Gawker’s—Not How I Would Put It—”Freakshow”
May 2, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Psychiatry, Stereotypes, new york
There’s a list of 23 unidentified modern eccentrics over on Gawker today. From the descriptions, some of those mentioned are homeless, one is a paraplegic, and more than a few have possible diagnoses; whether those who need it are getting any treatment or even care is not at all clear. The list is part of a “research project” to determine New York’s greatest modern eccentrics. Certainly I’m used to walking around New York with my own son offering some occasional eccentric behavior but I don’t think that “freakshow is the best, or an at all appropriate, word to use about anyone, and especially those who really may need some help and understanding.
We Go to the Met
Charlie and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday. We had a fabulous time, and that includes the anxious moments, which were expected. It was a brand new experience for Charlie—-the first time he has gone to an art museum and to one that is not a designated children’s museum—and, of course, Jim was still out of town. There was some hollering and the usual looks: We just kept moving on.
(And later, as we waited on the platform for the PATH train near where the WTC once stood, I noted that Charlie’s fingers were red and that he was bending over to pick up a tiny white object: He had just lost a tooth and that must have been bothering him all day.)
We got into New York City and walked east to catch the #6 subway (another new thing) and then got off at 77th street (a dog got on). Then to the Met, where I haven’t been in years: We did a rather fast tour of the galleries of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Near Eastern art, with me pointing out some of the myths, noting that an ancient Greek cuirass looked like it might fit Charlie, and dragging Charlie over to admire the restored interior of a rich Roman’s house. We rode the elevator a few times after Charlie found it and lingered in a gallery of Rodins (Orpheus and Eurydice……Cupid and Psyche) and walked through an exhibit of Jasper Johns. Yes, it was more of a walk-through than a leisurely gallery tour, but Charlie stopped when I called him so I could examine a painting, and he probably would have walked through a few more galleries but I thought it enough for a first visit.
Because I think we’ll be going back.
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