20 January 2006

the happenings keep hitting and the hits keep happening

So the cooking class that I took up at Lyndhurst was a blast. Learned some new recipes, had a good time, didn't really pick up any new friends, I don't think, but I do think everyone in the class enjoyed themselves. There was one guy who sat next to me that I liked, but I don't need another unattached (that is, single) guy friend...I have several and most, although not all, of them drive my DH crazy. But I'm a green-eyed monster myself when it comes to single female friends of his, so I can't blame him. There was a really sweet girl who told me about her sorority in college and the volunteer work that she did with them, she seemed very nice, but I didn't get her name. Dammit. Got home late (for me) last night and am feeling like I need a caffeine IV drip to get up and running today. That sounds like I'm a computer: Reboot? = yes, with at least 4 more hours of sleep, please.

Have you heard about Haleigh Poutre? I'm relieved that the Massachusetts Superior Court ruled that her stepfather who is being held in her savage beating was denied the right to make medical decisions on her behalf. Common sense. What a refreshing turn of events. This LINK is to the NPR story where I heard about her. The MA Superior Court found that her stepfather had given no evidence of providing a loving nurturing nature in his contact with her. They also said the following, for which I applaud them.
“To recognize the petitioner as a de-facto parent was unthinkable.
” My heart is breaking. It is likely that this little girl will die from the injuries she sustained in the beating. Child abuse is something I will not ever understand. Especially as a woman. How on earth do you carry a child for 9 months or thereabouts, give birth to that child, then hurt that child or allow someone else to hurt that child? This is NOT one of the issues where I straddle the fence. I'm not against spanking; I think an occasional swat to the be-hind is not a terrible thing. Reinforces your point, so to speak. This is all moot, since I don't have any kids, but I do know how I feel about abuse. I'm a firm believer in eye-for-an-eye justice in abuse cases. If they find Haleigh's stepfather guilty of causing her injuries, I think it would be perfectly acceptable for someone to hit him with a baseball bat and push him down a flight of stairs, as he allegedly did to her. I cannot imagine what an 11 year old could have possibly done
wrong
” or
“bad
” to merit such a beating.

I AM a sheltered girl from the 'burbs, who grew up in a very nice home, with a (mostly) stable family [no offense to ANYONE I'm related to, but we do have a nut or two in our family tree, and you know it.] and because that's my experience, I admit to a very high degree of naïveté. Most of the time, I think that what most people are telling me to my face is the truth. I don'’t sugarcoat much of anything when I'’m talking to you, but you'’re also going to get my real opinion and the truth from me. Part of the reason I don'’t work for that big ol' bank anymore is that they'’d ask my opinion, I'’d give it, truthfully, and it would be more truth than they could handle. Then they labeled me
“not a team player
” because I wasn'’t a yes-woman. You can'’t win, sometimes. Sigh. I digress. Here'’s where I was heading before sidestepping. Several folks that I work with now tell me that abused kids don'’t know any different; just as I think that everyone'’s family dynamic is similar to mine, those who are abused think everyone'’s family is like that, that everyone is abused. If you don'’t know me IRL, you probably think I'’m a social worker. I'’m not...but a lot of what I do every day would easily fit the typical social worker job description.

I thought today that I was going to write about my death penalty POV, but that hasn'’t happened. Maybe next week. Just as I was DEE-LIGHTED when Pres. Doofus was disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling, I am DEE-LIGHTED today to have heard that one of the democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee has said that he won'’t vote for Sam Alito, although I do caution everyone that what usually happens when a nominee is not confirmed is that the president usually goes even farther into conservative territory. So keep your fingers crossed for a positive outcome on that.

Thank goodness it is Friday, I am looking forward to pleasant weather (for Ohio, ‘tannyrate) this weekend and will be thinking about what I want to say about the death penalty next week. I'm attending a sporting event tonight, one of the few sports that I like, hockey. :-) Hope they win.

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