I thought I actually knew the meaning of that word, once. I am from a large, then "blended" family, due to early widowing, and even then the whole extended family has had its share of premature deaths. Large enough that you could say it did contain all the "one-in-ten Americans" stats. A gay member died of AIDS, a "healthiest" suddenly goes out in his early 50's.
The only solace I could take, and I took it heartily, was that none of them died by violence. Because nothing can be worse to have a loved one die by violence.The persistent thought is that no one would ever know what they experienced in the last days, hours, minutes of their lives. Could anything be lonelier?
I was prompted to write because I just read an article that described Marina Krim as inconsolable, the first article that I read that used that term. The word that puts a finger on a most horrible status: there will be no comfort.
What is disturbing and thought-provoking is the commentaries I read in the numerous articles, and I feel worth mentioning on a political blog, because they are responses that have "political" resonance.
Ignoring some facts that were represented quite early is the sheer amount of people who took to task either "illegals" or "rich people who can't bother to parent."
Marina had a part-time gig teaching art to children, but was mostly a stay at home mother. With her education and experience (She was a pediatrician), in no way could she be viewed as a rich-trying-to-get-richer and fobbing off her children's care to a nanny.
Yoselyn Ortega was a naturalized American citizen. Struggling financially while working for very wealthy people. To many she appeared to becoming unhinged recently. The latest rumor is that Marina was looking for her replacement.
I refuse to see this as a 99% v. 1% issue, though undoubtedly it could be framed that way. I cringe when I read commenters saying Yoselyn was "pure evil." Applying the Good v. Evil, to use the cliche "Is not working out for us much."
Our lives intersect in historical/cultural ways. Was Yoselyn "family" but "Other", simultaneously?
Let's take care of the children and not insist they perpetuate our blinding flaws.