on choices

we shouldn't be surprised by the amount of depravity the internet—originator of two girls, one cup—can trot out, but the comments on this photo essay documenting domestic violence are revolting nonetheless. many call out the victim for not making better choices in her relationships. but who are these people for whom it is so easy to choose a white picket fences life with the perfect job and perfect spouse? lord knows it would behoove me, an foregone artist, to live off the earnings of a millionaire, but i wouldn't know where to meet one and certainly wouldn't make it past his/her security guard if i did. what's your secret, kate middleton? it's not easy for any of us to escape the life we're born into. some of us, like me, are lucky enough that we don't have to escape. but others seem to take up endlessly berating those who exhibit a shocking lack of free choice. perhaps they do so to fulfill the fantasy that america is a meritocracy, and that everything they want is within their reach, even as they grasp at fleeting mirages and thin air.