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A woman's place in America

Betsy L. Angert — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:36:54 GMT

Rights and or realities.

Comments on comments

Betsy L. Angert — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:00:58 GMT

Dearest Louisiana . . .

I apologized for the delayed response. At times, life away from cyberspace distracts me.

Phew! I am thankful for your thought.

I searched so that I might entertain you. I share what for me was some of what I thought truly fascinating . . comments from those who might be fine with what occurred in Copenhagen . . Mother Earth: The Human Virus

Who put any sizzle in climate change?

Betsy L. Angert — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:11:09 GMT

The Press.

Global Warming. FirstMention.com

Scientists, not so much.

How Storms Can Trigger Earthquakes, By Evan Lehmann. The New York Times. September 20, 2009
Study Finds Big Storms on a 1,000-Year Rise By Lauren Morelo. The New York Times. August 13, 2009
Humans Linked to Climate Change . Published as a NASA news release. May, 2008
Cold weather in a hot climate, By Andrew Freedman. Washington Post. January 2010
Cold weather 'doesn't undermine global warming science, Telegraph. January 6, 2010
It's cold outside. What happened to global warming? By Eoin O'Carroll. The Christian Science Monitor. January 7, 2010
Global Warming Myths and Facts. Environmental Defense Fund. 2010

Thanks for the link to "Mother Earth: The Human Virus"

Louisiana — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:35:34 GMT

It was very interesting and I enjoyed the animation that came with it. I don't agree with the people who treated you as "the devil incarnate" because of what you said in the essay.

Rather, I agree with you that if we don't clean up our act, and soon, our days on Earth will be numbered--and as signs said in Copenhagen, "there is no Planet B."

I thank you!

Betsy L. Angert — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:20:38 GMT

Dearest Louisiana . . .

I am beyond impressed that you read each of the essays. I am appreciative that you cared to. Mostly, I am extremely thankful that you concluded as I hoped to communicate!

The diaries boil down to how anorexia and bulimia are about more than just weight, body image, control, perfection, or the other things people usually say are involved in those conditions, but are far more complicated and complex.

I began to pen these treatises after I ended my own one score, five year, and three-month travel.

Throughout my adventure, I was struck by what medical professionals, parents, and even "patients" believe. Individuals who seek help from those who presume to know what they have never experienced, or researched with an expectation in mind, turn to Doctors, Moms, and Dads for help. Yet, a person with preconceived notions cannot authentically assist. Nor do most seem to see the forest for the trees.

Continually, I realized that so often, in an attempt to escape, we as a society tend to live on the surface. People with the dis-ease and those who diagnose it rarely take the time to truly reflect. Most do not want to.

Our culture learns from books written "for dummies." The medical system, or hopefully insurers and pharmaceutical companies, has come to believe in quick cures, or remedies meant to relieve what Doctors call a "chronic condition."

You may know the history of tuberculosis. Just as with anorexia and bulimia, that illness was once thought to be, treatable, to the degree it was at the time, with only with therapy or occasionally with drugs, which affect the mind and body.

Too many believe as you referenced. The cause is an emotional struggle with "weight, body image, control, perfection . . ." I wonder does an alcoholic binge on booze in a desire to be too thin, have a beer belly, a bad liver, or . . . Does the gambler yearn to empty his or her bank account, or fill it, or might he or she think it fine to destroy relationships with loved ones all for the thrill of a win. Might the overeater love the look of fat, or desire diabetes?

Humans; I am forever fascinated. We easily define others and do not allow ourselves to explore, truly examine, or empathize. Hence, I thought I might share my stories.

I greatly appreciate the tale of your Mom. There are soooo many stories. As you said, individuals are unique, complex and complicated.

E.O. Wilson and The Human Virus

Betsy L. Angert — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:27:29 GMT

Dearest Louisiana . . .

I am soooo glad you enjoyed the biodiversity lecture. I too wish E.O. Wilson had been my instructor. While I am terrible with names, his I recall for I think him my mentor.

When I enrolled in the mandatory Biology course, I had no expectations. I did not think I would love it or loathe it. Quickly, it became obvious to me I would be happy to accept a D and not the one that stands for dissection. I was gratified that my less than scholarly lab partner was willing to do the experiments. There were few lectures, which I might have learned from. The idea that I might kill an animal is as awful to me as silently slaughtering a species, two, or half oh them. I spent most of my time in the bathroom ill with the idea of what humans do in the name of science.

You may enjoy or just wish to explore Mother Earth; The Human Virus. I could never have imagined how many thought I was the devil incarnate for suggesting just a thought. Sigh!

Thanks for the links to your diaries. I just read all of them and the

Louisiana — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:59:33 GMT

similar discussions. What struggles you went through! The diaries boil down to how anorexia and bulimia are about more than just weight, body image, control, perfection, or the other things people usually say are involved in those conditions, but are far more complicated and complex. I imagine the reasons would be as individual as are the persons who have those conditions. Not to mention how they affect the immediate family and others each person knows.

More about my past--my mother, while neither anorexic nor bulimic, was somewhat large and she was obsessed not only with what she ate (she was constantly trying to diet) but also with what I ate. She'd bug me about me weight and what I ate if I was too large (which I usually was.) She also smoked heavily (a habit I fortunately never picked up) and she came down with lung cancer and was thinner than she'd ever dreamed of being when she died early in 1988.

I thank you Louisiana

Betsy L. Angert — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:04:05 GMT

Dearest Louisiana . . .

I thank you. I apologize for being away for so long. I will respond to an earlier comment later. For now, I still work to complete much of what by necessity was left undone.

I am glad that your therapist encouraged you to walk without a cane. My experience is too often we are inured to the familiar, even if unhealthy. Habits are a challenge to change.

