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Lead
[rant]
So I'm driving home last night listening to NPR, and I hear the following conversation, which bothered me a lot (quotes aren't exact, but close enough):
Q: So what has gotten you so involved [in lobbying to have the DC government clean up DC's water supply, portions of which are apparently contaminated with deadly amounts of lead]?
A: I have a 16 month old son that I've been trying to have for very long time.
This answer just bothers me. Not that she wants to protect her kid. I'm all about that. But that she feels that its important to add the fact that it took her a lot of effort to have the child, and that therefore gives here even added reason for wanting to clean up the lead. Like if she had gotten knocked up on the first try, she wouldn't care so much if she lost him, because she could probably just have another, no problem. Somehow, this turned what looked to be a statement about selfless concern for another into something completely selffish. Wouldn't it have been enough to say "I have a 16 month old son whom I love very much," realizing that the second part of that sentence is probably redundant and is inserted only to underscore the obvious.
[/rant]
All that being said, the lead thing in DC really sucks. I get the feeling that the impact is going to be disproportionately felt by the poorer areas. I've always thought of DC as America's own little banana republic: controlled by an oligarchy unelected by the public that ensconces itself in an enclave while denying basic services to the public, horrible roads, sweltering heat, and you can't drink the water.
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