Shut Up And Listen 210

The Sheer Retardness (A Word I Just Made Up) Of Our Fucked Up Society

Let's start with the most annoying thing of the week: Terri Schiavo. I always love cases like this because I never hear about them until everyone else is already sick of them. That's useful because I tend to get sick of this shit much quicker than most.

As for this case . . . I don't see the big fucking deal. This is not even close to the first time a case like this has happened and there's a clear precedent for the results. I honestly cannot figure out why this has taken over the media. I just can't see anything special here. There's the obvious life bullshit, but come on. Life itself isn't that precious. Life is everywhere, all around of us and simply existing isn't enough. At least it isn't enough for me.

Cases like this just remind me of one of my favourite quotes: "Life itself isn't precious, the quality of life is what matters." Bill Maher said that and I remember writing it down right after he did because that sums up my feelings. The funny thing is, most people I've talked to or heard from seem to say, "Well, if it was me and I was in that condition, I would want to die." And then half of those people argue why she should be kept alive.

Probably my favourite commentary on the matter came from David Rees and his strip "Get Your War On" where he points out that while we're all arguing over feeding a brain dead women who will never recover, thousands--if not millions--of people who can tell that they need food are starving in the world. What the fuck is the matter with us when we let stupid little semantic arguments about our principles get so out of hand that we can't see how fucking absurd the whole thing is?

Then there are the people who treat the entire thing as one giant conspiracy against people who apparently value life more than the rest of us. This amuses me for all of the wrong reasons, because these are the same people who dismiss others as conspiracy theory nuts, but now claim that it's all about Michael Schiavo and some "activist judges" and their attempt to murder that poor defenceless woman for some reason. If this doesn't show just how similar the two sides of politics really are, I don't know what will. (Also, in case you haven't realised this yet, the term "activist judge" is insanely stupid and is only used when the person really means to say "judge who made a decision I disagree with" but won't say that because that would be recognising that maybe the judge knows more about the law than them. I know, I know, that's obviously not possible, but . . .)

Or there are the pundits. Oh, how I love the pundits. That group of spineless fucks who went to the most prestigious schools in America so they could one day get jobs on the Tee-Vee and say the dumbest things to ever be uttered from the human mouth. And they get paid lots of money to do so. It baffles the mind. The only one I respect at all is Bill O'Reilly because with him you at least know the shit he says on the air is the same shit he would say to your face. If he calls you a "scumsucking pigfucker" on his show when you're not there, you just know he'll call you one when you show up as well. The rest of them, though, remind me of people on message boards who you can tell are saying things that they would never conceive to say to a person's face and when asked later why they said it, would give you some bullshit excuse like "Oh, that was just for entertainment, for ratings, I didn't mean it, let me buy you a drink . . ."

Let us not forget the protestors. How I love protestors. We just know these people won't buy the whole "quality of life" argument because they spend their lives standing outside carrying pieces of wood. I can understand protesting sometimes, I really can (and I'll be the first to admit that my understanding perhaps shifts depending on how sympathetic I am to the protest's goals), but sometimes, I just don't get it. It's usually when the protestors are protesting questions of morality where I roll my eyes. What, do they think the newest judge is going to throw aside the law and rule with the protestors because they won't shut the fuck up?

And finally, there are the politicians. How I loathe the politicians. I may not know as much about the way the US government and its legal system works as some Americans, but wasn't that whole bill in congress thing a little out of line and not entirely legal (meaning, it won't actually do shit)? But it sure does look nice, doesn't it? Isn't it great to see taxpayers' money wasted so some politicians can look good?

The funniest thing about this whole is that because of the media is that I've seen a few people who were against having the tube removed initially just throw up their hands and say, "Fuck it, I hope she dies soon just so they'll shut the fuck up about it." Isn't it lovely how this never-ending circus over "the sanctity of life" has caused many to stop giving a crap about it?

While me . . . I never really gave a fuck, but I did need something to write about this week . . .