"Freak Accidents"

Just wanted to restate something I said in my post last week about Natasha Richardson.

I called her fall a freak accident. While it is accurately an accident and is undoubtedly tragic, calling it "freak" makes it sound more out-of-the-ordinary than is accurate. And as I have written before, falls are the third most common cause of accidental death.

I don't want to be sensationalistic now, do I?

Death as a Metaphor for a Cluttered Life

Anti-Clutter Expert Peter Walsh is interviewed in the March O magazine (p 50). To point out the dramatic effect clutter and mess can have on us all, he draws our attention to the language used by his clients:

"My clients say things like 'I was buried under all that stuff,' 'I was drowning,' "I feel like I'm suffocating.' We use those metaphors because clutter robs us of life. It robs us socially, when we're too embarrassed to have people over. It robs us spiritually, because we can't be at peace in a cluttered home. And it robs us psychologically, by stealing our ability to feel motivated in our space." 

Considering how difficult it can be for us to talk about death in actuality, I think it's interesting how easy it is for us to rely upon it as a metaphor. 

Bring to Justice

One of my pet peeves is the phrase "bring to justice."

First, it's just a clunky, inexact phrase. Technically, it just means to set a proper punishment, but more often, I think the phrase is used as a euphemism for killing someone who has committed a crime the speaker finds particularly egregious. The first instance of this usage that really sticks out in my mind is when President Bush vowed to "bring to justice" the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.

The wording smacks of Wild West–style vengeance rather than civilized law and order. Saying it almost allows you to play the role of grand hero, instead of facing up to the realistic facts of the situation. "Bring to justice" is not a plan or a way to deal with criminals.

I'm trying to track down the exact origins of the phrase, but the first time I remember it being used in political/civic circles was in fact with George W. Bush after 9/11. Does anyone know where and when this phrase actually came from though?

"Died" in Obituaries

Another succinct and poignant column by lemondrop's Elizabeth Lardie. This one deals with the practice of using the word "died" in obituaries to describe when a person passes away ... and how that sometimes sits with surviving family members. Lardie contrasts our discomfort with death terminology in actuality with the ease with each we use the word when it means nothing, e.g., "These martinis are to die for!"

British Comedian Stewart Lee

A clip from the very funny and very cerebral British comedian Stewart Lee.

Near the 6 minute mark, he discusses a controversy that has been created by a British columnist who thinks newspapers there are being too politically correct. Apparently, they have a habit, when a teenage prostitute dies, of writing that she was a "woman who worked as a prostitute," instead of simply saying she was a "prostitute." One can imagine, they are trying to do the young ladies and their surviving families the dignity of not identifying them solely by their sad profession. But it's just too much for this particular columnist.

The rest of the clip is fun, too :)