http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2858

I don’t normally talk about current events here–I try to keep this blog as my shiny escapism place. But the world seems extra insane right now, so here’s an attempt to exorcise some of the thoughts that have been disturbing my sleep lately.

* I am really pleased to see evolutionary psychology getting the smackdown in mainstream publications recently. I hope this is the beginning of a shift in the public discourse so that I'll stop encountering those nauseating "Men are programmed to cheat/Women are programmed to raise babies" articles on a weekly basis.

* I watched parts of Mark Sanford's press conference and ... I actually kind of feel bad for the guy? He didn't just fuck around with a stranger; he seems to have really been in love with the woman. It was painful to watch him making an extended public mess of himself instead of following the apologetic-politician script and then getting the hell offstage quickly. I hope he resigns and gets some mental help. (Of course on a political level I totally do not sympathize with the hypocrisy of a man who wants to deny gay couples the right to marry while doing such a shitty job of protecting the "sanctity" of his own marriage.)

* I can't say I'm heartbroken over Michael Jackson's death. I didn't grow up with MTV or pop radio, so the only Michael Jackson I knew was the scary-plastic-surgery one who kept getting accused of child molestation. I pitied him and was disturbed by him (and the culture that created him) but I never felt fondness toward him. I extend my sympathy to the people who were fans, though; I know it's upsetting to lose someone whose music means so much to you. (RIP Layne Staley. *sigh*)

I did call myself a Michael Jackson fan at one point, though--when I was five or so I saw Captain EO at one of the Disney parks and apparently spent enough time adoring him that my mom picked up a Michael Jackson t-shirt for me at a garage sale. I only remember it because it's in photos.

The death of such a ubiquitous public figure is disconcerting; it reminds us that the world is always changing, that the cultural landscape we take for granted will one day be long gone. And of course it also reminds us of our own mortality, that death is something no one can escape no matter how rich, talented, successful, or powerful.

The more I read, the more the media attention given to this case in particular disturbs me. It's the relentless fascination and crocodile tears and near-glee at what is basically a public train wreck of a life. This guy was obviously very mentally ill and was hurting himself and (probably) others, but because he was rich and famous everyone just gawked instead of, I don't know, helping? Wouldn't our normal instinct when we see someone sick be to help them? But when they're making massive amounts of money for a lot of people, suddenly their sickness is just part of the show?

* I'm biting my nails over the upcoming health care legislation. I know compromise is necessary to get anything done, but at least we need to get a freaking public option! I will never understand these Republicans whose entire argument is "Government sucks; we're doomed to fail, so why even bother?" WTF, then don't go into government, asshole, and let us elect someone who actually wants to do her job! Aren't these the same people who won't stop raving about how America is the greatest nation in the history of ever? And yet we'll never manage to keep up with other nations when it comes to health care? And aren't these the same people who think the military and the prison system are awesome? HELLO THOSE ARE RUN BY GOVERNMENT. Government's great for killing and imprisoning people, but god forbid it actually does something to help anyone!? And what's this nonsense about the horror of having a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor? I'd much rather have someone in government, whose job is to help me and who I can vote to change if he fails, than someone in the health care industry over whom the public has no oversight and whose actual job is to make money for his company by screwing me over.

I just... seriously, you guys, why is the level of discourse in this country so pathetic?

* I'm upset by the vitriol some people on both sides are spewing in the latest round of the warnings debate. It feels like the discourse in the journaling-sites/metafandom-reading segment of fandom is getting crueler and more divisive (but maybe I'm just clicking on more links than I used to :P).

I wrote some thoughts on the matter here, not really because I want to wade into battle but because this keeps getting simplified into "the only people who oppose warnings are lazy writers." I'm not a writer but as a reader I am concerned about the effect warnings have in terms of dividing communities and creating mental boundaries. I feel more comfortable with the idea of calling out potentially triggering topics in summaries so that people who need to avoid them can, but without the value judgment that comes from the word "warning"--a word that implies that something is dangerous and bad and that maybe there's something wrong with those who enjoy it. Or at least it would be better to hide the warning behind spoiler text so that it's more apparent that warnings are there for those who need them but aren't a necessary form of categorization that all readers are expected to take into account. Otherwise we risk making them more important than they should be, into divisions that separate people and increase the likelihood of censorship.

* I did not watch the video of Neda Agha Soltan's death. Just reading other peoples' reactions and seeing the frozen unplayed YouTube images was enough to make me incredibly upset. I can't stop thinking about it for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that I've never seen anyone die before, and on a human level it's heartbreaking.

It's also a symbol of the way the world is changing; in a hundred years people will still be writing books discussing this as part of the definitive shift from old media to new. In addition, it's another example of the dissolving boundary between public and private as we become increasingly able to broadcast the most intimate and personal details of human lives, uncensored, to the world. Certainly it's a definitive moment in the political history of Iran. It also sparks some disturbing questions about how and why we value people--I saw so many comments lamenting how beautiful she was. Would this video have been nearly effective if she was overweight and "ugly"? Or if she was a middle-aged man? Or if she'd been protesting loudly instead of just standing there? (The association of beautiful women with purity/innocence/helplessness is obviously a double-edged sword for women trying to be taken seriously in the world.)

But mostly I just feel so horrible for her, and worried for the people in Iran. *sigh* :(

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