Hmm... 4 reasons I think this is not very funny....

Just flat out sick.

http://seductionextreme.com/Catalog.asp?PC=DG-4503

1.) Does anyone remember Karen Carpenter? The beautifully talented singer whom we lost to this wretched deadly eating disorder called ANOREXIA?

2.) Or should I mention, Polly Ann Williams- one of the stars of HBO's hit documentary on eating disorders at the Renfrew Center in Florida, titled THIN. Polly was another one who lost her battle with this disease and died in 2008.

3.) The 2 girls I just blogged about a few days ago on this very same topic- both who lost their lives, to yep-Anna Rexi! I hope they are now with God and not suffering anymore.

4.) Making a mockery out of a mental illness with the highest mortality rate of any other to make a profit for your own sick needs to get rich for a Holiday that comes once a year is outrageous and unacceptable, even in these tough times.
NOTHING is amusing about Anorexia.

Speechless

There was the piece I posted yesterday about the mother starving her child to death, and now there is this:

http://vodpod.com/watch/360360-ifbb-pro-chris-cook-teaches-rear-deltoid-technique-from-gmv

I really just can’t say anything except that this headline making heinous gang rape case along with the deceased victim who was deprived of nourishment by her mother are tied for the year 2009 of the most heinous crime stories I have read about. Let’s hope there’s not a third in the roughly 65 days we have left.

I could go on and on about this, but it hits too close to home for me. However, I will say this. While every detail of this case is very disturbing, what really had me rip roaring pissed was what this cop said. I understand that he probably in the shock and magnitude of the injuries this young woman sustained wasn’t thinking about how he phrased this comment, but to me, it was downright as bad as Whoppi Goldberg saying that rapelanski didn’t “Rape-Rape” his victim. Please. 13 years old…and at the time, at least 2.5 times her age, drugging her with alcohol and sleeping pills. THIRT. FREAKING. TEEN. Earth to Hollywood….

This gang rape victim was not much older than rapelanski’s victim.

"She ended up with those guys under her own will because she knew one of the boys who had gone to the high school before," Gagan said.

LT, who wills themselves or asks to be gang raped by at least 4+ men while fifteen people watch them being brutally sexually assaulted, beaten to a pulp, and found unconscious under a bench? To use the word “rape” and “will” in the same family is a bit of an oxymoron to me. I can’t go there- I just can’t.

I hope these disgusting pigs- and that’s far too mild of a name to describe them, get the chair. If I were this victim, I would be more than “WILLING” to gladly flip the switch and my Catholic ass would not flinch with a shred of regret. God bless this woman and may she be able to heal and find the strength to testify and put her attackers where they belong.

I starved my child, and the Judge let me off. Go Me!

http://www.nj.com/suburbannews/index.ssf/2009/10/errico_of_garwood_pleads_guilt.html

I heard about this case months ago. I really don’t know what to make of it. It appears that for whatever crazy ass reason, the mother was starving her daughter and controlling her food intake due to her own OCD whacked issues, and what I highly suspect, and I do know quite a bit about this, probably an eating disorder of her own.

She claims she knew her daughter was suffering from “psychological problems.” Really? Well if you are intentionally starving your kid to death for whatever asinine reason, umm… yeah, I can see how that can happen. What isn’t clear to me is whether this child developed all these “psychological problems” before her mother started making her wear plastic bags and restricting her diet or after she may have shown symptoms of Anorexia and the mother encouraged and enabled it.

Regardless of the scenario, this poor child eventually starved to death due to her mother’s driven obsessions inflicting them on her own flesh and blood. It’s just downright sick. She comes out and pleads guilty- yep, I assisted in the starvation of my child, and the judge says all righty, an innocent life has been lost. Go volunteer for ANAD and do some time on the couch.

Having been possessed by this evil illness of what I equate with the devil, if I ever have children, despite my own battles with Anorexia, I would do everything I could known to man to make sure that my daughter or son- yes, (Eating Disorders do afflict the male population….) did not fall into the horrible trap that I did. If God forbid they did, I’d give everything I had to help them- not sit back and assist them in their own self destruction.

