Friday, January 26, 2007

holding it in

My faith in humanity is tested pretty much everyday, but when I hear stories like the one that came up a couple of weeks ago I can't help but just stand still and shake my head in disbelief.

There was a woman in California who entered a contest on a radio station because she wanted to win a video game console- sounds harmless right? Wrong. There isn't actually one right thing about this contest. This woman was one in 18 people who attempted to drink as much water as possible without going to the bathroom. The woman died. That's it. Let's just sit with that statement for a minute... "to drink as much water as possible without going to the bathroom"?! All I can say is "What the fuck is up with that"? Who in their right mind would even begin to, or want to think about that particular scenario; and all for a video game console? I don't get it. Not only was the woman out of her mind, and obviously the other 18 people also, to try to attempt this insane feat but what the hell is the radio station doing hosting it? Am I missing something here, I don't understand what the hell this is all about. The woman was 28 and a mother of three. Again, TWENTY EIGHT AND A MOTHER OF THREE. She wasn't 7, she was 28.

Now it appears the family is suing the radio station over her death. I think it's sad that she died, but sadder that she believed she could actually win. I feel sorry for her children, her family and for the disc jockeys who hosted the event. Something is terribly wrong with this picture but the crazy thing is stuff like this happens everyday, 20 times a day all over the world. This particular one just happened to be highlighted probably because it 'sounds' so normal. A woman wanted to win a video game console for her little children so she entered a contest on a local radio station. Wrong move lady, wrong move. Excuse me, I need to pee now...

6 comments:

Maggie said...

As a mother of two, I say pee! No holding it in, no way.
The first thing I did was teach the girls to take a leak outside!

Did the lady's kidneys explode or what?!

Kelly said...

This was front page news here, obviously. Like you, I have mixed feelings. I'm sorry that she died but I feel worse for her kids. It's not their fault that their mother made a stupid choice. As far as suing the station, I hate the fact that we are such a litigious society that we feel it's okay to blame other people for our own stupidity. Save the lawsuits for things that you had no hand in causing. Were the DJs actions disgusting? Yes. I can see criminal charges more than civil ones in this case but I'm not a lawyer.

afuntanilla said...

i have not read much about it, but i did her about it and my first thought was about the freakin' radio station. How in the hell did they think this contest was SAFE?

SassyFemme said...

I read about it and saw it on the news. I'm not sure it was so much a stupid choice by the woman, as an uninformed one. Unless she'd heard previous stories of this happening with college kids she'd have no way of knowing. The DJs and the station are at fault, IMO. They joked about a college student who had died from this, and a caller told them this could be deadly. They responded that they knew and the contestants had signed waivers. How anyone can, in good conscience, knowingly put someone else at risk of death is beyond me.

Then there's the whole issue of the limited availablity of these game things by the manufacturers, and the value placed on them by society. Grrr.

r.d. said...

I got to start with sassy here because I totally disagree with what she said. If I'm understanding correctly sassy, what you're saying is that she was uninformed and the radio station should be at fault?! Maybe she had no way of knowing she could actually DIE from this but she had full knowledge of what the stupid contest was all about: TO SEE WHO COULD DRINK THE MOST WATER WITHOUT GOING TO THE BATHROOM. Why? why would anyone even attempt that. That's all I'm saying. In my opinion she was in control (as is everyone) of her own life, the radio station was wrong but she was stupid and wrong. Sorry if I'm not hearing you completely.

Cheers to you maggie-let it fly. Your girls are lucky.

Hey Kel, mixed feelings? not so much. I think what she did was insane. Period. Like you said it is crazy that people think they can blame others for their own stupidity. Man, this kills me. Why won't anyone own up?

I have no idea afunt, I think they actually knew it wasn't safe which is why they wanted to do it. Crazy stuff, I don't know what to tell you.

storm indigo said...

I think everyone is wrong here.
The radio station was wrong. First, the woman (mother) is teaching the wrong values to her children by doing anything that could risk her life for material gain. She should have done some research and found out the risk before doings something like that.
And, what woman, after 3 births is willing to hold her pee. Get out, the damage that childbirth does to a bladder, it's just not worth it;trust me.
Second, the deejays/radio station. Ugh. These contestants may have signed waivers, but that is not to say that anyone explained that it is possible to die from having too much water in your body. It seems that any hairbrained idea that gets cooked up is just fine, and that should not be the case.

But, I agree, people have to take responsibility for themselves. As the mother of 3, she should have been able to see further that some darn game console.