Re: Kate vs. Diana

[lvermeer@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca (Leslie Vermeer)]

>On Wed, 17 Sep 1997, Don wrote:
>
>
>> >>Did you know that when she took her sons to see AIDS patients that this
>> >>paragon of virtue told her sons the people had cancer...not AIDS? What do
>> >>you think about that?
>>
>>
>> It's REALLY true. During one of the tributes to her life, I heard the words
>> directly from her mouth, on screen.
>
>What difference does it make what Dianna told her boys?  I don't find
>this at all shocking or in the least bad parenting.  Parents often tell
>lies to shield their children from things that they think the children
>aren't ready for yet.  Apparently Dianna didn't think the boys were ready
>for this.  I wouldn't want to have to expose my children to any more pain
>and hurt then was absolutely necessary at whatever age they happened to be.
>
>D.

Yes, but why turn AIDS into cancer, when they're both horrible diseases
with the same outcome? Is cancer a preferable thing to die from? I think
what is being questioned here is the politics of euphemism: replacing
something offensive to one's sensibilities with something else, presumably
less offensive. Now, why AIDS should be less offensive than cancer, other
than because of lingering, biased assumptions about its genesis and
transmission, I can't say. But I can speculate - and I think this is why
Don objects.

Leslie