Nutcase Feeding Frenzy is Getting Truly Frightening
I made the mistake of taking a couple of hours off this evening just to relax a little, something I rarely do. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of trying to watch the news and peruse some off-the-beaten path Web sites.
With the exception of Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC, this has been one of the most frightening debacles I can remember, even worse than the Elian Gonzalez nutfest a few years back (the only thing missing is people threatening to kill Bill Clinton for daring to reunite a 5 year old with his father).
CNN and MSNBC (I did not have the stability of stomach to even do a fly-by on Faux) were 20 dipshits deep, usually averaging 15 serious nutjobs for every moderately sane voice (only the nutjobs make sure the sane voices can't be heard).
In 2 hours, I heard on TV or read:
- * people say Terri Schiavo's husband should be locked up and starved to death, imprisoned for the rest of his life, and forced to submit to lie detector tests and truth serum (at least two suggested he be shot to protect Terri)
* people who insisted they were in much worse shape than Terri Schiavo and yet they now are nuclear scientists (Larry King's booking rep should be shot, hung, and burned at the stake)
* scurrilous lies about the husband (they get worse with each passing day)
* cries for all Americans to head down to that hospice and rescue Terri en masse
* suggestions that the hospice ("a horrible place of death") should be blown up or burned down
* that we as Americans have a right to demand that Terri be kept alive for another two years for further study
* that "murdering" Mrs. Schiavo sends a message to millions of disabled people that they will be killed next
* that MRIs and CT scans are not scientific
* that liquified brains do indeed firm up and begin to add new brain cells (you have to love the Concerned Women of America who has never let a fact get in the way of any of their homophobic, human-and-puppy-hating bullshit)
* that "even gay people" deserve better treatment than "that saint" Terri Schiavo is receiving (gee, really, even gay people? What about black people? And Jews? How about Mexicans and green eyed people? There's Christian kindness at its best!)
* that the president should have marshals or the National Guard (you know, the three guardsmen NOT in Iraq without body armor) storm the hospice and remove Terri so she can get cared for by Dr. Frist
What's scary is that we keep giving these people - through TV and high traffic Web sites - a disproportionately loud voice considering what a small percentage of the population appears to feel this way. A new poll tonight says that 4 out of 5 evangelicals strongly disapproves of the government's handling of this and that this roughly matches the reaction of other groups who describe themselves as religious.
Why are we giving the most hateful, the most uninformed among these people the microphone?
And where are the people to present information that has been accepted by the courts, such as:
- * that Michael Schiavo has steadfastly been by his wife's side
* that he says he has remained married to Terri because it was a promise he made to her (and as for his second family - please, is this man entitled to no life?)
* that Terri's father told the court that he actively encouraged Michael to date and see other women
* that the medical facilities where Terri has been a patient have all stated Michael has been an exceptionally caring caregiver
* that Michael has the right to decide this, just as other families have the choice
* that as recently as this year, Terri's mother admits she does NOT KNOW what her daughter would have wanted in this situation
* that as recently as the last few years, both Terri's parents and their lawyer(s) have acknowledged she is in a permanent vegetative state and cannot recover
* that it is more than Michael who says Terri voiced concerns about being kept alive in such a state (friends also report this)
* that the courts have found reason to question the exact nature of Terri's parents' desires in this case (friends of the family report that Terri's father made a financial demand of Michael and when Michael refused, the animosity began)
* that the medical malpractice suit the Schiavos won paid just 1.3 million dollars MANY years ago; that Terri's entire share went to her care with Michael being awarded $300K separately because of the damage to his life (hardly an unreasonable amount or the great fortune often implied)
* that much is made of the fact that there is only about $50K of Terri's money left, as if that's the reason Michael wants NOW to terminate her feeding tube; Michael began this process 7-8 years ago - only funding from right-to-life groups have financed the Schindlers (while the ACLU and some legal groups have helped the husband)
But ultimately, this comes down to the decision of the person who is legally responsible for Terri. That's her husband, and he made his decision. Other families in similar situations may have done something different. That doesn't make one right and the other wrong.
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