This stupid article makes it sound like that alleged murderer was on her period and that’s why it’s understandable that she went on a homicidal rampage. Yeah, I realize that it goes on to explain she had an “associated polycystic ovary syndrome”, but they still make it sound like it was just “Aunt Flo.”
brigita
May 10, 2001 — 8:31 am
i’ve heard that that’s a defense strategy that’s been used before in the UK…something akin to temporary insanity. thank goodness i don’t have it that bad…
Kris
May 10, 2001 — 10:16 am
Grrr. Tuesday when I was home sick evidently we had a bit of a related scandal at work. Apparently a project manager sent out a spam to the entire office asking if anyone had seen some particular person. A developer responded rather pissily that it’s really easy to look people up on the Intranet and call people on their mobile rather than pester the entire company out of laziness. So the original guy wrote back (still to the whole staff, mind you) and made some snide remark that “Always Ultra” are available from the man who brings around the lunch cart.
Like I said, I wasn’t here. But apparently a number of people took offense, because he had to send out an apology to all of the staff and then attend a disciplinary meeting. I guess they’re really cracking down on it.
But anyway, my whole point is that I think men secretly *like* to think that women go nuts when they get their period. It makes them feel very tough and stable to, like, be in control of *their* hormones or something. It’s like that Calista Flockhart business… Some men like the idea of a flighty, emotional wreck of a woman. It makes them feel more powerful. It pisses me off.
brigita
May 10, 2001 — 2:30 pm
i hear ya–and who ever made the rule that being emotional is BAD?! J. and i actually got into a bit of a tiff once after going out to the movies. i was BAWLING within the first five minutes of the theater going dark because of the “Pearl Harbor” preview. he just didn’t get how i could put myself in the place of the WWII navy nurse, surrounded by chaos and looking for her boyfriend/husband/whatevah. i’m even misting up just thinking about it.
but back to the issue at hand–what a dumb@$$. i think guys are just so in the dark about the whole thing (and how could they not be?) that they just assume the worst and jump on the stereotype bandwagon…
i do have to admit that i secretly like the saying “don’t trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn’t die.” but then a born-again-het female friend of mine once accused me of being a misogynist. it’s not that i don’t like women, i just don’t like PEOPLE.
but enough of my neuroses. 😉
Kris
May 10, 2001 — 4:20 pm
Ewww… I hate that saying. 🙂
But I totally know what you mean about the “Pearl Harbor” thing. Lizzie and I used to skip class and watch “Oprah” and we’d seriously be bawling within minutes. The worst are her “Wishes Come True” days where she, like, buys some family Christmas presents or gets somebody an operation or something. We lost it every time.
Guys just don’t get it, but I don’t understand why. They should. It’s not difficult. I think crying is just my *default* outlet for emotions that are too complex to deal with any other way. (I won’t even go into detail about the *other* times I cry, if you know what I mean.) Their default might be to internalize or to deflect with humor or a million other different responses. Just because mine is different doesn’t mean they have the right to write it off as a spoke in my hormonal cycle.
It’s getting to the point where I don’t like people either. The number of people that I actually *want* to be around (as opposed to the number that I’m willing to tolerate) has been dropping ever since college. Most days, I’m perfectly happy just being around Rodd. Part of me thinks that’s a great thing, and part of me thinks that it’s bad to not want more society. It feels very selfish to concentrate on one person so much. Or maybe that’s just my latent Puritan guilt complex rearing its head again…
And once again, we’ve strayed WAY away from the topic at hand. I LOVE MY COMMENTS SYSTEM! 🙂
brigita
May 20, 2001 — 4:52 pm
default emotional response–i like that phrase and completely agree. if i don’t know how to handle something, literally or figuratively, i just lose it. i think a big part of my propensity for emotion is the fact that i *wasn’t* emotional for so long. i was really closed off for most of my adolescence and young adulthood–probaly because i was still in the guy’s camp and saw emotion as a sign of weakness.
as for my being a misanthrope, i think it’s because i’ve been easily disappointed in any efforts i’ve made in the past to get to know people. i mean, most of the [nonweasel] girls i’ve met are complete freaks! i can really sympathize with the guys on that one. J. actually swore off women for the year prior to meeting me! one more reason why he’s so swell…
but then most guys are pretty horrible themselves. hence–misanthropy.
(the word even *looks* cranky 😉