“We can never say, ‘I promise it’s not going to happen at your school,’” Dr. Gurwitch, a clinical psychologist who specializes in the impact of trauma and violence on children, said. “We can say, ‘We are doing everything we know how to do to keep you safe.’” (Mervosh, New York Times)
Everything? Really? Who are the ‘we’? Doing what exactly? Safe how?
Often on a Thursday night when I sit to write my post, I am torn in multiple directions. The headlines are hard to ignore even by those of us desperate to be in the here and now, tending to our own local fires. Many folks run around propelled by the latest gossip, perhaps they too are desperate to get far away from it all? My cold run generally helps. Getting away from a screen and breathing in that mountain air a natural tonic for most.
When I was in high school there was a smoking room in my boarding-school dorm. Back then people smoked everywhere. Doctors smoked in their office. The dentist smoked between drilling and filling. Adults smoked in living rooms and cars, even while reading nite-nite books to their toddler. Every restaurant, tavern, and airplane accommodated smokers. Yet now, there are whole cites that have banned smoking in all public areas. Why? Because of the simple fact that tobacco smoke, even second-hand, kills you. Yes, that’s a real fact. So how did this highly-funded-lying-lobbying industry lose its voice? “The lobby began to lose power as the industry lost credibility, Brandt said” (Keck). In hindsight change from lies to truth seems simple enough, even a lie with sex-appeal and allure, once we stop believing in it.
Nine Cent Girl 