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Study This with Dr. Brian v.1a

By Dr. Brian Russell Remember Mary Kay Letourneau, the teacher who spent years in jail for having sex repeatedly with her very underage student but is now married to the student and the mother of his two children? Well, guess what this classy couple’s doing now? They’re reportedly hosting “Hot For Teacher” nights at a Seattle-area night club. Mary Kay is apparently the m.c. while husband Vili is the d.j.

People have asked why I haven’t talked about the allegations of marital infidelity swirling around the namesakes of the reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8. That’s easy. They’re celebritrash, and I couldn’t care less about them. I do care of course about the effects of selfish, celebritrashy adults’ behavior on their children, and I hope this will make it less likely that we’ll see a similar show starring Octomommy.

As the “Craigslist Killer” awaits trial in Boston, and a man who used Craigslist to target women for rape here in Kansas was sentenced this week to 30 years in prison, Craigslist has announced that it will eliminate the “erotic services” category on its web site, which a number of states’ attorneys general have equated with facilitating prostitution.

As we wait to hear whether the body found in an Illinois river this week is that of Stacy Peterson, Drew Peterson’s fourth wife, prosecutors reportedly are making new allegations against Peterson in the death of his third wife. They’re reportedly saying they have evidence that Peterson tried to hire a hit man to kill Kathleen Savio before she was found dead in her bathtub under mysterious circumstances. If the judge in the case believes that, then the $20 million bail figure is more understandable. In any case, the noose seems to be tightening around Peterson.

Lastly tonight, there’s a radio commercial running here in Kansas that I think is running nationally, sponsored by some federal health agency, about helping mentally-ill friends. In the commercial, a woman tells a friend that she’s been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and the friend tries to cheer her up by asking her if she wants to go shopping. A narrator then chastises the friend for apparently not being supportive enough, which I guess means that the friend was supposed to sit there and be an untrained therapist. The commercial even claims that the bipolar woman will be “less likely to recover” because of the friend’s lack of support. Personally, I think the commercial’s bogus. Of course social support is helpful in recovery from virtually any illness, but let’s not make everyday people who don’t want to be armchair psychologists feel responsible for other people’s recoveries, or lack thereof, from mental illness. (May 22, 2009)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

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