Just found this blog online that I really like. It's by Poppie Z. Brite's, an author from New Orlean's. I originally came across the site when reading about hurricane Katrina evacuation stories. (Yes, I too am sucked in by other's miseries and cannot seem to tear myself away from the news or the internet.) What is it in human nature that makes us seek out the suffering, the disasters and the most horrific things we can find, say to ourselves and everyone around us "GOD THAT's AWFUL!!!!" and then immediately change the channel to find a re-run of M*A*S*H so we just don't have to think about reality? Part of me wants to cancel my trip to LA and jump in on the Red Cross Volunteer vans that are leaving Fort Worth in a few hours to head to affected areas to begin search and rescue and clean up. The rest of me, and admittedly, the biggest, most selfish part of me, says aw f*** it. There'll be a million volunteers down there anyway, and I won't get to see my friends for another year. And I know that's what I'm going to do. And I'll feel guilty about it for about 30 minutes - until I'm on my plane and heading for the coast, where it never rains, much less has a hurricane. My luck, God will smite me for being smug and send an earthquake, as I've never been through one for real.
Anyway, the real reason I started in on this whole blog thing today was to write about this other blog... here's an excerpt from Brite's blog that particularly caught my eye:
Opinions Are Like ...
Well, You KnowAll right, if I'm to be perfectly honest, I don't actually believe that everyone is entitled to an opinion. I agree with Harlan Ellison, who once said -- and I wish I could remember where he said it; probably in one of his Glass Teat columns -- that everyone is entitled to an informed opinion. I don't think people are entitled to opinions about food they haven't tried, or books they haven't read, or political issues about which they're not informed. I certainly don't think they are entitled to prejudices. Not for one moment am I suggesting that they should be prevented from expressing such opinions, but people who blather foolishly and publicly on the basis of being "entitled to an opinion" should expect to be mocked, derided, and/or treated like the bigots they are. I certainly don't claim to be free from prejudices myself, but I do recognize that my prejudices -- for instance, my long-held opinion that women don't make good fine-dining chefs -- probably make me sound like an ignorant asshole, and I try to refrain from broadcasting them (except, as here, for the purpose of "outing" myself in order to demonstrate that yeah, I know I'm a jerk too).
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I've included a link to this blog in my LINKS section now, more for my own benefit than for yours, no offense. I'm off to delude myself into thinking that natural disaster is not wreaking havoc on one of our most colorful historical cities as we speak, and go smoke a cigarette in 98 degree heat. Mm. The fun in my world never ceases.
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