terri schiavo...among other things
i must say that i'm pretty sick of hearing about this woman. it's not that i'm hard-hearted or cruel...it's just...enough. in a way, i sort of like how this is playing out. i think america and its government are overdue for a long, hard lesson of minding its own business.
when i was 15 and lived in odessa, ukraine, a number of my friends were from jordan and other middle eastern countries. the number one problem they had with america is that it doesn't mind its own business. my friends would stress that civil wars and other problems going on in other countries were their own problems. i tend to agree....genocide excluded. the reason i agree is primarily because i'm sick of seeing american imperialism, particularly with this admistration, spread in the name of moral superiority. more importantly, though, is that we would never have stood for another nation interfering with our policies and livelihood the way we do the rest of the world. just think of how many military bases we have all over the world and how many nations have bases in this country? i'm really over that. especially, being someone who has, and will continue, to travel the way i do. it pains me to see how close we all really are and how truly universal the human condition is and how we, as a nation, are seperating ourselves.
i guess, this terri schiavo case is good because, fundamentally, it's a private case. it's really none of our business. all of these people writing letters to the family members need to shut the hell up. this preoccupation we have with being right and morally superior has worn very thin on my nerves. the presumption that we know what's best for a pure stranger is ludicrous. the only way that it becomes even remotely our business is if the government gets involved...which it has. that takes the case from being a private, heart-wrenching, family matter to a political platform and that's...at best...reprehensible. i was particularly amused that bush flew up from texas to sign "terri's law." a law that starts out, "S.686: An Act for the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo." the president of the united states of america flew back to washington, d.c. to sign one law? for this one family? that's just so telling as to how big of a political monster this has become.
the thing that i find most interesting about this whole situation is that it is EVERYWHERE. nevermind that a kid at Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota went on a killing spree that the NYT described as "the worst at a school since 15 people were killed at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colo., in 1999..." (find the article here:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/national/22shoot.html). 1o people were killed. did anyone even know about this? i've seen almost no coverage. did anyone know that a man was just convicted in texas of involvement in a smuggling ring that killed 19 illegal immigrants? there's a virus in angola that has killed 95 people since october. is there life less important? are any of these peoples lives less important?
i just don't understand. i mean, i understand. i understand that votes and political power are at stake. special interest ammunition is at stake. i know that questions of morality, pro-life, and assisted suicides are on the table. i understand that. here's what the coverage of terri schiavo implies...no ONE is important...only issues. no one gives a shit about the school shooting because it was on an indian reservation. it's just not as jarring as white suburbia. no one cares about 19 dead people because they were illegal immigrants. no one cares about angola because it's not america. there's nothing politically to be gained from these cases.
this distinction of importance of life has nagged me with the scott peterson trial, as well. i just don't understand what makes one person worth national coverage. was it because she was pregnant? maybe it was because she was pretty? white? what? maybe wealth. i understand it more when celebrity trials are all over the place. michael...yea, we know why. rich people...sure. it's always interesting when people who seem to have it all lose it. it's envy and the insufferable "crabs in a barrel" part of us that drives that obsession. random other people, though, i don't get. kidnappings and molestations, car accidents and murders, who chooses what cnn covers and why? maybe the peterson trial was all the rage because she was dismembered. if it bleeds it leads...if body parts are missing even better? i don't know. what i do know is that poor people generally aren't covered. ugly people aren't either. fat...forget about it. people of color...not a chance...unless they're the defendant and i'm tired of it.
when i was 15 and lived in odessa, ukraine, a number of my friends were from jordan and other middle eastern countries. the number one problem they had with america is that it doesn't mind its own business. my friends would stress that civil wars and other problems going on in other countries were their own problems. i tend to agree....genocide excluded. the reason i agree is primarily because i'm sick of seeing american imperialism, particularly with this admistration, spread in the name of moral superiority. more importantly, though, is that we would never have stood for another nation interfering with our policies and livelihood the way we do the rest of the world. just think of how many military bases we have all over the world and how many nations have bases in this country? i'm really over that. especially, being someone who has, and will continue, to travel the way i do. it pains me to see how close we all really are and how truly universal the human condition is and how we, as a nation, are seperating ourselves.
i guess, this terri schiavo case is good because, fundamentally, it's a private case. it's really none of our business. all of these people writing letters to the family members need to shut the hell up. this preoccupation we have with being right and morally superior has worn very thin on my nerves. the presumption that we know what's best for a pure stranger is ludicrous. the only way that it becomes even remotely our business is if the government gets involved...which it has. that takes the case from being a private, heart-wrenching, family matter to a political platform and that's...at best...reprehensible. i was particularly amused that bush flew up from texas to sign "terri's law." a law that starts out, "S.686: An Act for the relief of the parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo." the president of the united states of america flew back to washington, d.c. to sign one law? for this one family? that's just so telling as to how big of a political monster this has become.
even still, people need not write the family members. that's just sick. berating families for views you don't agree with, especially during such a clearly painful, and now public, ordeal, is...cold.
the thing that i find most interesting about this whole situation is that it is EVERYWHERE. nevermind that a kid at Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota went on a killing spree that the NYT described as "the worst at a school since 15 people were killed at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colo., in 1999..." (find the article here:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/national/22shoot.html). 1o people were killed. did anyone even know about this? i've seen almost no coverage. did anyone know that a man was just convicted in texas of involvement in a smuggling ring that killed 19 illegal immigrants? there's a virus in angola that has killed 95 people since october. is there life less important? are any of these peoples lives less important?
i just don't understand. i mean, i understand. i understand that votes and political power are at stake. special interest ammunition is at stake. i know that questions of morality, pro-life, and assisted suicides are on the table. i understand that. here's what the coverage of terri schiavo implies...no ONE is important...only issues. no one gives a shit about the school shooting because it was on an indian reservation. it's just not as jarring as white suburbia. no one cares about 19 dead people because they were illegal immigrants. no one cares about angola because it's not america. there's nothing politically to be gained from these cases.
this distinction of importance of life has nagged me with the scott peterson trial, as well. i just don't understand what makes one person worth national coverage. was it because she was pregnant? maybe it was because she was pretty? white? what? maybe wealth. i understand it more when celebrity trials are all over the place. michael...yea, we know why. rich people...sure. it's always interesting when people who seem to have it all lose it. it's envy and the insufferable "crabs in a barrel" part of us that drives that obsession. random other people, though, i don't get. kidnappings and molestations, car accidents and murders, who chooses what cnn covers and why? maybe the peterson trial was all the rage because she was dismembered. if it bleeds it leads...if body parts are missing even better? i don't know. what i do know is that poor people generally aren't covered. ugly people aren't either. fat...forget about it. people of color...not a chance...unless they're the defendant and i'm tired of it.
posted by badassed at
8:27 PM
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