Eyeball pain strikes again as yesterday I went for round two of contact lens teaching. It went a lot better - due to my creative methods I was able to insert and remove the lenses a shocking THREE TIMES! Sadly, that was my only creative outlet for the day as I went to the optometrist in the morning and then my eyeballs were too sore to do much else. I'm not considering my 100 Day Project of Projects to be a complete failure [even though I'm a perfectionist with OCD who really needed this to be perfect] - I think I can get away with this due to extenuating circumstances. I am stupidly proud of myself for figuring out the lenses [a bit - my eyes are still sore and I have one more round to attend this week], but I've got some house stresses going on and general unemployment angst and then a rather unexpected [although I should now expect them] discussion about religion with Al, the guy who owns the convenience store across the street [I was informed that I am an inherently bad person with no moral compass essentially and this bothered me quite a bit].
And then there is the current hot celeb gossip, although I feel bad calling it hot celeb gossip as that trivializes everything. I am speaking about the whole Roman Polanski situation - a thing so horrible that it forced me to agree with some of the more suspect ladies of The View [no, I don't watch The View - just saw a clip on ONTD and to my shame/surprise/horror found myself nodding along to Sherri Sheppard and that Republican one]. I actually didn't know much about Polanski until Sunday - which is a bit of a surprise as I'm always keen on the hot celeb gossip and true crime [I blame Bill Kurtis for my oversight here]. So now I know and it's pretty disgusting. What I totally can't get my head around is how so many Hollywood figures are standing behind him and have done so for the past 30+ years. It's just...huh? wha? I simply do not get it. Roman Polanski drugged and raped a thirteen-year-old girl. I don't understand how that is something that people can publicly advocate.
Yes, he's famous and something of a remarkable talent. There are many fine examples of why I don't like to know too much about celebrities that I actually like. The more I get to know people, the more I generally just can't get on board with them, meaning that I would miss out on great films, outstanding art and silly pop music. And certainly human beings should be able to separate the work from the person - but to me, drugging and raping a child is something I'm not sure I can separate. Should Polanski have been rewarded with Academy Awards after his fleeing the country? I mean, it's not like it was a Nobel Peace Prize...but it's still tough to swallow [and difficult to watch noted Hollywood folk, some of whom I really admire, literally giving him a standing ovation].
And yes, the victim just wants everyone to move on. I get that [I get that a metric tonne more than I get people wearing "Free Polanski" t-shirts]. I'm sure that other high-profile rape or kidnapping victims would like to get on with their lives, too and having to stand trial and stuff adds further trauma to them. But...it kinda has to be done, doesn't it? If I can bring in another hot celeb here...I want to say that it was pretty crummy what happened to Rihanna...but then to have her not speak out against violence or willingly testify against Chris Brown - I think that damages her almost as much as him. Being a victim is terrible, to be sure - but these people are also survivors. That's something to take pride in.
In conclusion - suck it Polanski!
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I think figuring out how to insert & remove your contact lenses counts as a creative thing.
ReplyDeleteAbout Polanski, I don't understand people defending him. It's not terribly unusual though - no one wants to believe they know someone who can do something horrible. I can, however, see the Academy Awards as a recognition of his work, not his value as a human being.
About the Rhianna (and general abuse) situation - physical abuse rarely happens without emotional abuse happening first. The abuser makes the victim feel useless, isolated, and unworthy of anything better. Then, when they start the physical abuse, the victim is conditioned not to fight back. It's rarely an isolated incident.
Congrats on the contacts! That's much better than I could ever do. I still don't understand how people are able to insert lenses ON TO their eyeballs! Oh, and Al sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about. Don't let it get to you. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been avoiding Al since this happened - I went in last night and he didn't bring it up again. It's not that I'm uncomfortable discussing religion, but it can only be done if everyone is open minded.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm on a bit of Polanski overload - but I must say, I'm so, so impressed that all of the kids @ ONTD are firmly anti-Polanski and not being swayed by the whole Hollywood greatness argument. Gives me hope. I think it's pretty black and white to me - he admitted his guilt. Rape is bad, ya'll.
And yes, I've been in abusive relationships before and I know that generally there is a build-up of emotional abuse. I don't really think that Rhianna is bad for not speaking out more - I meant more than from a PR perspective, it makes her look bad. I feel like she can do whatever makes her feel best in this situation - Chris Brown is the one that committed a crime against "the people" - not just Rhianna [and he should be punished].