Was it really doubt, or was the horror too much for you?

There are probably few people who have been able to avoid the news about the Austrian case which has horrified so many recently. However, this post is not about him or any of his victims. This post is about a young reporter whose introduction to it was how she doubted the story. Despite all her many years of life experience (about the same number of years as this man's daughter was locked up for his amusement), she began her trip to this town to report on the story with the preconceived idea that it was made up, lies.

Maybe her article originally had more and an editor cut it. Maybe an editor cut out a lot of the article. I would hope so because I found it to be lacking. I would hope that a journalist would be able to write better than that. She did not tell why she was so sure that it was false--was her childhood that idyllic? did she not believe that there are no bogeymen in the world?--or maybe she is so naive that she cannot grasp the concept that man can be so depraved. Would that we were all that naive, and that there was no need for us to have our eyes opened to the cruelty that exists!

Maybe she could not imagine the daily torture of living in such cramped conditions for a seeming eternity.

She did not share what changed her mind, what made her realize that it was indeed a true story. Fact. Or maybe she didn't change her mind--she never said.

She tells of spending only four days in the village and yet being glad to leave it, how she cried when telling her own father about the story.

That article has bothered me a great deal since I read it. Many people already know how people want to look the only way when there is wrong being done; it doesn't involve them, it's none of their business, there are oh so many reasons why getting involved would be inconvenient for them.

All this young woman had to do was her job. She went to the town on assignment with an attitude of doubt, and left it apparently (it was never stated in the article, another omission/edit/?) no longer in doubt that the horrible events had really occurred. She cried when telling her own father about it on the telephone.

So what was the point of the article? What was it supposed to have added? Was it really worthy of being published?

Or am I expecting too much from a field that has lost a lot of its luster anyway? More tabloid than news source?

Did I expect more from this reporter because she's a woman? I don't think so. I think it's the way the article was written. The title is used to highlight her disbelief, and the article states her initial disbelief. So the purpose was to grab our attention--which it did. But what strikes me is the utter pointlessness of the article. And why a well-known news service would publish it. I'm at a loss for what was supposed to be accomplished.

And maybe it's easier for me to focus on that than to focus on the true "story" behind her article--the people who have lived what is only a news story for reporters.

Sh*t Happens

I was looking back over the self-sabotage post and thinking some more about the topic. I don't like the word "failure", that makes it sound so final. I guess I would prefer "unsuccessful attempt", and the most important part of that would be that it NOT be the last attempt. THAT would be failure. The fact that you don't succeed isn't what makes it a failure; it is if you don't get right back up and try again that makes it a failure.

So why, since I failed in this one endeavor, do I immediately wonder if I sabotaged my own efforts? Sh*t happens to everyone. This time it happened to me. Accept and move on. Try again. And so begins another round.... ::ding,ding,ding:: goes the fighting bell ringer

Vomit, Vomit Everywhere

There are some sickies in my household and there is nothing to compare to the wafting scent of vomit. I'm hoping that it's just upset tummies and not a bug that we all are going to end up having.

Mmm, when's dinner? ::gag:: Fish, anyone? Sorry, bad pun re this post following the ichthus post, haha. I'm going for the easy jokes to try to keep from joining in on the projectile vomiting. Distraction is key.

Ichthus, Ichthus Everywhere

I've written before about an observation of bumper stickers or decals people have felt compelled to display. Last week I saw another one: two larger ichthus and then three smaller ones around it, like a school of fish. I was trying to decide if it was supposed to express a love for the ocean and its inhabitants (some people like dolphins better but to each their own and/or maybe they couldn't find dolphins), someone bought a used car with one already on there and was trying to make the best of it and/or be humorous, or if that was supposed to represent the family composition (two adults, three children).

I have no other comment to make about the display. I just find it interesting while sitting in traffic to see what people have put on their cars.

Self-Sabotage

Sometimes I wonder if I am sabotaging myself, if the unspoken (and the spoken) messages I received as a child are culminating in self-fulfilling prophecies. I was told that I didn't deserve anything nice and so I have to prove them right, even though it's probably subconscious on my part now.

When things are going well, eventually I start to wonder how long it's going to last. It's as if I expect things to deteriorate. I wonder if I'm subconsciously fulfilling that belief that I don't deserve anything good in my life.

Sometimes(most of the time) I tend to lose sight of the fact that it's only if I don't try that I will never fall or never fail to do something. So when I put myself out there and take a risk, it is a given (as much as I don't want to admit it) that I might not accomplish that goal in the time frame I wanted. Of course, eventually I will get there unless I decide that goal isn't going to fit into my life anymore but I'm not exactly a patient person with myself.

I don't know that this is the most coherent post I've ever written, but that's what has been on my mind lately.

I've Been Writing but Haven't Posted It

I've been writing, but I don't think it's worthy of being posted so I haven't shared it.

It's spring! Enjoy!

Does the Local Box Store Carry Gas Masks?

I am being gassed out of my home by our dog.

Poot power!

lol