After my dad died in 1991 I went through a stage where I was almost anorexic. It wasn't a New Year's resolution and didn't start out as weight control--it was out of depression-

I am grateful for the story that relates. I have penned much on the subject. Since at of the time of publication, this treatise was still but a work in progress I had neglected to offer the other reference. I think bulimia and anorexia are never about weight or body images issues. That is a convenient conclusion for those who dare not delve more deeply . . as into their own angst and actions. I offer what is now shared in the missive.

Dear reader, you may wish to peruse Chapters One through Seven. Please do. These reflective diaries discuss my life as an anorexic, bulimic, a person.

Or Similar Discussions . . .

Thanks for posting this--very thought-provoking.

Louisiana — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:55:50 GMT

I hope "Little Bit" gets to the point where she accepts how she looks and feels good about herself in general and doesn't feel like she must starve or purge to fit society's ideal.

This brought back the memories. After my dad died in 1991 I went through a stage where I was almost anorexic. It wasn't a New Year's resolution and didn't start out as weight control--it was out of depression--I just didn't feel like eating very often. When it started I was large--but as it continued I started getting compliments on all the weight I was losing, so it became a form of weight control. A year or two into it I developed bulimia--except I'd used laxatives instead of making myself vomit.

But I recovered from the anorexia and bulimia a few years later--you might say I was "scared straight" when a friend of mine who also ate very little died of pneumonia. I thought of how thin she was and how this must have weakened her and decided it was time to start, as I'd thought to myself at the time, "eating like a human being." It was a slow process, but I quit the purging outright and went back to eating normally--even if it meant I was going to be large.

And since then I've never made the New Year's resolution to lose weight. In fact I'm not normally into resolutions at all, unless they're to do things I'd do anyway.

But I did make a couple of resolutions this year--one was to start journaling, the other was to give up using a cane since my physical therapist said my balance has improved to the point where I don't really need one.

Informative and thought-provoking--thanks for this diary.

Louisiana — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:01:44 GMT

I imagine that as a senator and as a presidential candidate Obama kept in touch with focus groups and otherwise with voters so he made just the right promises regarding healthcare that would persuade people to vote for him.

Now I have to wonder if now that he's President Obama has mainly been insulated from ordinary people who could talk to him about their experiences with the healthcare system and had to deal with stingy insurance plans or been uninsured.

And if Obama has been listening to Big Insurance so he's satisfied with the bill the Senate has come up with, with its mandated insurance and other provisions that would put money in the pockets of Big Insurance.

(I'm not anti-Obama, by the way--I voted for him. I'm just very disappointed in and cynical about what he's done so far.)

Thanks! Enjoyed the South Pacific video and found the biodiversity

Louisiana — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:13:37 GMT

lecture video most compelling. True--we are all in this together. It's mindboggling how many different species there are. The film the speaker showed around the middle of the lecture with the microscopic germs, etc. was really neat. (Bear with me for not recalling his name offhand--I sometimes have trouble remembering names.) But he was a good speaker--I couldn't help thinking that had he been my instructor in school, I'd have been more than just a mediocre biology student.

Amen!

Betsy L. Angert — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:14:32 GMT

Dearest Louisiana . . .

If only the full or parts beyond what I found of Faces of the Enemy existed as an embed. I will search and search.

I agree with you. Sam Keen, the concept, and the extrapolation . . all glorious!

You have to learn how to hate. Sigh.

Betsy L. Angert — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:10:59 GMT

Dearest Louisiana . .

I love your thought and what I discovered when you words prompted my travel. As an educator, I was excited to learn of a lesson . .
Voice of Hope and Seeds of Peace. By Joanne Dufour, Seattle, Washington. Public Broadcasting Services.
I also found what I hoped to share. May you enjoy. I love South Pacific and that you too are familiar with the performance.

I thank you Louisiana. I am thankful that you are amongst the few who do not think hatred is natural. A comment I received from others elsewhere. . . I share my response . .
I greatly appreciate the expansion. I think Sam Keen is phenomenal. I am glad that you too thought the video great.

For me, there is not a disconnect. I believe we are each part of a whole. If one man hates and is willing to kill many, this reflects a societal belief. There are enemies everywhere, be they Americans, Afghanis, Anglos, African Americans, Armenians, Asians, [name the archetype of your choice] . If my neighbor or the persons who live afar and not as my brethren, then we can allow ourselves to act aggressively. Hatred gives us permission for righteous rage.

Were to teach reciprocal reverence in our homes and in our classrooms, on the streets, and within society at-large, the planet would be a very different place. As one who, until well into my adult years, did not know that people holler at friends and family constantly I have faith. Humans would not kill merely because they can. The Christmas Truce would not be buried in history. Conversations with strangers, getting to know one another as people would not be but an anomaly. Seek, enemies, or what you have learned to believe are illustrations of innate brutally and you shall find . . . or so is my experience.

Mankind, I believe would not sacrifice species so that we can better serve the Gods of Consumption. Oh, what a wonderful world it would be.

I thank you for the thoughts on Sam Keen. I share a few other source you may enjoy. I invite your reflections.

Peace Protester Meets Military Men; Perceptions or Promise
Jews, Mel Gibson, War. Rehabilitating Hatred
Voice of Hope and Seeds of Peace. By Joanne Dufour, Seattle, Washington. Public Broadcasting Services.

On the 2 new videos, I found both great

Louisiana — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:09:27 GMT

and find interesting the way they tie into each other. My favorite is the Sam Keen video where he talks about how we can be conditioned to have certain attitudes like a computer being programmed, by anybody and anything from our parents to our schools to advertising.

However, unlike the computer, we can change our "programming" by eliminating "software" that's usleless or bad. This is the most upbeat point of all.