Copacabana

Determining what interests us

I hope to be totally and officially moved here by the end of the weekend. Thanks for bearing with me. I just wanted to check things out and familiarize myself with the protocol at the new pad before I leaped full-body into the sea of change. It's just how I roll.

So, my question about why this wasn't being covered was answered most expeditiously by Jr. when he noted with a verbal shoulder shrug that, "If it were Jon and Kate trying to cross the border into Switzerland you can bet your ass they'd cover it." And, of course, he's right. What does that say about us? I'm not even sure it's something bad necessarily...what makes the dissolution of a family and the vilification of one or both of the parents more interesting than international intrigue that rivals any spy thriller ever written? I honestly don't have the answer. I guess that's why I've never really gotten into daytime television...

On a more serious note, the murder of Neda Soltan was something I had avoided watching when I came across video links to it in my daily internet news crawl. It was enough for me to hear about it; I had no interest in watching the life ebb from this woman's body. Well, as is the case with martyrs, the need to reveal the details has been palpable and so I caught the video the other day on tv. Know something? I'm glad I saw it. It was sickening to watch this woman die in the street like that and I'm certain that she was targeted less for standing and watching a demonstration, or for being a Muslim woman dressed in Western-style clothes, than for being calm and dignified -- if the pre-shooting video and reports from friends can be believed -- and tragically beautiful. There are those in this world who hate those things -- in every culture -- and seek to destroy them. It's not a gender thing either -- it's a spirit thing. It's a kind of light that people have and I saw it in her even as Ms. Soltan lay dying. Isn't anyone else tired of that kind of thing? I know it's been with humanity from the beginning but I hope that Neda's death reminds us that it's an ugly, ugly thing. And we should battle it -- with words, thoughts, ideas, and, if necessary, force. The Iranians are in the midst of the battle as we speak. May God bless them.

posted by Lola @ 11:57 AM