More Blurbs

I’ve been rather slack about new postings lately, mostly due to mundane problems that aren’t of any interest to anyone who reads this. These mysterious setbacks, however, make a very convenient excuse for not writing. To help myself get back in the swing I’m posting another column of short blurbs. I hope you find these satisfactory.

On Barry Bonds: As most of you know, I really don’t care much for organized sports, except for hockey. I don’t see how being able to put a basketball through a hoop or smack a baseball 400 feet warrants a multimillion dollar paycheck. Frankly, I find it obscene that the some of the highest paid people in our society are actors and athletes. We hold them in high esteem, as if they have done something meaningful or important. In any case, the baseball world was all atwitter with Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record the other day. For some people, the fact that he used performance enhancing steroids means nothing, and that’s a real shame. It’s cheating, plain and simple, and to recognize his “achievement” speaks volumes for those who consider such things important. Bonds, of course, denies using such drugs, but his former trainer sits in jail for refusing to say if he supplied drugs to the new home run king. Much has been made of this, but I think it bears repeating: Athletes in their mid thirties do not naturally, in the space of one year, almost double their batting abilities along with their physical size. Bonds can deny all he wants, but he’s a cheater, and he knows it. He’s just hoping you won’t care. And if you don’t, shame on you.

There Are Worse Things Than Acne: A while back I wrote an essay about having to deal with the agony of acne. It was an awful thing to have to deal with, especially as an awkward teenager trying to survive puberty. All things, however, need to be put into perspective, and I got a big dose of that this evening while watching The Learning Channel. The episode dealt with the plight of a young teenaged girl in East Africa by the name of Pastina Nkotki. Her personality was one of any teenaged girl in any country, and it was immediately apparent that although we, as people, are separated by our countries and cultures, we are all basically the same creatures. She seemed normal in every way except one: She had an enormous tumor growing beneath her face. To call it a monstrous deformity is putting it mildly. For a short video that shows Pastina, click here. I think what struck me the most as I watched this show was Pastina’s attitude. Despite her appearance, she seemed perfectly normal, and she was. Her relatives thought her bewitched, and hid her from sight lest they be outcasts in their village. They were literally dirt poor, and couldn’t afford modern medical treatment. During the show, Pastina was shown laughing and crying, talking and silently thinking, and behaving in every way except for her appearance like a normal child. It was literally heart wrenching, and I was ashamed as I watched her, ashamed for thinking that acne was a horrible cross to bear. There’s no happy ending here either, as Pastina died just three months after the surgery to remove the tumor. I couldn’t help but think that if I were in her shoes, I don’t think I’d be nearly as strong as she was.

Punishment Fits Crime: Many times, it seems, we put people in jail for crimes that really don’t warrant jail time. Jail overcrowding is a serious problem, and I really don’t see how putting non violent offenders in with those who really do belong locked up serves justice. Call me crazy, but in today’s world, where image seems to matter much more than substance, I think the best deterrent for non violent offenders is to hit them where it hurts most: In the ego. I would like to see the return of public humiliation (and I don’t care how un-PC that is) in our justice system. Bring back the stocks and rotten tomatoes! Cruel and unusual? I think a little embarrassment is a good thing, and thankfully, I’m not alone. Philip Kolinski from Michigan was convicted of bilking unsuspecting donors by asking for scrap metal that he said he was going to use to build a memorial to US veterans. He took the donations, but sold the metal, having no plans to build anything. His punishment? He had to scrub a monument to veterans with a toothbrush while wearing a T-shirt that read “I Stole From Veterans.” Now that, my friends, is how our justice system should work for non violent offenders. Not just generic, anonymous community service, but shame. It’s a powerful motivator. Here’s a picture and story of this dork serving his sentence.

With that, I’ll sign off. It’s a perplexing, sad and funny world all at once.