Today’s Thursday Thought quote offers a diet plan that’s certain to improve our well being. And you don’t even need to consult a doctor first.
Tag Archive for guilt
Feel Less Guilty About Christmas
Look at the mess (before and after Christmas)--tossed gift wrap (can’t burn the wrap with wax or metal in it), lots of leftovers (can’t eat it ALL), cards to toss into the garbage (pretty and thoughtful, but…), bubble wrap to get rid of (after the fun of popping all the cells), an empty gas tank (the sales! the sales!), a droopy tree (now a fire-hazard)…. It’s all quite a downer, spoiling the season.
Take heart. There’s help. Read (and follow) the suggestions in the article 10 Ways to Feel Less Guilty About Waste this Christmas.
[Thanks to Lynda DeManti for sending me this.]Have a merry–and guilt-free–Christmas!
OJ Simpson and the System
I’ve been in parole hearings (a victim can bring a non-participating supportive friend). Both times the person was denied parole, despite the victim’s urging release, the inmate’s exemplary, peaceful, productive life Inside, and a show of respect and remorse during the proceedings.
Then I watched the OJ Simpson hearing. He spent a lot of time doing something that isn’t supposed to happen in a parole hearing–re-litigating the case. The premise is that the case has been heard and judged and should not be re-tried during the parole hearing. That’s in the past. But the Board allowed it.
Also, he showed no remorse, accepted no guilt. In fact, he blamed everyone else for what happened. He lied about having led a non-violent life, forgetting all of the many cases of domestic abuse, which further showed his inability to accept responsibility (normally one of the criteria for release). And he became angry when answering one of the Board members. Yet, the Board somehow decided that his history of abuse against women was behind him and that he was now under control of his emotions, despite his outburst against the Board.
Some argue that his sentence was too severe, in light of the sentences (and non-sentence of one) of the other men involved. If so, that’s another reason our penal system needs to be reformed.
But so should how parole boards function–consistently, logically, and fairly for all.
Are We Both Jerks?
July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month. (Yes, there’s a Month for just about anything.) Anyone who has been rudely interrupted by people on their phones or been run into by a walker (or driver!) chatting on a phone or…well, you know…will appreciate this month.
But, wait. Maybe I’ve been guilty of being a cell-phone jerk, too. Have you? Probably, since we’re all human.
Anyway, the founder (in 2002) of this Month, Jacqueline Whitmore, has 7 simple ways for us to take ourselves out of such jerk-dom. Take a look.
I pledge to be better at this.
Manipulating Guilt and Innocence
Think about who you would believe. First, there’s a person whose TV and newspaper pictures show in various scenes: in a graduation gown, with earphones doing everyday things, and among friends and family. The other is shown alone, no family or friends around him, coming out of a police station or simply facing forward, almost in mug-shot pose except for the lack of numbers across his chest. You see these pictures again and again. Unconsciously, if you’re like most people, you want to side with the everyday guy. Especially if he’s a kid and the other guy is a cop. Add in the details that the kid is Black and the cop works for a police force with a bad record of treatment toward Blacks.
That’s what we’ve been seeing. And that’s the way the media typically presents situations, deciding which side to present in a better light. Then we wonder why people get upset and riot when the media bad-guy doesn’t get what we think he deserves.
I don’t know if Officer Wilson was criminally wrong. Nobody knows for sure. Only the grand jury has seen most of the evidence. And they didn’t clear Wilson of any wrongdoing; they only said there wasn’t enough evidence to bring him to trial. I know only that the media, which has a duty to be unbiased and has failed that duty–is partly to blame for the damage, destruction, and disrupted lives due to the current riots and all other riots they’ve manipulated us into.
Oscar Pistorius’ Handicap
How is Oscar Pistorius “handicapped”? He must be, because so much was made of it during the Olympics and now, with his arrest. (He had to receive bail, his lawyers argued, because his prostheses need to be adjusted monthly.) Yet, I don’t see what it is that he can’t do. He can run, jump, swim, ski, and engage in other sports. He can work, date, make lots of money. He can attract positive attention from women, friends, and sports-lovers, none of whom see him as being at a disadvantage. He seems more “able” than “dis-abled” to me.
So, what is his handicap? It isn’t physical. Maybe it’s an inability to tell the whole truth or to face up to what he has done. No, I’m not pre-judging his guilt; I’m just judging his lack of a physical handicap. And suggesting that the definition of “handicapped” be refined.