This has probably been done to death, but I still need to make this observation.
I’m going to start a bit far afield. Last week, hubby and I went to see the taping of the NPR show Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. They always get a celebrity of some sort to play a game, but the celebrity is interviewed first. The celebrity for last week’s show was Piper Kerman, the author of Orange is the New Black. The book, and the subsequent TV show, have made her quite famous, and probably quite rich as well. She now teaches writing at two correctional facilities in Ohio, one for men, and one for women.
The book is a memoir of her year in a federal prison; the TV show has fictionalized and expanded upon the narrative. Kerman was arrested for laundering drug money; the arrest came about a decade after the actual crime. During the interview, she made clear that she knew when she did it that she was breaking the law.
The interviewer, Peter Sagal, asked her that, now that she has written a successful memoir that has spawned a popular TV show, if she had the opportunity to talk to her 22-year-old self, would she caution her against breaking the law, or would she encourage her to break the law knowing that she would ultimately become rich and famous. (Note that this question and its answer were edited out of the broadcast show.) Without hesitation, Kerman said she would have changed her decision. First, there was the fact that the penal system in the US is designed to let you know at every moment that you are being punished for your illegal acts. Second, there was the realization that her illegal act very likely resulted in hurting, and possibly killing people. She felt remorse for what she did. She would rather be living in relative obscurity than have done the damage that ultimately resulted in her fame.
Keep that in mind as we go below the fold and review a particular event in the White House from last week. But first, here’s a word from our sponsor:
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I was reminded of Kerman’s account when I saw the item about Nadia Murad’s embarrassing meeting with Trump.
So Trump met with Nadia Murad, an Iraqi who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in preventing sexual assault. She went through a harrowing experience as ISIS murdered her mother and six brothers.
Trump’s reaction to all this was:
And you had the Nobel Prize? That’s incredible. They gave it to you for what reason?
The implication here is that all that horrible experience must have been worth it because, hey!, you won the Nobel Prize! It would never cross Trump’s mind that not having your entire family killed would be worth giving up fame.
Both Kerman and Murad went through harrowing experiences (though Murad is free of the guilt of breaking any law). While both have achieved success and fame later in their lives in part due to these experiences, both would have preferred not to have experienced the losses associated with getting to that place.
At least in Murad’s case, Trump can’t get that the terrible pain of losing your family is not worth a Nobel Prize. And he has no clue what remorse is. If the isn’t evidence for soullessness, I don’t know what is.
On to the comments:
Top Comments (July 24, 2019):
From peregrine kate:
I really enjoyed reading this comment in macknacat58's story from last Sunday, made by Billjohn, an original "Antifa" who is still here at 97 holding true to his values.
Top Mojo (July 23, 2019):
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Top Photos (July 23, 2019):
Courtesy of jotter