Yes, being insensitive is now a disorder – and a sausage of opinions on other matters.
Nope, it’s not that some people are just insensitive, self-centered or mean. If you have difficulty relating to other people’s problems, you might have empathy deficit disorder.
Sure, we all could strive to be more attentive to others’ feelings. Some more than others. I just can’t get my brain around the idea of slapping on a “disorder” title for what I otherwise would call “personality.”
On NPR today I heard a story on the tomato-salmonella problem, which seems to be overblown, considering regions at risk have been identified and many regions have already been cleared by the FDA.
What caught my attention was when an FDA food safety wonk was talking about how hard it is to track the problem. A market may have up to 4 distributors bringing in tomatoes, who each may get tomatoes from 4 suppliers, who probably get tomatoes from 4 or more farms themselves… the supply chain is convoluted and WIDE. How in the world can such a problem ever be solved?
I know! Buy local produce! I know it’s not a perfect solution, but encouraging more people to know the farmers who grow the tomatoes they eat would be a start. I don’t worry about salmonella because I can call up the farm my share comes from and find out if they’ve been tested and what the results were. I find that reassuring.
On the “never ending diaper ado,” I just had to include this link because the columnist’s response sums up my views on diapers. I’ve always thought that if you compare the resources required to launder diapers (soap, water consumption, gas for drying, etc) to the impact of disposable diapers (manufacture, landfill disposal, etc) you end up with a wash. The study mentioned invested exhaustive research to back up previous research on the same topic.
Yup, the brits determined that cloth at home, cloth with diaper service, and disposable diapers are roughly equal in environmental impact. So, bully for anyone who is seeking out environmentally friendly laundry detergent, seeking out sustainable cotton for nappies, buying local to reduce the energy consumption of transport, drying in the sun, using disposables that are made from recycled materials or free of petroleum, or using compostable diapers. Making choices like those actually DO make one individual’s choice stand above the otherwise equal choices.
Ben and I were watching Daily Show just now and lamenting the “This Week in God” segment. Lo and behold, Colbert did “Obama’s Church Search” which was not a surrogate, but certainly a salute to the old digs. Sigh. I miss “This Week in God.” The Daily Show hasn’t been quite the same since Colbert left.
And that’s about all I can squeeze up at the moment.
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A real clinical lack of empathy is one of the symptoms of Anti-Social Disorder (née sociopathy/psychopathy). This new diagnosis sounds a lot less severe–like what I would diganose as “being a selfish jerk.” On the plus side, is there going to be a pill that cures being a selfish jerk? They should put it in the water supply!
I will tell you that F&E knows where its tomatoes come from. We have great traceability standards. Something that comes from a UK company, apparently… we could tell you what row our strawberries come from as well!! But, i do agree, local farmers are a better way to go.
I agree with docmanhattan – put the anti-jerk pill into the water!!
noelles last blog post..Better times for my swims!!