eHarmony and Cats

A couple of weeks ago, a grad student of mine, Jaclyn E., posted on Facebook that amazon.com was selling a Cats 2011 Wall Calendar for $25,007.20. She thought it was a little overpriced. A friend of hers said that maybe this person would buy it.

I had a good laugh. This is exactly the kind of person we fear being when we cry. Of course, another layer of complication is added by the fact that this woman is not Debbie at all but an actress named Cara Hartmann showing off her skills. Still, we all know the type in real life. And we don’t want to be her. She would not get a whole lot of dates with this video, except with people who wanted to take advantage of her.

So, maybe a part of thinking about the benefits of crying must necessarily involve when not to cry. I’m accumulating a list of problems and aspects of sentimentality, and certainly one of them is inappropriateness.

But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this is how easy it is to participate in derision. I mean, after all, this persona (if not the person behind it) deserves it. Right?