Monday, August 29, 2005

Morning Edition - 8/29/05

Katrina Tearin’ Stuff Up
Hurricane Katrina had already caused substantial damage to Florida Thursday night before making a left turn and heading north straight toward New Orleans – a city 10 feet BELOW sea level. New Orleans uses levees, canals and pumps to keep dry year round. It’s surrounded by the Mississippi River on one end and Lake Pontchartrain on the other. The city hasn’t suffered any major devastation in over 40 years. There was a mandatory evacuation posted for New Orleans with 80% of all residents leaving town before Katrina made landfall this morning. Luckily the category four hurricane veered slightly to the right and the eye of the hurricane barely missed the swampy city. Winds are said to still be a pounding 145 miles per hour. In 1965 New Orleans suffered the last major hit from a hurricane – hurricane Betsy – a category 3 hurricane that killed 74 folks.

MTV VMAs Went Off With A Bang
Diddy, Sean Combs, Puffy or whatever he’s calling himself these days pulled off an exciting 2005 MTV Video Music Awards last night in Miami, Florida. The awards show producers had their fingers crossed after hurricane Katrina tore through Miami Thursday killing several people. On Saturday night Suge Knight of Death Row Records was shot in the leg while attending a star-studded party thrown by Kanye West. All said, the night could’ve been a bust, but Diddy, who had three wardrobe changes in the first 30 minutes of the show pulled it off with a plenty of ghetto fabulous class. The tribute to Biggie – including the meshing of classical music with hip-hop was a poignant part of the show. Mariah Carey performed from an off-site location while surrounded by Cabana boys singing her new hit Shake It Off. Now I’ll preface this statement with this… Mariah’s my girl… Now, that said, what the heck was the story with the stiff and lip sync-esque performance? She looked like someone was pulling strings on her puppet-looking-azz. Well, let me breathe…. I think I just spilled my coffee on my keyboard – twice! The VMAs are sure to run on MTV this week in super reruns, so be sure to catch the show if you missed it last night. Sidebar: Eva Langoria of desperate housewives – what the heck was that outfit all about?

Ignorance, Disrespect and Hate In the Name of Jesus
The Rev. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas says American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays. He took his message to the funeral of two soldiers this Saturday and chanted these remarks as families of the deceased mourned their loved ones. The two soldiers were not gay – then again, the message is that they were being killed for harboring and protecting gays – or so the pathetic reverend alleges. Local residents said the protest was disrespectful, ill-timed and hurtful. Sidebar: I’m curious, who agrees with Phelps stand?

On Blast
One of last week’s blog stories spurned some harsh reactions from fellow bloggers. The story involved priests and their sexual abuse of young boys and men. One person asked me, “Why do priests choose young boys?” At the risk of playing psychotherapists, in your opinion, why is the incidence of sexual abuse of young boys by priests so prevalent? Why is this specific group/segment targeted? Tell of any experience or proven statistical fact that supports your position.

Keep passin’ the open windows…

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although I don't know why young boys are such targets for priests I do know of sexual abuse having been sexually abused myself @age 3 and then from age 4 through age 8 until I CHOOSE & DEMANDED TO STOPPED IT.

I am personally appauled at the adults whether priests, step-fathers, step-mothers, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, etc. that engage in such acts.

I would say the sexual abuse has to do, in my limited opinion, with power over something/someone. It's the thrill, the curosity, the being able to get away with it & get a rush out of it. Why do I say that well because to some extent they have to be getting something out of it besides pleasure & I think a lot of it has to do with your beliefs, what you went through, how it makes you feel.

I mean I personally remember when I was married & my newphew, who was about 7-8 yrs old asked me to lie down on his bed with him & i did & then I noticed he was getting close to me & at one point was about to take out his pepe and I jumped up from the bed & said ok titi has to go now let's lie down in the living room. I had no idea what he was up to I thought he just wanted me to cuddle w/him well he must of seen this act somewhere maybe his parents or tv because I just don't see how he can come up w/it himself. Plus when I was 8 yrs old myself I put my cousin behind me so he could put his peeepee behind me but then again remember I personally was already being molested.

So all this to say - that as adults we know better & personally there is no excuse but why it's done I believe is power, control & to feel good why so high targets as young boys w/priests - well - perhaps because parents/adults trust too much the adults ME I TRUST NO ONE THEREFORE, I LIMIT THE EXPOSURE I OR MY DAUGHTERS GETS ALONE W/ANYONE.

ciao Krissy

Unknown said...

