Tuesday, March 01, 2005
A Controversial Blog
First of all I should probably say that today is his birthday, so yay! He’s an official adult today, 20! And yes he is younger than me...but not as young as my ex, Little Boy Blue, so it’s not so bad. :)
But anyway, that’s not the controversy. In my Sex, Power, and Politics class we’ve been talking about my oh-so-favorite topic, reproductive rights, specifically, abortion. Now I know I ranted a bit about this back around Black Tuesday, but it just continues to piss me off that people can be so goddamn stupid. So yeah, I’m going to rant for a bit.
First off, I want to say that I do understand the Pro-Life point of view. I understand that they view the fetus as a human soul and that they see abortion as murder. I don’t agree, but I understand, and I’m okay with people having that opinion. But it’s when they try to force those values on other people where it pisses me off. I mean, it’s kind of like "Judge not, lest ye be judged" you know? A little quote from that book which they so desperately cling.
But even more than those people, it’s the hypocrites that I really don’t like. And I’m not even talking about those freaks that go around killing doctors who give abortions and blowing up clinics. I know that they are a minority group of extremists, but I am talking about our dear President and his government. First off, I think if you’re going to be Pro-Life, you better be all or nothing. Sure, I like people better if they at least are okay with abortion in the case of rape or the life of the mother, but what does that really say about their argument? I thought the argument is that the fetus is a living being and deserves to live, but wait, they don’t deserve to live if they are caused by rape? I mean, it’s not the fetus’ fault, is it? But the better one is that abortion is okay if the mother is in danger, so what, all of the sudden the fetus isn’t a life? Or is it that the mother’s life is more important? Who exactly decides that? Hmm...interesting. You see, I actually have more respect for those insensitive freaks who don’t give a damn about a woman’s welfare...at least they’re consistent.
But wait, here’s an even better question. So let’s say we’re living in a time where abortion isn’t allowed and the fetus has the same rights as any other human. There’s a happily married and recently pregnant good Christian woman driving down the street when she gets in a car accident. Luckily, she has survived, but sadly the crash caused her to miscarry. Her negligence behind the wheel cost this human being its life...will she be tried for manslaughter? Sounds ridiculous, right? But that’s the kind of thing that would have to happen if a fetus is viewed as a living being. This poor woman has to deal with the fact that she lost her baby, and then she risks going to jail. Sounds real fair, doesn’t it?
But going back to hypocrisy, let’s look at how this administration wants to go about bringing the abortion rate down, you know, besides trying to do away with them all together. Hmm...what’s a good way of stopping abortions from happening? I know, I know. Stop unwanted pregnancies. But how can we do that? How about we teach kids out there about abstinence...and nothing else! But wait! What if they decide to have sex, anyway? Well then, those evil little, premarital-sex-having sinners should suffer the consequences and give up their entire future to have the baby they are totally unprepared for. Wait, did I say they? I meant her, because the boy will have to take absolutely no responsibility whatsoever.
Frustrating isn’t it? I understand that abstinence is the goal, and it is a beautiful one, but the fact is people are going to have sex and the most important thing is to make sure they know how to have it safely. And I’ll let y’all in on a little secret, if someone isn’t planning to have sex, they’re not going to up and have it just because someone told them how to do it safely. So you don’t have to worry about that. Believe me, I went through all of my childhood and all of high school being told about how to protect myself, but I knew that I was not ready for sex and would not be having it. And when I did decide that I was ready, it wasn’t because I was enticed by those enthralling Trojan commercials. It was a decision I made, on my own...and that’s what it is for others as well. True, there are some people out there who are pressured into it before they are ready, but I can almost guarantee you, it wasn’t pressure from the sex-ed teacher.
So yeah, there’s my controversial, and probably slightly difficult to follow blog. I really do pride myself on trying to see different perspectives on issues, and I really, really can see the perspective for Pro-Life, but the decision to keep schools from teaching about safe sex is just ridiculous and anyone who thinks that is a good idea and thinks that it works, well, you’re a moron. Because let me let you in on a little secret: schools that teach abstinence-only tend to have the highest teen-pregnancy and STD rates in the country.
