Pet Stuff, and other discussions

So lately we've been socializing our dog and my roommates cat. Its been interesting, and hilarious. Our dog is so much heavier than the cat that she keeps barreling into her. The two 'sort of' play, it involves the cat batting the dog in the face a lot, and occasionally biting her while the dog desperately wants to lick her some more.

/end pet stuff

Saw an interesting episode of Law and Order last night. Not SVU, nor CI, the original Law and Order. The episode was actually fairly controversal; dealing with a nurse who would administer a sterilization treatment to troubled women who seemed prone to a life a crime, drugs, and poor child care. What was interesting was the compelling argument that was made for what was essentially eugenics. Most times you hear that term, you instantly warp back to the Nazi Germany days with their plans. The episode was firmly against eugenics, but in discussion McCoy, the lead prosecutor, points out how seductive the idea can be to people.

They also cited historical events in America where the practice of eugenics was considered acceptable. Essentially cases where sterilization was sanctioned and considered an acceptable punishment. The nurse doing this was made to be a very sympathetic character who was just trying to prevent more child abuse and hardship for these girls. She did, however, not tell some of these girls what she was doing at the time. In fact, the case only came to light when a girl died due to complications in that procedure. It was a very intense episode, but it had a great finish with the woman saying that the "the world doesn't need more abused children," to which McCoy replies, "No, the world doesn't need you."

SPOILER: She is found guilty at the end of the episode.

What was also cool about this episode is that it ends with McCoy talking to the Defense attorney, basically asking why he would take this case. By the end of it all, not even the attorney was sure, but he said there were ideals in that case that deserved a decent defense.

What I found interesting was a sort of lesson that came out this case. People always want the easy solution to a problem. Rather than try to teach these women to be better parents, or encourage them to not have anymore children; she decided that it would easier to just sterilize them. I've concluded that I utterly despise this approach to dealing with problems.

Its an attitude I am constantly confronted with, "Lets just get it done, we'll take the time to do it right later." This of course is a lie, they never go back later to set things straight. I had a college professor teach me that you should never try to take the quick and dirty route, you'll just end up dirty. This was stated with respect to statics and dynamics, but I feel that the philosophy translates well. I really hate people sometimes.