Today's reading points to something I think it true but wrong and that is our morbid curiosity about people with unusual, offbeat, or weird problems or ailments. The author featured as his examples the original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng Bunker; the person that The Elephant Man was based on, along with a man who had a severe head injury. Sometimes I think that people get some satisfaction out of seeing other peoples struggles either to point at their own life as not being so bad or from some misplaced sense of superiority. One of the prime examples in recent history is the number of reality shows. Rarely is there not a daily post on Facebook about some individual who is a celebrity based on a reality show. The author in his "For Further Reflection" section say he believes "stories about people with bizarre afflictions command our morbid curiosity as well as our sympathy--a powerful combination of emotions that explains why such stories, if written with authority and compassion, are in high demand."
Personally I do not enjoy this type of stories unless there is a strong message of the individual overcoming their difficult circumstances. Therefore I doubt that I will complete the "Try This" assignment any time soon. The assignment is to
(1) Prepare several profiles of strange persons about whom you would like to write an essay or even a book-length biography. Draw from circus histories, medical histories, or psychological case studies.
(2) Develop one of the profiles you prepared for number one into a full-length biographical essay.
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