Karma Cleanser - May 17 2006
Will it come back to bite me?
Dear Karma Cleanser:
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Sometimes my humor has been called “inappropriate”: I often make fun of overweight people, the mentally challenged and people with Tourette’s and cerebral palsy. Well, this might be karma, because while driving in my car recently, the right side of my face just quit working. I can’t control the right side of my mouth, so I drool and spit when I talk. I look crazy. At first I laughed about it and it was funny, but then I found out that I have Bell’s palsy. My face can be like this for months, and my doctor doesn’t know the cause of this disease. Could it be karma from my offbeat humor?
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-- Droopy Drools
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Attributing your malady to karma for your comedy feels a little too easy: If every comic suddenly became the thing he or she parodied, then “The Daily Show” would be a rather insipid affair, no? Maybe your palsy can teach you some compassion, but it sounds like you’re still laughing through the paralysis.
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Dear Karma Cleanser:
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About five months ago, a guy I was dating for less than two months broke up with me. He lied to me and ended things over the phone. He then went on a date with one of my friends a few days afterward. Recently I received an e-mail from him declaring his sorrow, an apology and how he wishes that we could be friends. I think it’s because of graduation coming up and he wants to clear his bad deeds. Is it up to me to let his conscience be cleaned?
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-- Still Confused
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We’re guessing this is his last chance to set things right with you before vanishing into the vast vagaries of the real world. Give him a chance to apologize in person — not for the sake of his conscience, but to relieve yourself any future “what if” ruminations.
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Been bad? karmacleanser@gmail.com