For crying out loud!

So, I am rather annoyed that NBC aired that incredibly heartbreaking episode of ER on TV last night. I hadn't watched the show in about a year, watched it for the last half hour, and ended up turning it off in tears. Darn you NBC!

I am not a cryer. I don't cry at movies or books, or sappy wedding commercials. It's not that I have no feelings, it's just that things don't get to me very easily. I also am very careful about what I choose to watch and read. I avoid Oprah books with a passion. If it's on Oprah's book list, it will immediately be scratched off mine. Don't get me wrong, she chooses good books I'm sure. But the topics are way too depressing. They are all about overcoming intense personal struggles, and I just don't want to read about that. When I go to watch TV or read a book, it's because I'd like to have a few moments to escape reality and be entertained. Being depressed is not entertaining for me. Real life is tough enough, and in my lifetime I've already faced my share of grief and challenges to overcome. I don't want to watch other people suffer, and I don't want to read about other people's pain when I am trying to escape for a short while.

Now, again, don't get me wrong. I care deeply for others, especially my friends and family. Helping them through their struggles and sharing their pain goes with the territory, and there is nothing I would not do for someone I care about. The thing is, when someone else is hurting it hurts me too, and when given the choice for how to spend my free time, I choose not to experience those feelings when watching TV and movies, or reading books.

So, on to the ER episode... it was a flashback episode that showed Angela Basset's character (a doctor on the show) and her husband suffering through the death of their 5 year old son. Hello? Who wants to see that on TV? I have an almost 5 year old son, and this is not something I want to think about. The death of a child has to be the most painful thing that anyone can experience. It's one of those things that, as a parent, when you find yourself even starting to think about losing your child, you immediately make yourself think about something else because the feelings are so incredibly intense and painful. You don't even go there! I didn't realize what the episode was about when I turned it on, and I had to turn it off before it ended because it was just too hard to watch. It took me quite a while to recover after that, too.

So thanks a lot NBC. Thanks for the pain and sadness when I was just trying to sit down and unwind before bed. Thanks for the nightmares that I had about my children last night. Next time you should put a warning label on your shows. Forget about warning me of brief nudity or violence, how about warning me "this may cause intense sadness and depression." I'll certainly think twice before I turn that show on again.