Giovanna Spantigati

Once again, a man killed his disabled son because he didn't know what would happen to his son right after his death. People's reaction: "Poor man. But desperation does not give him this right. Yet it's true that our society does not help those who are in need. But what can we do; everyone has his own life." Bunga bunga bracelets sold in the newsstands, in Argentina they opened a brothel called "Palacio Berlusconi". The television, sponsored by the political power, turns our brain into a mass of mud. 1984 by Orwell. If people are dumb, fearful and with no benchmark, then they are weak. They accept what they are given and are even grateful. Government makes us believe we need protection and that the State protects us. That's it. Medicines to prevent cold, chemical products which kill our body, ogms which damage us. I bet soon there will be medicines to take against pollution. Well, that's strange: if a man killed his disabled child we think he was weak and that we are not able to accept reality.

But what is reality? We boast about having a civil society. But like children dying for starvation and illnesses in underdeveloped countries, would you please tell me if there is any difference in our country? Disabled people are abandoned, no money for therapies, for education, no chance to become independent. With their disability pension they can starve, left to their fate, with no help and respect. And so parents kill them to spare them an even more atrocious pain. But let's talk about something different, also because if you don't live with a disabled person you will never be able to understand that burden. Let's talk about dumps. About garbage, about the increasing number of people with cancer in those places. Randomness. Let's talk about themselves, then. Too easy to say it's always the boss' fault. We're always ready to rip off people with the excuse that they would do the same. An example? Dealing with insurances. There is no politeness. So many examples: we throw cigarettes on the streets, we shout at people while driving our car, we don't respect the rights of people. Deaths, too many deaths in the streets because we lost the meaning of respect. We claim politeness but we are not polite. And now some people are worried about this system, they call themselves "indignados" and shout in the streets asking for a revolution. This is our evolution, though. Anger, desperation. Useless, meaningful. Animal farm by Orwell. And while other desperate mothers will kill themselves, and while we will keep on thinking: better this happens to her than to me, we should instead see if we managed to kill our self-consciousness. If it is so, we should be worried. About ourselves.

Giovanna Spantigati