Since I got to the gym today and got to watch 45 minutes of the news while on the treadmill, I figured that now would be as good a time as ever to bitch about a few things. Maybe it’s just because I’m in the middle of reading Stupid White Men, but I’m feeling particularily vexed tonight.
- Apparently Kobe Bryant had to leave Hawaii to attend a preliminary hearing into his rape case. Or is it “just” sexual assault? I’m not sure, but last time I checked if a normal person (read: non multi-million dollar athlete) was accused of sexually assaulting someone they weren’t allowed to boogie off to Hawaii to shoot hoops.
- Roy, of Siegfried and Roy survived an attack from a tiger in the middle of one of their shows. PETA, in a fit of… well, something… is now going to protest. No, not for the tigers (directly), but for the people. “What if it was a child the tiger attacked?” is the question. The irony of all this is that the tigers can’t be put back into the wild, because they have about as much chance of not getting shot for their coat by some greedy bastard as an email address posted to the newsgroups has of not getting spam. PETA probably wouldn’t want them kept in captivity either, but maybe I’m not sure what “retired” means.
- This is a local one, and I can’t find any web references for it. A lady got on the bus and was told by the driver that she didn’t like her perfume by the bus driver. The driver apparently then continued to verbally abuse her, hurling racial slurs at her until the bus stopped outside a skytrain station and everyone got off. The lady stayed behind in hopes to clear things up with the driver. The driver then proceeded to close the doors and drive off with the lady until she stopped somewhere and dropped her off.
Now, that’s strange in itself, but the thing that got me was that when they interviewed the head of the bussing company and inquired as to how the woman driver might be punished, they said that it would depend (obviously), but could go as far as termination. “As far”? Assuming that the story is true, the minimum that would be done would be immediate termination, pack your bags you’re outta here sis! If I was in charge and I ever heard of an employee of mine acting in such a rude/dangerous/emberassing/horrible manner I would go and kick their asses personally!
- The woman on the bus story then merged into a story on how some places are now “scent free” zones. Soon the handy-dart (transport for the elderly or disabled) will be banning the wearing of perfume or oders, sighting people who have “multiple chemical sensitivity” where some chemicals can cause them varying degrees of reactions. Apparently some hospitals are “scent free” and they are talking about making federal buildings the same way. Now, I’m all for protecting people who have problems. I am for wheelchair enabled buildings and non-smoking in pubs, as well as not kicking puppies or knocking old people on their asses and stealing their purses. However, there is a certain point where you have to say “stop” or else you will be living in a society that might not be desirable. How low is the lowest common denominator? Should we put escalators everywhere because some people are too weak to walk far? Will reading be banned because we don’t want to make some people who read uncomfortable? It’s stupid. I think that if you are that sensitive to chemicals that you can’t be in the same room as someone who has perfume on, I think you are going to have more serious problems than perfume just getting to wherever it is that is “scent free”.
- Teenager depression was the next one on the list, an expose (well,not really) on how teenagers are suffering in silence, and the symptoms of depression might be going unnoticed. The list they had for ways to recognize depression was quite honestly, a great description of pretty much every teenager I’ve met, including myself. Now I know that depression is a real thing, and is a real illness. I knew a girl once who had it pretty bad and had some serious issues (turned out to be an allergic reaction to a bunch of things, but that’s another story). However, I stared at the screen and practically yelled out “drug ’em up boys!”
Have a weight problem? Must be your thyroid (note: I know someone who does have thyroid problems, but I have also seen more “energize your thyroid” articles on the covers of magazines at the supermarket checkout than I care to count). Not feeling good? Best to get no prozac or ritalin as soon as possible. Kids not doing well in school? Must be an imbalance of some kind, give them some pills and hope for the best. Society is in this strange “it’s not my fault” phase right now. Everyone is blaming someone else, or something else, instead of looking to see what the real problem is. If your kids can’t read maybe it’s your fault, not the school board, or the teachers, or even your kids?
However, it’s also the start of depression awareness week, so I’m sure the coucilers offices will be packed with people hoping to find out it’s not their fault. Hey, I was depressed in school. I don’t think you can claim to be normal and not be. High school sucks, and the only people who don’t think so are the ones that are out of it! However, it’s something you can deal with. I managed to get through all of it without killing anyone (though I wanted to on occassion), or resorting to drugs, recreational or pharmaceutical. Of course, I didn’t know that maybe it wasn’t something I had to deal with without being behind a happy pink haze.