I came to believe that the problems our fate presents us with must be resolved within the historical conditions that shape us, and that breaking free of them was an illusion; besides, I was close with many people who bucked against the strictures of traditional relationships, and they so often got their hearts broken or were fucked over in some other way that I concluded polyamory was a cop-out. I preferred the timeworn hypocrisy of infidelity, with its admission of the weakness of the flesh, to the oppressive positivity of those who demand their partners ratify their selfishness.