"The eyes and hands are the sight of recognition.
The parts we see least easily.
It is the other that knows our hand and eyes the best
- Jacques Derrida -
Sunday's article in The Independent was titled " Will Fritzl be seen as a victim of an addiction?" It was in a word, inevitable. In case you were cloistered in a galaxy far away somewhere, planet unknown, or simply cannot recognize the name, Josef Fritzl is the name of the man whose case will no doubt live on in the annals of sex crimes infamy. He is the father from Austria whose daughter he kept hidden away for decades in an unknown subterranean lair, levels below his own house, wherein he and his wife and mother of the incested girl in the basement, kept up a seemingly normal middle-class life for all the world to see. In the interim, Fritzl made his way below the surface so-to-speak, with amazing regularity to incest his daughter and father the many, many children born to them, also kept hidden from the light of day or another human being.
We have all been waiting to hear the words that would comprise a defense for this man. And Sunday, there it was in black and white "I was addicted to abusing my daughter" said Fritzl. As noted in the article by Christina Reihill (http://www.independent.ie/health/will-fritzl-be-seen-as-a-victim-of-an-addiction-142285). The Independent goes on to say that Fritzl blames this sordid business on the fact that he "lusted after his mother", of which the author of the article claims - inaccurately might add - that it "is a case for addiction". I doubt we are talking about drug addiction here, yet no where does the article refer to SEX addiction. Oh? And why is THAT?
The article goes on to say "Of course, his repeated abuse of his daughter bears no comparison to the addictions we're used to dealing with -- alcohol, food, drugs, and/or gambling -- but that doesn't mean his behavior is not an addiction". HELLOOOO! Did we forget about SEX? Yet AGAIN? Sex is not only missing from mention, but it is so in-your-face missing as to raise both eyebrows. After all, the "other" "process" addictions are mentioned. Gambling? Check. Food? Check. This was a SEX CRIME. Why are we "forgetting" to mention sex??
The article winds down by giving a summation of the authors ideas on the subject, wherein she writes "More theoretically, Fritzl's behavior is striking in its stunning metaphor for addictions. Our addictions hold the secrets of our most primitive desires in the cellars in our minds, and to keep these yearnings alive requires incredible planning and attention to detail, however unconsciously that is. The keys, the locks, the steel doors and dungeons we build, make up a labryrinth of unconscious locking systems which protect and propel our bad addictions, however hidden and harmless they may seem to be".
Whoa. Ok first of all, we are expected to get in touch with the fact that we are talking about SECRETS OF OUR MOST PRIMITIVE DESIRES IN THE CELLARS IN OUR MINDS, but the article cannot even bring itself to use the word SEX anywhere in the entirety of the article! I just do not get it. This is a horrid, sordid, viscious, inhumane, nightmare of a crime whose vehicle of violence is SEX. Not a gun or a knife. SEX. INCEST. The word "addiction" is mentioned, but not SEX. Never the word sex. Yes, yes, I understand I am beating the horse to death here, but please, someone - ANYONE - enlighten me here. What is the problem?
But most important - let us not for a split mini-scintilla of a nanosecond, confuse - EVER confuse, incest, torture, sado-masochism, pedophilia, and violence, with SEX ADDICTION. None of these - I repeat, NONE OF THESE THINGS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH A SEXUAL ADDICTION. Period.
As always, I look forward to your feedback...
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