Boy, I can see that I over-reacted to Doug Glanville’s blog about Barry Bonds (comparing him to Muhammad Ali and thinking Bonds has a future in MLB) IF I compared it to Penelope Trunk’s blog yesterday entitled: “Veteran’s Day Should Be Canceled.”
By comparison, Doug Glanville’s blog is the equivalent of milquetoast and Penelope Trunk’s is a GIANT cow pattie from one brain-addled Flossie.
Penelope mentions five points why Veteran’s Day should be canceled. I’m not going into her flawed reasoning because I think her wish to eliminate Veteran’s Day from the list of U.S. Holidays was a calculated ploy to create controversy.
I’ve read Penelope’s blog, The Brazen Careerist, for a few years—because I enjoy her personal style, intelligent thought, and in-your-face honesty. As a person with Asperger’s Syndrome, she doesn’t have the social filters that I do. I found myself saying, Whooaa, Nellie!” at some of her, well, brazen commentary. Everyone has his/her own comfort level for personal disclosure in a public forum. Penelope’s exceeds mine by a long shot.
When I first read the “Veteran’s Day Should Be Cancelled” title I thought, here we go again. Her last blog was entitled, “The Biggest Lie We Tell Ourselves.” I thought that blog was going to be about something profound. Instead it was: “The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that meditating is not a high priority.”
Oh brother. I don’t know what the biggest lie is, but it sure as heck isn’t about meditation. It’s more likely along the lines of: “I’m not worthy.”
OR “I’m not good enough.”
OR “I’ll never achieve success because I’m not lucky.”
OR: “If I were _____ (more beautiful, thinner, richer, had a kid, had more stuff, had bigger bazooms, etc.), I would be happier.”
The “biggest lie” in the blog title was good old-fashioned sensationalism. No biggee. Except I don’t I think Penelope thinks the biggest lie is about meditation.
If I had to posit a “bigger lie” from her point of view (and based on her own writing), it might be: “The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that all problems in marriages can be fixed.”
Back to yesterday’s blog about canceling Veteran’s Day. It was so poorly argued, it didn’t sound like the “normal” Penelope—other than her ability to push buttons—mine included.
I am grateful to all US military personnel current and past for protecting the U.S.A.—its people, values, and freedom. I salute you, Vets! (I left a comment for the first—and last—time.)
But the more I thought about this blog, the more I thought something is ‘off’ about this post. So many things can affect a writer…
Could Penelope be sleep deprived from sleeping on the porch?
Is she mixing her meds and wine again?
Is the rejection of her business partners leaving town without her bugging her?
Is she feeling stifled because she has no “job?”
Is the Farmer ignoring her because craziness isn’t as sexy anymore?
Is the hideous abuse by her father rearing its ugly head in her psyche?
Is the strain of marriage straining her critical thinking skills?
If I had to guess, I’d go with #3 first:
Penelope is a highly ambitious person. She birthed Brazen Careerist. Ryan became her boss and she no longer was raising “her child” her way. That would fry my butt.
I think this blog was a way to show off to Ryan and Ryan that she can still generate internet traffic at will.
My second choice involves not getting enough attention by the Farmer. She fills the void by getting attention from her blog?
But what does that prove? Does that make you more valuable as a human being? More relevant as a person? More desirable as a woman? More sane than not?
I think those are the real issues here—the real motivation behind writing this blog—not an attempt to foster public discourse about the value of a holiday.
Unfortunately, proposing the cancellation of Veteran’s Day to use as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement/self-satisfaction/self-preservation is creepy, manipulative, and sad—not to mention as one commenter said, “an insult to all servicemen.”
I agree with the other commenters who said this blog was “disturbingly sensationalist and offensive” and “completely ignorant and flawed.”
I unsubscribed.
And the shrink has left the building!
