A man decided to record his wife freaking out. Now it’s a YouTube sensation and the subject of a post on Gawker, a site seemingly dedicated to shit like this. People are gleefully talking about how bat-shit crazy this woman is.
I’m here to rain on their parade.
http://youtu.be/1JZZWA_sjJw
This video seems to be real, but it’s getting harder to trust what you see on the Internet these days. Under the premise that this video is genuine, I have some observations:
- Sure, she’s acting worse than a three year old. But other than this video, those outside her immediate world of family, friends and colleagues know nothing about her. Labeling her as crazy is harmful and ignorant.
- If I had to put up with someone like this on a daily basis, I’d probably be planning my escape. But I would not record our fights for the world to see. Why? Because nothing good comes of such things.
- It’s one video showing one perspective. I doubt it tells the entire story of this marriage.
Every marriage has its bumps, and sometimes you have to throw in the towel and call it a day. But it’s a private matter. Just because your marriage sucks and your wife is nuts doesn’t mean you have to make us watch.
Now that I’ve watched it — I didn’t have to but I did anyway — I see more going on than just some poor guy proving that he’s a victim.
I see a woman who probably suffers from some form of mental illness. Even if she’s too volatile to stay married to, she needs help.
I see a husband fanning the flames of his wife’s insanity. He goads her. He ridicules her. He makes damn sure to set her off. That’s an asshole thing to do, especially if the wife has a mental illness.
Nothing good ever comes from pressing a troubled person’s crazy button.
I hope this woman gets some help. As for the husband, I can’t help but wonder if he helped make her that way.
