I’m drawn to the transcendent in all its forms. Give me stories of the great athletes
of consciousness: mystics, ecstatics, mad lovers; poets, painters, musicians
that charge our imaginations and open our hearts. All these give us snapshots, glimpses of what we could or
might be. That’s a bit of upbeat news.
So two cheers for what Mark Twain called the “human experiment.” But what of the third cheer? you ask. For balance, I feel the need to note the dark side, the monsters
and grotesques beside the saints and geniuses. So alongside
the wonders, I collect tales of extreme depravity—shockers that lurk beyond the
pale--‘live and learn’ moments.
I had such a moment reading an article by Sara Yahr Tucker
that describes a recent, disturbing trend in medical settings. We’ve heard a lot lately about men in
power who sexually abuse women.
Well, this takes us to a new level of depravity--reports of obstetricians
that sexually abuse their pregnant patients—even as the women are in the throes
of giving birth!
(file:///There%20Is%20a%20Hidden%20Epidemic%20of%20Doctors%20Abusing%20Women%20in%20Labor,%20Doulas%20Say%20-%20Broadly.html)
Evidence for this horror is based on eyewitness reports from
doulas, women professionally trained to assist other women during childbirth. One doula describes her astonishment
when she observed an obstetrician arrange himself behind a woman who was giving
birth, then plunged his hand in her uterus, clearly getting off sexually. According to Tucker’s report, these are not isolated cases but
the phenomenon is near “epidemic.”
Nature of course is full of what seem moral monstrosities,
like the praying mantis who unites with her mate sexually and then has him for
dessert. “Hey honey!” he says, “That’s not very romantic.” The praying mantis replies, “Let’s just
say the romance was short-lived. Gulp. Burp.”
It may be that our depravity potential will always be a drag
on our transcendent potential. To
see that with a clear eye is called realism. Obstetricians that rape the women they are assisting in
childbirth? An epidemic? Is one of Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings
of hell coming to life in America?
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