Speaking of schizoid personality disorder, did y’all see the post today from Andrew Sullivan about Rod Dreher’s sister and niece? Dreher’s sister is apparently dying – quickly – of cancer. The niece is probably in her early teens.
Sullivan declares in the attached that the girl is experiencing the mystic beauty of G_d in the overwhelming tragedy of her mother’s imminent death. Maybe. As someone who lost a father at about the same age as the girl, I can tell you this: I don’t know what the hell it means, other than that it was indelible. In real life I hate to bring the fact up, because there are always assholes like Andrew Sullivan who interpret it for you, which is great – especially if you don’t fully understand it yourself – and guys like Sullivan always make you feel full well patronized.
This is the same Sullivan who shared with us the photo of the Iraqi girl screaming while being genitally mutilated, because I guess we need to “know”. Or something. The same Andrew Sullivan who willfully has become the go-to source for a teenaged boy with Down Syndrome one day to discover all the ways that his home is a fraud and his mom is a liar. Helpful.
Several people have commented recently that Sullivan is demented. Who could say. My theory is that Sullivan, like many uber-bloggers, has a grossly inflated view of the interestingness of his life, which I guess also grants him the opportunity to comment on the interestingness of everyone else’s life too.
With maybe a bit of bitterness thrown in. After all, if one of your main memes is that your gay marriage is as beautiful and deep as my straight one, your gay marriage is worthy of all your reflection on Merton and Niebuhr and other Christian mystics, and your husband is Sharon Stone – s, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to have a raging case of cognitive dissonance.
First, Jazz, I’ve got to acknowledge your story and how brutal that all sounds. I’m sorry you experienced any of it and I’m sorry Sullivan’s post made you feel like he was another person telling you how to grieve. I too shudder at the idea of people saying things like “God’s plan” or related nonsense in times of tragedy.
I can’t comment on the rest of your anger toward Sullivan as do not follow him nearly enough to be familiar with what you speak of. I will however say that while I don’t pretend to know how his same sex marriage compares to your straight one or my straight one or how yours and mine might compare to each other in the beauty department, I will say that it should be just as valid as yours or mine, regardless of its beauty or lack thereoff.
Also, way to take a story that had nothing to do with your concerns and move it in that direction.
Back to the story, this guy totally stole my schtick! I’ve been down this on Marvel.com with comic book characters for close to 2 years now! Psych Wards, bay-bee!!!
Alright, alright. Not angry…just pimping myself. I admit it. But it was sort of close to on topic, right?
Speaking of schizoid personality disorder, did y’all see the post today from Andrew Sullivan about Rod Dreher’s sister and niece? Dreher’s sister is apparently dying – quickly – of cancer. The niece is probably in her early teens.
Sullivan declares in the attached that the girl is experiencing the mystic beauty of G_d in the overwhelming tragedy of her mother’s imminent death. Maybe. As someone who lost a father at about the same age as the girl, I can tell you this: I don’t know what the hell it means, other than that it was indelible. In real life I hate to bring the fact up, because there are always assholes like Andrew Sullivan who interpret it for you, which is great – especially if you don’t fully understand it yourself – and guys like Sullivan always make you feel full well patronized.
This is the same Sullivan who shared with us the photo of the Iraqi girl screaming while being genitally mutilated, because I guess we need to “know”. Or something. The same Andrew Sullivan who willfully has become the go-to source for a teenaged boy with Down Syndrome one day to discover all the ways that his home is a fraud and his mom is a liar. Helpful.
Several people have commented recently that Sullivan is demented. Who could say. My theory is that Sullivan, like many uber-bloggers, has a grossly inflated view of the interestingness of his life, which I guess also grants him the opportunity to comment on the interestingness of everyone else’s life too.
With maybe a bit of bitterness thrown in. After all, if one of your main memes is that your gay marriage is as beautiful and deep as my straight one, your gay marriage is worthy of all your reflection on Merton and Niebuhr and other Christian mystics, and your husband is Sharon Stone – s, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to have a raging case of cognitive dissonance.
Everyone else, beware.
First, Jazz, I’ve got to acknowledge your story and how brutal that all sounds. I’m sorry you experienced any of it and I’m sorry Sullivan’s post made you feel like he was another person telling you how to grieve. I too shudder at the idea of people saying things like “God’s plan” or related nonsense in times of tragedy.
I can’t comment on the rest of your anger toward Sullivan as do not follow him nearly enough to be familiar with what you speak of. I will however say that while I don’t pretend to know how his same sex marriage compares to your straight one or my straight one or how yours and mine might compare to each other in the beauty department, I will say that it should be just as valid as yours or mine, regardless of its beauty or lack thereoff.
Also, way to take a story that had nothing to do with your concerns and move it in that direction.
Back to the story, this guy totally stole my schtick! I’ve been down this on Marvel.com with comic book characters for close to 2 years now! Psych Wards, bay-bee!!!
Alright, alright. Not angry…just pimping myself. I admit it. But it was sort of close to on topic, right?