Diablevert

Finucane, you devil

"How long have you been driving the cab?"

"Oh, just under five years, Marian."

"In you opinion as a social commentator, how is it now with women and the deamon drink?"

....and while that brief snatch of dialogue from the Marian Finucane show this morning sort of stands on its own, I would like to add that the discussion of a recent study on young women and binge drinking was a feast of junk science that offered many people, not just the cabbie, the opportunity to spout some of the most repellent sexist bullshit I've heard in my life. My favorite was when one of the commenters --- no, excuse me, I think two of them seperately mentioned this --- said that when you saw these young women ending up in Accident and Emergency at the end of the night, a vomit- and pissed-stained wreck, what was just so sad about it was thinking about how long they had spent making themselves pretty to go out. Because, you know, girls are suppossed to be pretty and delicate, because that will make boys like them, and making boys like them is the whole point of their exisitence. Can't catch a fella with piss stains on your shoes, gals. Also, regularly driniking to the point of unconsciouness might maybe indicate you have a wee case of liver- and life-destroying alcoholism, but. I mean, it's one thing to think of the risks to their health and lives and all that, but when you think of how hard they work to be pretty, and then to get all uglied up like that...I mean, that's tragic. Jesus. I wanted to call the radio station and rant, but the line was busy. I also thought about grabbing a pint and delivering my rant to a sypathetic publician, but I after hearing that I was a little afraid he wouldn't serve me one, it being Nineteen-Goddamn-Fifty-Three and all. And trying to drown your sorrows in thimbles of sherry just takes too damn long...