Double standards-life in a small town. [View All]

I live in a little town in rural Iowa. When I say little, I mean it. We're talking less than 500 people here. most of the people here are related to each other (I hesitate to use the word "inbred" but...) and most of the residents have lived here their whole lives. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone knows everyone's business. It's a small, SMALL town.
NOW:
The husband of the local small business owner (I’ll call him Tim) and the wife of the elementary school teacher (lets call her Sue) had an affair. They were caught in the act in the back of an ambulance at the fire station by the fire chief. (Sue was a volunteer EMT and had access to the building).
This actually happened in my town about 10 years ago.
Sue and her husband were members of our church at that time, where she taught Sunday School. I knew her from church, and they were both always nice, but I would never had called them "close friends". We just didn't know them that well.She was also a member of the local woman’s club. Tim was unemployed at the time, but worked doing occasional repairs for his father-in-law’s business.
Following the scandal Sue was told she was no longer needed on the volunteer ambulance crew. She and her husband began couple’s counseling through the church, but soon quit because the gossip that ensued was so bad.
As a result from the gossip, she resigned from teaching Sunday School and quit the women’s club.
She basically went into hiding.
Tim was “caught again” with another woman from the neighboring town a couple months later. And then again after that. Occasionally you’ll hear rumors floating around he’s been at it again.
Tim’s father-in-law falls ill and has to retire, so Tim takes over the business. Suddenly he’s asked to join the Mason’s, and the Lion’s Club. He’s serving on city council. Next thing you know he’s the mayor of our small town (yes people..the actual fricking Mayor, I am not making this up*).
Every morning he’s seen at the local coffee shop having coffee with the boys just chatting away.
You rarely see Sue anywhere. I happened to see her today. I was at the local gas station grabbing a cup of coffee and she came in to pay for her gas. All conversation stopped. I mean dead silence. She gave the clerk a check and walked out. And then the whispering started. That’s when I left.
So riddle me this DU ‘ers…why are two people who committed the very same act treated so very differently? Why is his transgression (and indeed..repeated transgressions) so easily overlooked by this little town, and hers is not?



* an aside...during the mid-terms, this same mayor took an ad out in the local weekly paper listing the candidates he was publicly supporting...you guessed it! ALL republicans.