Decomp season is coming!

Wow! What a fascinating class yesterday was! The medical examiner was really interesting and it was really neat to learn about her job! I was surprised to learn that there are only 350 medical examiners in the country and only six are in Oregon. And I was also surprised that coroner's don't have to have an medical training... yeah, I know, no medical training but we trust them to make an accurate guess as to how someone died? Ridiculous! I also liked hearing about what her job is like and how she handles it. I have no idea how she can be so normal! I am pretty sure I would be crazy! It was also interesting to hear about all of the schooling she went through and how little it cost her! If only our college expenses were $5,000 a year!!
The episode we watched was one I had seen before but I forgot that it was a woman serial killer. I think it's important to notice that every time we have a female killer she is sensationally crazy and manipulative and wildly insane! It's always some kind of dysfunction. But then again, often the killers on Law and Order are pretty crazy anyway, so maybe that part isn't so much to do with gender. But, I did notice that the episode touched on the whole idea that a prostitute can't be raped. One of the officers in the very beginning of the episode told Lisa Perez that "If they're payin ya, it ain't raped." It is maddening that we still harbor this idea about prostitutes (and to some extent, with wives and spousal rape).
I'm really glad to be done with my research paper. I feel like I learned a lot about Domestic Violence and how prevalent and pervasive it really is. It was also interesting to learn about the legal issues with domestic violence and what a woman has to do in order to prove that she was abused. You'd think we'd just give her the benefit of the doubt and help her out! I am surprised also by how many women are seen in emergency rooms every year to be treated for domestic violence. One article I was reading talked about having physicians check with women during their normal appointments about their relationships and about abuse because it often goes unreported. That way we could treat and prevent violence before it becomes out of control.

P.S. Sorry Allison for stealing your blog title!