Jury Duty
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Heh, heh, heh. Dooty.

Um, right. So I've been called upon to fulfill my civic duty (heh, dooty.) and sit in a courtroom with a bunch of other people while lawyers ask a lot of personal questions. The purpose is to find a sub-group of people who could give the defendant a fair trial. The personal questions include ones like this: "Have you, or anyone close to you been a victim of a sex crime? When? What are the specifics? Was any legal action taken? Would any incident from your past prevent you from following the instructions of the Judge and giving a verdict of guilty or not guilty based solely on the evidence presented?"

This gives lots of opportunity for people to stand up and tell their sad stories of victimization. Whenever somebody did that, I stuck my nose in a book. Should I be chosen to sit and judge a fellow citizen, I do not want my decision colored by the stories of others. Along those lines, when I stood up to tell my own story - "I was molested by my uncle when I was 3; I was raped when I was 15, and there was some other stuff along those lines in between... But that would have no bearing on my verdict, which I would base on evidence presented, rather than my own past."
I could feel the heat of 50+ pairs of eyes, and I was a little embarrassed. I have not been embarrassed about the things that happened to me... um, ever. Shit happens. And none of my shit has anything to do with anyone else in the courtroom. They have their own shit. It's their shit I'd be listening to.