Jumping Off The Double Masectomy Cliff.

There are times in life when I have been convinced I am down the rabbit hole and running around in an insane nightmare where people's disturbing behaviour is only trumped by the mass acceptance of it all as normal.

Angelina Jolie has had both her breasts removed because she does not want to die of cancer. Next she will have her ovaries removed. Her husband applauds her move as courageous and talks about what a bonding time it was for them to share that journey. Other women are lining up at the surgeons office as we speak, wanting the same procedure done.

I hope they know that looking and being like Angelina Jolie does not then genetically predispose them to getting a husband like Brad Pitt.

Is this not like a mother's worst nightmare of "if your friends jump off a cliff ... are you going to jump too?"

I know, I know. Watching a loved one die, suffering with cancer, is horrible. I know that will be the argument set out. It is the new way of covering our ears to protect ourselves from anything we don't want to hear. We throw out heart wrenching incidents that make everyone uncomfortable. You don't tell someone who has just nursed their own mother or sister or wife through breast cancer to their death that they should behave or think in any certain way. You put your arms around them and be there.

They all deserve us to be there. They also deserve dignity and truth and answers. They have a right to be afraid and to do everything they can to make sure it does not happen to anyone else in their family.

What If ...?

"Everyone has somebody in their life who leans on them from time to time, or depends on them for answers. We can't always be assured of knowing the truth, but we should at least have our eyes open and be willing to search. " Aria E. Appleford

Human Beings are creatures of comfort. We like what we know, we like routine, we cling to our habits ... even in the face of danger. We smoke, drink, do drugs, overeat ... regardless of the perils to our health ... because we like it. Every year we say we are going to exercise more ... and we don't. We like the known.

No-one ever started out being an alcoholic. If someone saw that you take one drink and end up in a gutter unable to control your bladder ... it would not take the first drink. But the first drink is presented as beautiful people being sophisticated or popular kids having fun. It is represented as freedom. And you drink, and you don't die, and you may even have fun, get popular, and you forget about your problems for a few hours. And so you have a second experience ... and a third ... and a fourth ...

Reporting Child Abuse. Silent No More.

Dear Parents Who Abuse Your Children;

You may be able to blame the child as deserving it.

You may be able to claim they are incredibly clumsy.

You may have a partner that joins you in your despicable actions or at least covers for you.

You may be gifted at telling others lies to cover it.

You are undoubtedly gifted at convincing yourself you have every right.

You may be able to paint a pretty picture for people passing by, the perfect family, the loving mom, the great dad, but dirt always bleeds through even the best of paint jobs and you will be seen for what you are one day.

The truth will come out and when it does, we will not blame your child. No-one will raise a hand to strike you or torture or maim you, no-one will subject you to indecent acts ... because the rest of us are not like you. Everyone will know the truth. Life will exact it's revenge. God will expect answers. Perhaps even the most violent of our society that you may be locked up with will consider it their duty to do to you what you have done to your children.

The point is, as an adult, you had a choice ... to protect your child and have someone else care for him/her and seek help ... or to do what you have done. You are accountable.

Current Affair, Racism, and a Load of Crap.

I woke up this morning to an interesting contradiction. It was between what was written on my computer as an offering of my daily "news" and the real life of a family.

My daughter told me that her boys, both in early elementary school asked her what racism was. Yes you heard me right. She did not have to explain to them why racism was wrong ... she had to explain what it even was. The idea that there was a time when African Americans were not allowed to attend the same school as Whites was almost impossible for them to comprehend. The greater leap was "who told anyone that they could "own" other human beings," and "WHY did it happen?"

In the meantime, on my computer was the heading "Racism Scandal." I followed the link to read about how My Kitchen Rules was promoting racism. I was shocked, as I follow the show and did not see any of that. The Current Affair (part of Ninemsn News)Article showed 2 teams - both non-white - who had been labelled as "villians." They insisted this was evidence of racism. They neglected to mention that the teams are made up of all different ethnicities and cultutal backgrounds and that while the behaviour of these 2 teams did indeed make them unpopular, the third team that also was labelled as "villians" came in between the appearance of these two teams ... and was a white mother and daughter.

I Am a Human Being.

Picture: "On Fire" by Elena Dudina.

I am NOT a disorder, a disease, or a syndrome.

I am a Human Being.

Even if I had a disorder, a disease, or a syndrome that would just be a small temporary (most likely) condition and not even "part" of me like my blue eyes. No-one would try to say I am "Blue Eyes."

My Kitchen Rules and the Unruly.

My Kitchen Rules (MKR) is a show in Australia where two contestants form a team (usually related in some way or good friends) to cook. They divide into two groups and they go to each house where the couple hosting has to create a restaurant and feed them a 3 course meal which they then score before the real chefs weigh in with their scores. As the numbers are whittled down, they have a whole series of challenges until one ultimate couple is named the winner.

It's another reality show but it involves cooking and I quite enjoy it.

There are currently two young women who are friends who have joked and slammed everyone's else's cooking saying things like "it looks like poo" and "I can't eat this, it is awful" while they list off all the things they hate and will not eat - vegetables, but especially capsicums, chocolate ... Blah blah blah ...

Gun Controls According to An Ordinary Woman.

I grew up on a farm in Canada. We had a couple of guns mainly for farm purposes - shooting or scaring off the occasional coyote or wolf that was harassing the cattle or the chickens, shooting gophers, putting down a cow or a horse. I learned to shoot one, mainly because I refused to be left out of anything that my brother was taught. I think my "gun career" lasted all of 5 minutes. (mainly because Barbie came out about that same time)

Coming from Canada and having travelled most of it, I know about hunters and survival. I also understand the importance of culling and all the sane reasons for people to have guns. Having travelled a lot of the world and lived in various countries I understand that police sometimes need guns and I get the reality that armies have guns.