“Sickos” and Chimpanzees
Wow. I have just finished watching the newest documentary by Michael Moore, Sicko. It was a fascinating overview of the American health care system in comparison to systems in Canada, Britain, and France. It was so thought provoking that I need some time to think about the implications of the film’s message and achieve a balanced perspective. I have some overall impressions, but I have to be critical of Michael Moore’s sometimes biased exaggerations. It seems, though, that I need to be living in France. Right now. Part-time employees getting at least 5 weeks paid vacation? Daycare for $1/hour?! etc, etc. France seems to overall be an awesome place to live. Also, the things that are happening in the US health care system seem to defy basic human rights - in a country so wealthy, this is an absurdity effectively captured by the film. I highly recommend watching the film - and for my American readers I apologize for any offense if you do not agree with some of the ideas in the documentary. I have to admit that I am grateful for the health care I get in Canada. If I have an accident like having a part of my finger cut off, my first thought would never be “I can’t afford this.” (One man would have had to pay $60,000 to get the tip of his middle finger surgically restored.)
Another surprising fact I read at Vegan Soapbox: ”General Motors used chimpanzees. Now they use crash test dummies.” (in their vehicle safety tests) Yes, I cross-checked this to verify it and it’s true - apparently they also used human cadavers.
And, finally, to lighten up the mood of this midnight post, I thought I would include a great find via the nonist: “Psychopathia Sexualis, by Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing M.D. is a fascinating historical document. First published in Germany in 1886 the book attempts to catalogue and illuminate every manner of “sexual perversion” bubbling just under the surface of the 19th century.” What an interesting blog post, giving excerpts from the book as well as commentary on each quotation. My favourite was their first sample:
Case 123Here we have a fetish which is wholly benign, strangely poetic, and really, to be envied.
“B., thirty years of age, apparently untainted, refined and sensitive; great lover of flowers; liked to kiss them, but without any sensual motive or sensual excitement; of a rather frigid nature; before twenty-one did not practice masturbation, and subsequently only for periods of time. At twenty-one he was introduced to a young lady who wore some large roses on her bosom. Since then large roses had dominated his sexual feelings. He incessantly bought roses; kissing them would produce erection. He took roses to bed with him, although he never touched his genitals with them. His pollutions, henceforth, were accompanied by dreams of roses. He dreamt of roses that had fairy-like beauty; when he inhaled their fragrance, he ejaculated.”
I highly recommend reading through the fascinating case studies presented here by J Morrison. An interesting look at what was considered sexual pathology or a perversion in that time period.
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