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October 28, 2007
Love in a time of Uncertainty, Violence, and Isolation
The Wellesley College community was shocked and jolted last week by news that a current student, upset over being dumped, trespassed into the dorm room of her former boyfriend, an MIT student, and stabbed him in the back. He woke up during the attack, fought her off, and survived. The Wellesley woman is being held without bail awaiting trial.
Today, the NYT reported on a case of "star-crossed lovers" in Calcutta, India. A rich Hindu woman married a relatively poor Muslim man. Her family hated the union so much, they got the police to harass the couple and push the bride into returning to her familial home. The husband ended up dead on train tracks, and its unclear whether the cause was suicide or murder.
The NYT also reports that divorced is the new single, and plenty of people are sending formal separation announcements, via printed cards and long email diatribes.
Taken together, the news does not inspire a single woman nearing 30 to believe love conquers all. I recognize that many types of love exist, and perhaps familial love is the strongest bond (though not always in a positive way, see the India story). I tend to think cerebrally on an issue that can best be understood emotionally. But don't you agree that there's something terribly wrong with the world?
I'll just say it like I see it - the consumer culture perpetuated by US-led free-trade capitalism has created a society devoid of depth, incapable of articulating emotions in a positive way, and without the time to heal its psychic traumas because of the perpetual need to Work and Consume.
...here's hoping I find someone to navigate the murky waters of life with. Because in the end, despite all evidence to the contrary, I still believe in love.
"Wellesley student accused of stabbing former boyfriend at MIT," by Maria Cramer in the Boston Globe
AP story on Boston ABC news site, including picture of the knife
"A Tale of Tragic Love Cracks Calcutta's Mirror," by Somini Sengupta in the NYT
"This Is to Inform You of Our New Life Apart...," by Francesca Segre in the NYT
Posted by cj at October 28, 2007 08:18 PM