W.J. Astore

Pay Women! And Find a Way for Death with Dignity

This morning, an article on Diana Rigg caught my eye. I loved her in “The Avengers,” which I watched in reruns in the 1970s. She was sexy, smart, vivacious, and tough, and I saw where Vanessa Redgrave said that Rigg was ahead of her time, that she was sexy and smart when women as actors were supposed to be either/or, not both.

This snippet caught my eye: “I spoke out when I was doing the Avengers and learned I was earning less than the cameraman. I was called ‘money grabbing.’”

Rigg was an absolute star of that show, yet she earned less than a crew member. While the cameraman probably deserved a raise, Rigg deserved to be paid what her male costar, Patrick Macnee, earned. She was as good as gold and better.

The article on Rigg references her painful battle with cancer and how she wished to die with dignity. Death with dignity is something I fully support. I see no reason why people should suffer and die in agony when drugs are available to prevent this. But of course the idea of assisted suicide raises all kinds of ethical and legal questions. And our inhibitions about talking about death and dying contribute to a status quo in which people are expected to “rage against the dying of the light,” no matter how much pain they’re in and no matter how fruitless the raging.

Diana Rigg was a fighter. She wasn’t afraid to speak out for what she believed in. I hope her example inspires others to fight for equity and for dignity in all aspects of life, even death.