It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

August 30, 2014 Martha Thomases 2 Comments

*Sigh*

I’d hoped to feel better about the universe this week.

And then this happened.  I guess Brad just got tired of waiting for me to make a commitment.

In other news …

•  Heroin!  It’s not just for ghettoes anymore!  In fact, more and more middle class white people are using it and over-using it.  According to this story, heroin use is on the upswing in affluent suburbs and among those generally perceived to be more productive members of society.

In other words, white people.

Here’s why:  “It is a situation repeated across the country: A new generation of younger and often more affluent users begin by using prescription opioid pills that deliver the same effects as heroin and then shift to the illegal drug because it provides a better high for less money, sometimes as little as $5 a hit.”

Thank you, Big Pharma, for playing with the drug laws in this country enough to get a whole new generation hooked.  So glad my insurance dollars are paying for people to get prescriptions to oxycontin and the like.

And thanks, Rush Limbaugh, for being such a terrific role model.

•  In case you thought being white and well-off and powerful protected you from assholes, think again It doesn’t, at least not if you’re a woman.  My senator, Kristen Gillibrand, has just written a book about her experiences in politics, and it seems that an awful lot of her colleagues consider it within their rights to comment on her appearance, and whether or not it pleases them.

Look, I know that a few compliments act as a social lubricant.  Everybody likes to be told he looks nice.  Gillibrand isn’t complaining about that.  She’s talking about men making comments about her weight and her exercise regimen.  She’s talking about men telling her she’s too fat or too skinny.

Really?  Does her weight affect her job performance, or her qualifications for office?  She was never obese, so her health was not at risk.  She gained weight because she had a baby.  Otherwise (and even so), her weight was well within normal limits.

Does anyone comment on Lindsay Graham’s weight?  I don’t think so.

But then, ever single thing women do is considered fair game for commentary and, often, verbal abuse.  This guy feels absolutely entitled to harass pregnant women on their way to their doctor for check-ups because they maybe might be considering a late-term abortion, or because the doctor might, at some point, have performed an abortion.  I’m not really sure, but it doesn’t matter.  The women are pregnant and seeking health care.  It’s legal. His protest might be legal, but it’s obnoxious.   It’s none of his business.  Women don’t picket him when he gets a prostate exam.

•  I’ll end with something more inspiring.  I had never heard of Helen Bamber, who died this week at the age of 89.  What an amazing woman!  She devoted her life to helping people who had been tortured.  She essentially pioneered the study of the psychological effects of torture, both short-term and long-term.  Like the weather, everybody complains about torture but nobody does anything.  She did.

She had an amazing life and changed the world for the better.  I’m feel both gratitude and guilt.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, will try to do better next week.