First of all I should probably say that today is his birthday, so yay! He’s an official adult today, 20! And yes he is younger than me...but not as young as my ex, Little Boy Blue, so it’s not so bad. :)
But anyway, that’s not the controversy. In my Sex, Power, and Politics class we’ve been talking about my oh-so-favorite topic, reproductive rights, specifically, abortion. Now I know I ranted a bit about this back around Black Tuesday, but it just continues to piss me off that people can be so goddamn stupid. So yeah, I’m going to rant for a bit.
First off, I want to say that I do understand the Pro-Life point of view. I understand that they view the fetus as a human soul and that they see abortion as murder. I don’t agree, but I understand, and I’m okay with people having that opinion. But it’s when they try to force those values on other people where it pisses me off. I mean, it’s kind of like "Judge not, lest ye be judged" you know? A little quote from that book which they so desperately cling.
But even more than those people, it’s the hypocrites that I really don’t like. And I’m not even talking about those freaks that go around killing doctors who give abortions and blowing up clinics. I know that they are a minority group of extremists, but I am talking about our dear President and his government. First off, I think if you’re going to be Pro-Life, you better be all or nothing. Sure, I like people better if they at least are okay with abortion in the case of rape or the life of the mother, but what does that really say about their argument? I thought the argument is that the fetus is a living being and deserves to live, but wait, they don’t deserve to live if they are caused by rape? I mean, it’s not the fetus’ fault, is it? But the better one is that abortion is okay if the mother is in danger, so what, all of the sudden the fetus isn’t a life? Or is it that the mother’s life is more important? Who exactly decides that? Hmm...interesting. You see, I actually have more respect for those insensitive freaks who don’t give a damn about a woman’s welfare...at least they’re consistent.
But wait, here’s an even better question. So let’s say we’re living in a time where abortion isn’t allowed and the fetus has the same rights as any other human. There’s a happily married and recently pregnant good Christian woman driving down the street when she gets in a car accident. Luckily, she has survived, but sadly the crash caused her to miscarry. Her negligence behind the wheel cost this human being its life...will she be tried for manslaughter? Sounds ridiculous, right? But that’s the kind of thing that would have to happen if a fetus is viewed as a living being. This poor woman has to deal with the fact that she lost her baby, and then she risks going to jail. Sounds real fair, doesn’t it?
But going back to hypocrisy, let’s look at how this administration wants to go about bringing the abortion rate down, you know, besides trying to do away with them all together. Hmm...what’s a good way of stopping abortions from happening? I know, I know. Stop unwanted pregnancies. But how can we do that? How about we teach kids out there about abstinence...and nothing else! But wait! What if they decide to have sex, anyway? Well then, those evil little, premarital-sex-having sinners should suffer the consequences and give up their entire future to have the baby they are totally unprepared for. Wait, did I say they? I meant her, because the boy will have to take absolutely no responsibility whatsoever.
Frustrating isn’t it? I understand that abstinence is the goal, and it is a beautiful one, but the fact is people are going to have sex and the most important thing is to make sure they know how to have it safely. And I’ll let y’all in on a little secret, if someone isn’t planning to have sex, they’re not going to up and have it just because someone told them how to do it safely. So you don’t have to worry about that. Believe me, I went through all of my childhood and all of high school being told about how to protect myself, but I knew that I was not ready for sex and would not be having it. And when I did decide that I was ready, it wasn’t because I was enticed by those enthralling Trojan commercials. It was a decision I made, on my own...and that’s what it is for others as well. True, there are some people out there who are pressured into it before they are ready, but I can almost guarantee you, it wasn’t pressure from the sex-ed teacher.
So yeah, there’s my controversial, and probably slightly difficult to follow blog. I really do pride myself on trying to see different perspectives on issues, and I really, really can see the perspective for Pro-Life, but the decision to keep schools from teaching about safe sex is just ridiculous and anyone who thinks that is a good idea and thinks that it works, well, you’re a moron. Because let me let you in on a little secret: schools that teach abstinence-only tend to have the highest teen-pregnancy and STD rates in the country.