If ever I become a mother, I will be the one to say- sure, honey, you can have that cupcake or piece of candy. Certainly, not all the time, but I don’t want any future children I may bear to develop the warped thinking patterns of eating disordered behavior. It’s a miserable existence, and this judge's decision, down right egregious.

It goes back to what I have said over and over again about people using their own afflictions or trauma's as excuses for their criminal behavior. I was molested and raped- more than once- as a child and an adult. I don't think it's OK to rape or molest people just because I was and I went through some shit that royally sucked. Having Anorexia royally sucks too, but I am not about to teach my kid how to get it.

Rest in Peace, Hilary Pile

This story has me heartbroken. But more than heartbroken, like the headline says- Anorexia is a wake up call. I was cringing while reading it. This could be me, or this could be you, to anyone who may be reading this with an eating disorder.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20091021/NEWS01/910209970

Nobody knows better than me, “just eat” is not as simple as people who are not afflicted with this illness make it and how condescending it can sound. But, “just eat” is what anyone with Anorexia has to do to survive and fight the good fight.

As I mentioned in my very first post on this blog, Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any other mental illness, and the highest among all eating disorders. It is not glamorous like Karl Lagerfeld and Ralph Lauren portray it. It is mind hell, and it kills.

I can not emphasize enough that if you have an eating disorder, seek help. This includes all eating disorders in all categories- Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, and my favorite diagnosis for insurance companies to get around not paying for treatment, “Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified”- a very lame ass diagnosis where sufferers may exhibit multiple symptoms of disordered eating, but medically do not fit the diagnostic criteria for a specific one.

You do not have to be bone thin to have a problem. Unfortunately, insurance companies use this as a barrier to cover treatment. An eating disorder is an eating disorder. All types reek havoc on the body. It incenses me that most insurance companies will pay for you to go someplace for thirty days if you drink too much, but if you have a problem with managing one of life’s basic needs for survival, that’s not a disease.

Many insurance companies these days have been successfully sued with class action lawsuits over their failure to provide coverage for eating disorders and there are many ways you can fight to get them to do so. I have several links on here to national organizations for eating disorders whose dedicated staff assist people on these very issues. Anyone reading this in need of more information may post here, and I will do my best to steer you in the right direction.

Forgiveness

People often say to me, knowing how devout I am in my faith, but you are a Catholic, can’t you forgive the people who harmed you?

Such questions I am peppered with by not only people of my own fellow faith, but by people of other Christian faiths. I refuse to answer. Such a question is between me and my God.

My personal stance is that forgiveness of the heinous crime of sexual assault is one’s own personal decision; no one should judge if they haven't been there. I often hear survivors say, I forgave my rapist. Again, their choice. Everyone's healing journey must run their own individual course.

With the recent news that Mr. Rapelanski’s ruling determined he must remain in a Swiss jail, I say, this is progress.

Should a sexual assault survivor choose to forgive their assailant, more power to them. I am not certain that will ever be me.

But all that aside, if you come forward and say, yeah, I raped a child, but cut me some slack because I am famous, have $ and been through shit… well, here is my answer to him.

Dear Mr. Rapelanski:

I am sorry your mother died in a concentration camp.

I am sorry your late wife and her unborn child were brutally murdered. It’s not fair.

I’ve been through trauma too. Trauma that was unfair, cruel, and heartless.

The difference that separates us is that people like myself do not inflict our brutal experience of violence on others, and you should not be able to either, using your celebrity status and personal tragedies as a pathetic excuse to pardon you for forcibly raping, drugging and sodomizing a helpless child. I do not feel an ounce of sympathy for your arrogance and your gross sabotage of our legal system.

Sincerely,

Michele Pardon

PS- no pun intended with my last name, but it is my legal one and in this case, could not be better suited to enforce my point.

Hot Air Balloon Boy should be in some hot water....

