2003-03-18
Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?

"I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass"
- The Eagles, "Get Over It"

Anyone with even a tiny amount of intelligence has noticed that people seem to have developed a remarkable inability to accept that they are responsible for their actions; as an example I only need to remind you of the number of lawsuits being filed against fast food restaurants on the basis of the fact that (are you sitting down for this?) a diet mainly consisting of junk food is not good for you and can make you put on weight!

Yeah, I know...I was as shocked to find this out as you are. Fortunately, one case has already been thrown out because the judge, showing the wisdom we put them on the bench for, pointed out that nobody was making the plaintiffs eat all that crap.

To steal a line from Bloom County, "Bailiff, kick these two bums in the butt."

Moving to a topic which I have more than a bit of experience with, why is it that some people will constantly harp on bad things that have happened in their lives as the reason their lives are such a mess, yet they don't have the brains to see that if they'd just shut up and get on with their lives, they could better themselves?

As much as I hate to admit it, there's something that Dr. Laura and I agree on: Yes, it's sad that you have suffered through (insert Bad Thing here), but sitting there and whining about it doesn't solve anything. Accept that it happened, take steps to deal with the resultant damage, and get on with your life!

I don't know about you, but I've had my fair share of Bad Things happen to me* and while I would prefer that they'd never happened, I don't let them get in the way of my life -- oh, sure, once in a while when it's late and I'm tired I may think about them and engage in a bit of self-pity, but afterwards I get back to the business of living; I don't let those experiences be the complete definition of Who I Am and Why I Am the Way I Am . While they have helped shape me into the person I am today, I do not use them as an excuse for bad behaviour and I hate those that do the same. So what if your dad beat you as a child? Not only is that no excuse for you to hit yours, I'm tired of hearing you use it as an excuse -- get help and don't beat your kids, or else don't cry when the law smacks you down for child abuse.

Barry Longyear wrote INFINITY HOLD, a book about convicts that are dumped on a remote planet and left to form their own society. While they are there, they start holding trials and during one of them -- a homosexual rape -- the following concept was brought forth: if there was help available to you but you made the conscious decision not to seek that help, the argument that you were a victim of a "sickness" was no excuse for your actions and you were guilty of the crime. In this case, a guilty verdict of rape resulted in the death penalty.

I think it's time I wrote Mr. Longyear a fan letter.

*Before you ask...NO, I am not going to tell you what those Bad Things are; you'll have to get your titillation somewhere else. Part of dealing and moving on consists (for me) of choosing not to waste other people's time bemoaning my sad, miserable life and how I was Done Wrong.