Good Lord! I meant you play the psychotherapist, not the patient..... for crying out loud! First, I want you to practice saying "penis." To help you with this I'm going to kick you just above your uterus when you use the word "pee-pee." Cool? Second, the question focuses on sexual abuse by priests with young boys and young men. Were you saying that you believe the abuse occurs as a display of power by the priests? Finally, I agree with you that sexual abuse is a horrific crime with lasting effects. Are you associating the incidence of abuse by priest with the trust parents give priests with their children?

Anonymous said...

Coco Rican,

My reply to both questions is YES.

Yes a display of power & because they can (much like president Clinton who got a BJ because he could) along w/parents too trusting & negligent.

Never think for once that people won't try & get away w/things. First they are human beings & very much a race that try to get w/away as much as they can so they try & many do.

Ciao krissy

Unknown said...

I think you're right AND you're wrong. First, you're assuming that the entire human race is opportunistic and will attempt to abuse and "get away with as much" as possible. This would be what many would call seeing the glass "half empty" as opposed to "half full." The truth is that although sexual abuse is still an enormous problem, it is a problem that is on the decline. Between 1992 and 2000, child sexual abuse has declined 40% from 150,000 reported US cases to 89,000 cases. Obviously this is still sad, but it is an improvement that child protective services attribute to education, enforcement and treatment. Hypersensitivity can also negatively impact your child and create other issues - including an unrealistic fear of adults, including a paranoid sense of all contact; even when that contact if completely innocent. All said, it's important to protect children, but we don't want to create introverted, paranoid, afraid kids that are our later social sexual deviants.

Speaking of deviants, where are J'Moo and Freaking Rican?

Anonymous said...

I hear you Coco-Rican,

But I am only speaking from my own experience & people that I know of too that have been abused. And although, yes we don't want to make children paranoid, where's the balance & that's like everything in life something that we as humans strive for balance.

That's why I personally choose to communicate about protecting my daughter' private parts since she was very little/young. And since she does go to Catholic School I've always taught her that If something feels wrong then to question, come to me & follow her intuition. I have to say her intuition is much better than mine.

Also, although yes perhaps according to statistics child abuse has gotten better, there are many cases & especially in many families that you would never know about because it's just things that are not discussed & never allowed to be brought up so you just deal with it & those numbers never get tabulated into the equation but yes there's only so much you can do.

Yes were's everybody today on VACATION.

Later

Krissy

Anonymous said...

I WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL FROM PRE SCHOOL UNTIL I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL...MOST OF MY TEACHERS WERE PRIEST ...NUNS OR SEMENARIANS. I WAS NOT MOLESTED PER SE....BUT I'VE BEEN FONDLED....STARED ATAND "ENCOURAGED" BY THOSE PRIESTS. IN RETROSPECT I DO BELIEVE THAT A GREAT NUMBER OF THE PRIEST THAT I HAD COME TO KNOW GRAVITATED TO THIS "CALLING" TO AVOID OR DENY OR POSPONE OR REJECT OR TURN AROUND CONFLICTING FEELINGS OF SEXUALITY OR A REPRESSION OR DISCOMFORT WITH SEX. THEN THEY FIND OUT THE REALITY IS THAT THEIR SEXUALITY GOES WITH THEM EVERYWHERE. AND BY THE WAY PRIEST OR CLERGYMEN ALSO MOLEST GIRLS TOO. THE CHURCH HAS TO DEAL WITH THE REALITY AND UNNATURALNESS OF REQUIRING CELEBACY FROM PRIEST AND CLERGY. AN ARCHBISHOP AND A MONSENEUR HERE IN ATLANTA RECENTLY WERE BOTH DISMISSED AFTER IT WAS REVEALED THAT THEY BOTH HAD FATHERED SEVERAL CHILDREN WITH COMMON LAW SPOUSES THEY WERE SECRETLY INVOLVED WITH. I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS NOR DO REALLY KNOW WHY MORE BOYS ARE MOLESTED THAN GIRLS, BUT I KNOW JUST AS THE CHURCH IS IN DENIAL ABOUT BIRTHCONTROL AND ABSTANANCE, IT IS MORE IN DENIAL ABOUT PEDAFILE PRIESTS AND THEIR PART IN CREATING THESE MONSTERS.