Ok…. first of all, if I ever pulled a stint like this, I would be the following:

1)Black and blue until I am purple

2)Temporarily on house arrest until my parents shipped my ass to the strictest reform school on the planet till age 18

I am glad this child is safe, but seriously…. parents who invent hot air balloons in their home w/ little boys and haul them out smack in the middle of night to go chase torrential storms and then of all things, advertise their bat shit crazy parenting on the reality show wife swap…..enough said.

He was indeed the devil for worrying everyone to death and fearing for his life and safety. But he’s also a KID. Kids do crazy screwed up things. When I was little, I used to run away from home and worry my parents into a tizzy until a neighbor would find me crying in the middle of the road because I couldn’t remember where I lived and would haul my ass back home. Time out, vacuuming, and washing floors became my new name.

I hope these parents punish this kid and make him take responsibility for his actions, but I also think they need to take a huge chunk for their own.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/10/cable-news-networks-riveted-by-balloon-boy.html

Well- it's highs about time...

Clearly, I am up far too late, but this one piece spoke to me very deeply. The endeing of sexual violence starts here, or so let's hope.


http://hubpages.com/hub/Talking-to-your-children-about-rape

Karl- Shut the FUCK UP

I debated about writing about this long and hard for many reasons. Mainly, because I think these kinds of comments and messages are not worthy of attention and feed poor body image and eating disorders.

My position on the subject of Anorexia, along with many of the leading experts, is that it is primarily a biologically based psychiatric illness. I mention Anorexia specifically because it is the eating disorder I have the most experience with- but I do certainly recognize bulimia, binge eating disorder, and obesity. It is my personal opinion that the media itself can not alone cause an illness as complex as an eating disorder, but I definitely think they can cast a heavy influence over those afflicted with one. They say that genetics may load the gun, but the media pulls the trigger.

In the case of Karl Lagerfeld’s recent public defense of the skinny squad, I think this is a prime example of that. The fashion industry in Europe is aggressively trying to stop designers from using emaciated models. This came about after the tragic death of a famous Brazilian model from Anorexia. They are also trying to shut down the infamous Pro-ana and mia websites that promote and advertise tips and tricks to continue eating disordered behavior- sites mainly created by people who suffer from them which I think is rather sick. I am lucky that the information highway when I was 13 did not exist, or I for sure would have been one of those kids drawn to it, as much as I am ashamed to admit it. America has a very long way to go in truly addressing this problem, and the CFDA and Anna Wintour need to do more than their feeble and meek attempts to put an end to glamorizing extreme thinness. The healthcare industry also needs to wake up and realize that eating disorders are just as much as a disease like alcoholism or drug abuse and provide equal coverage. This is why the Mental health parity act due to become effective in January of 2010 is so vital.

Anorexia is not my friend- it is my enemy, and one I fight daily. I don’t need stupid fucks like Karl Lagerfeld coming out with these destructive statements.

http://www.examiner.com/x-3446-Womens-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m10d13-Karl-Lagerfeld-defends-pin-thin-models

Project Fred

While this project took me two years to complete, I was never more proud, nor could I find someone worthier to receive than my Dear Pastor, Monsignor Thomas Leonard.

As an inside Parish joke, we nicknamed him Fred. Calling him Monsignor can grow tiring.

For the past decade, Fred has been my voice of reason, my compassion when life’s struggles bombarded me and hit me with all that is unfair. He has grounded me and deepened my faith, all the while still being tough on me when I Altar Serve, never resisting to throw out the curve ball outside of standard protocol with his table tricks.

And so it was that I presented him last night a sweater that I made from wool that is shed from sheep on a farm at a monastery in upstate New York. A sweater that took me many hours of labor throughout very traumatic times. I called it Project Fred.

His guidance and leadership in our Parish is nothing short of amazing. People think I am amazing- not just for making the sweater, but for soldiering on throughout all I have endured.

I say- Fred is the amazing one. Fred, this one’s for you!