Day 242

Day 242: OKAY, THIS IS HUGELY SPOILER-IFIC. IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE THIRD SERIES OF DOWNTON ABBEY, SKIP THIS ONE AND COME BACK TO IT LATER!

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Eh, you've been warned enough.

So, during all that work, I had series three of Downton Abbey playing, which was fun, except for one big plot point, which played directly into Jim's Biggest Pet Peeve About Television And Movies:

The pregnant chick died.

Now, look: people do die during childbirth.  I know that is true.  However, when a pregnancy is presented as a plot point in television and movies, somehow writers think they are being both original and entertaining by making it an awful experience.  I can count on one hand the number of times a pregnant woman in media has given birth to a happy healthy baby, with both mother and child alive and well.  In real life, this is really very rare, but still the evil writers decided to smack me in the face with what MIGHT happen once again.

I really do think it's a concerted effort to prevent me getting a woman with child, and, so far, WELL DONE, you sick bastards...

So Sybil, the strong, independent, fashion-forward, defiant, wonderful woman, got preggered by some chauffeur, and now she's dead, because drama.

Bah.

The season did see Mister Bates exonerated (as we all knew he would be), and we saw Downton Abbey once again saved by a magical influx of cash from an outside source, which is getting a little tedious, but I was still happy when it happened.

The second subplot that happened that I'm a bit cross about is the "Let's Feel Sorry For Thomas" storyline.  It bothers me that the only homosexual character on the show is a TREMENDOUS JACKASS.  It does.  But he IS, and I hate that the writers made me feel sorry for him, even a little bit. 

However, it does bring to mind one of the most insightful bits of advice I ever got from CMS: "People should not deny how other people feel.  BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM CRAZY."

Once you internalize that, and embrace empathy as a guide to life, it does make you notice when it happens, and Lord knows it happens to Thomas quite a lot.  So, we should feel sorry for him; he's been denied at every turn, which would certainly make a person crazy.

But but but... he's JACKASS crazy!!  GAH!!

I hate that guy. 

In a related note, I'll point out that if you're watching "The Following"...

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The ONLY homosexual character in the cult is also completely psychopathic.

I have a lot of gay and lesbian friends, and they are simply not psychopaths.  At.  All.

So, come with me, writers of televison and movies, let's venture out into the real world, where pregnancy and homosexuality should be celebrated rather than feared.

People are people, and ALL OF THEM started life with wide, curious eyes, wondering "What's that?" about everything. 

The worst in us comes from telling our fellows to think as we do, and the world would be a significantly better place if we could learn to let our inherent curiosity about the nature of the world around us lead us instead.

Plus, a lot more people would enjoy math, which would be SO FUN!!!

Tomorrow, ADVENTURE!!  :)