March 11, 2005

News

I'm so damn

What's wrong with the world? It's another one of those days when the evening news breaks my heart. Yesterday in Orlando. Two hit and runs, one leaving someone dead at the scene. Two cases of child abuse. They were both so horrific that I won't go into even the surface details. The other top story was that guy in Georgia who wrestled a gun away from a deputy inside a courtroom. Killed the judge and one deputy before escaping. Wounded a few other people. Carjacked two or three people. They haven't caught him yet.

What goes wrong? Everyone is born the same. We all start out wide-eyed and helpless. What changes? What goes wrong in someone's mind and heart that allows them to do something so horrible? Murder in self-defense, or in defense of the life of someone I love? I could do that. No question. But to kill or hurt an innocent person? How can anyone do that?

The couple accused of the deliberate starvation (among the lesser charges) of their adopted children will probably get off with less than life in prison. There are embezzlers out there serving twenty years and child abusers getting "time served" and a slap on the wrist. Apparently, there's no question of their guilt. So why should tax payers have to fund their care and feeding in prison? They should be shot in the street. There is no reason, no excuse for what they did. I don't care if they're crazy, or had traumatic childhoods. Fuck, who didn't have a traumatic childhood? We're all scarred. I don't know. It all makes me feel so furious and helpless at the same time.

They never try to balance it. The networks revel in tragedy. Watch the news for a few nights in a row and you'll think someone opened the gates to hell and declared open season on humanity. The reporters can barely keep the gleam out of their eyes. They advertised the shooting in Georgia every few minutes, kept reminding us that it was "coming soon" so "stay tuned." Like it's fucking entertainment. You want to know what else happened today and recently?

"Even as this nine year old boy and his family fought a potentially deadly brain tumor, they had a sense of humor; nicknaming the tumor "Frank", and selling "Frank Must Die" bumper stickers to raise money for the very expensive medical care. People bought them. David survived; Frank did not."

"Nigeria - In southeastern Nigeria, Anambra State lawmakers have passed a bill to prohibit the mistreatment of widows."

"Sean Clennon's 16 month old daughter is fighting cancer. He had a sizable bank of sick days, but they were about to run out. With Avery's treatment set to continue until fall, his colleagues immediately stepped forward. They called him at home and said, "Take care of your daughter, don�t worry about it. We will donate our sick time and anything you need."

"Alpha, FL - Two children who were taken from a northern Florida home were found safe in Mississippi"

"Washington DC - Since the international treaty to ban antipersonnel mines took effect in 1999, millions of land mines have been destroyed, the International Campaign to Ban Land mines said today in a new five-year survey."

And that's just what gets reported. The good that people do every single day goes unreported and too often unnoticed. One of the pharmacists where I get Aph's insulin uses her employee discount whenever I buy it. I brought Aph in once, so she could meet her. She said meeting Aph made her whole day. My neighbors have a puppy, Dimitri. It got out of the yard a couple weeks ago and was hit by a car. Someone found the puppy, took him to the vet and paid for his surgery before looking for his owners. He wouldn't accept any cash from them, he was just glad to have found Dimitri's family. My sweet Tim D. has been there for me so often I've lost count. He's my hero. My unofficial big sis is Aphrodite's patron saint. This diary was created just to help match fuzzies who need homes with people who want a fuzzy to love. Where are those people on the evening news? They deserve to be top story and front page.

Watching the news makes me want to hold onto everyone I love.

Have a good night and sweet dreams. And remember all the good news.

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