charity," as lightly as though he were a middle school principal offering to sit a round in the dunk tank at the school carnival.

Their essential question seems to be less "Is this torture?" and more "Do you feel lucky, punk?" But, lest they be left alone in all this, Keith Olbermann is there to rise to the bait. He'll take Hannity's bet, to the tune of $1,000 for every second that he makes it – double if Hannity cries uncle and admits he was scared.

We need to talk about torture – which I firmly believe waterboarding to be – but putting a wager on how long you think you or someone else can take it undermines the seriousness of the situation. Betting, one-upmanship and macho boasts aside, waterboarding is no cause for swagger.