The older I get the more I realize that courage takes many forms. Recently we’ve come across two brave women: Angelina Jolie (whom everyone knows) and Martha Mullen (whom hardly anyone has heard of. And speaking of brave, Merida from Disney’s Brave movie (2012) got a ridiculous makeover–how old is she, like 12? Okay, 16. More on that later.
Angelina Jolie made international headlines this week when she announced that she’d gotten a preventative double mastectomy a sometime ago. She’d taken a gene test which showed that she was at risk for both breast and ovarian cancer, and she’d lost her mother to cancer when her mother was only 56. The idea of her children growing up without her was, presumably, too scary and sealed her decision to undergo elective surgery.
And so she’s gone from an 87% chance of getting cancer to a mere 5%. If I’m not mistaken, 1 in 8 women who live to their 80’s will get breast cancer and so that 5% is pretty great. And plus, if you can cut down a giant ugly sword hanging over your head, well, why not?
So kudos Angie, right? I am certain that if we listened hard enough we’d hear collective cheering all over the planet. Brave steps. 1. Get tested. 2. Get the surgery. 3. Tell everyone about it by publishing it here
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/opinion/my-medical-choice.html
for the purpose of empowering other people. Thing is, she’s had reconstructive surgery and didn’t have to tell anyone about her procedure. But she chose to, and that choice will save lives. And yes, there are other options to getting a mastectomy (or -mies) as many writers pointed out.
So (again) kudos Angie, right? Except that the internet where she announced her brave decision is unfortunately also populated with trolls and haters, left comments like “Pitt will be leaving soon.” And “NOOOOOOOO! Please say she’ll get implants.” And, “I hope she supersized.”
Unbelievable. Jaw-droppingly unbelievable. IMHO, Angelina Jolie should be applauded for the choices she’s made concerning her health (though not a choice for everyone, I get that) as well as her endeavors to educate others. More power to an already powerful woman.
Brave woman number 2. In his blog, Mercy Not Sacrifice (also on wordpress), Morgan Guyton writes about Martha Mullen, a woman in Virginia who was perturbed when other cemeteries in the area refused burial to Tamarlen Tsarnaev’s body. Yes, that Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber, responsible for the death of 3 and injuries to scores of others. In fact, people were picketing the funeral parlor where Tsarnaev’s body was interred, as though the owners had anything to do with the bombing.
Martha Mullen then quietly made arrangements with the police department, who got in touch with the Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, and finally the body was laid to rest. When interviewed, Mullen mentioned that it was her conviction that the Bible tells us to love our enemies that caused her to do what she did.
Guyton makes the point “Has anyone ever protested the burial of a criminal before?” Are the streets going to be filled with the rotting bodies of people we deem unworthy of burial? How scary and unhygienic would that be?
But because the internet is unfortunately populated with trolls and haters, Mullen, for a while got called “the most hated woman in Virginia” for deciding to act on her convictions.
Perhaps it’s easy to be brave when there is no opposition, when a swell of support meets you, or when you prefer the quiet of not rocking the boat. One of the words we learned in vocabulary this year is fortitude, which means courage in the face of pain or adversity. I think Angelina Jolie and Martha Mullen went beyond bravery and into the territory of fortitude this week. May THEIR tribe of humanity increase.
And then we get to poor little Merida. Sigh. Disney’s newest princess (not all their cartoon heroines automatically get accepted into the canon of princesshood, who knew?) got a makeover before she was officially proclaimed a Disney princess. They had her character re-drawn with a smaller waist, more defined cheekbones, an off-the-shoulder dress, and her hair! Her mass of red curls is more glamorously tame. Tellingly, her bow and arrows have been replaced by a jewelled belt. Ya make her more gorgeous, ya take away her weapons, huh?
Not brave. Not brave at all. (Photo credits Yahoo Images)
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