[Cross posted from Uncensored Feminista ]
I am so incredibly tired today, emotionally, physically, and in every which way I could possibly tell you. On our campus for the past two days we have had people from the [WARNING POSSIBLE TRIGGER!!!] Center for Bio-Ethical Reform on our campus as part of their Genocide Awareness Project . These people are so completely ignorant and so extreme in their beliefs, it was mentally draining that they would even attempt to engage me. As secretary for our NOW campus chapter, I was there all day today and for an hour yesterday protesting them being there with a lot of other people. Let me give you the bulk of extremely ignorant things that were said to me.
Firstly, I had a woman actually say to me, "You know, because some women provoke rape, and then get an abortion." Great. Here's an older woman actually using the age old tactic of punish/blame the victim for something that was done to her . I immediately told her I could no longer speak with her if she was actually going to propose that women ask to be raped. I couldn't engage this. Afterwards, one of "those people" actually engaged me in a battle of the mind on how life begins at conception, to which I told him that was not my belief, but then asked him what was his position on birth control. The answer I received was "birth control is against my moral beliefs." Ok Mr. Intelligent pro-lifer, then how do you propose we stop abortions? His answer: "don't have sex. Sex education is like a green light for kids to have sex." So, abortion is bad, birth control bad, and we need to go against human nature so that we don't offend your morals???!!
Nice.
I'm drained. I was part of a panel afterwards with the director of the Women's Studies department on campus where we wanted to discuss the issue of where these people were saying, the lies they were spreading, the warped theologies, and the fact that they were in a high traffic area in our school when this was extremely offensive to several students and faculty as well. Not to mention where they were on campus was right near the childrens learning center where children younger than 4 (I think) are. So not only are these people imposing their views on the student body, faculty, staff, and administrators, but they are also sucking children into it and saying things like, "Well maybe they shouldn't walk by here then." THIS IS OUR CAMPUS!! It's that child's right to be able to walk around the campus with their parent or teacher and not have to ask questions about all the dead bodies on GIANT billboards!
Below I've placed some pictures of their so called "exhibition". Also notice the one with the supposed "Free Speech Board" that was not about free speech because one of the College Republicans (who invited these people on our campus by the way) was going around and crossing out pro-choice messages and adding things like "MURDERER!" next to or over it, so how is that free speech?
The thing that pissed me off even more is that they asked my very wonderful and intelligent black friend how she would feel about being lynched, because lynching and abortion are the same thing. After she told me this I wanted to deck these people because that was over the line. That was spreading hate speech in order to get their point across and that was unnecessary. That was there to instill fear in her and that pisses me off because guess what? Women are not property. Women can not be told what to do with their bodies. Women's bodies are their owns, not their fathers, husbands, or male relatives. It's theirs and theirs alone and they entire concept is that the fetus' life is more important than the mothers.
What gets me is the fact that they were on our campus 4 days before election day, in a traditionally red state, and on a college campus when it's a big given that the young vote will be the deciding factor in this election, so please someone talk me down and tell me it wasn't politically politically motivated.
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So was she saying that women "provoke" rape *just* to get abortions? That's at least about three different ignorant statements in one! Seriously, I'm just picturing it in my head: "Yes! *fist pump* He fell for it! Now that I've been raped, it's just a quick three months and Planned Parenthood, here I come!" Does she seriously think women say that?
I honestly don't know what she was thinking. I think she was just trying very hard to make a point that she was saying anything ignorant thing she could think of. The whole thing is so warped and disgusting that I still feel dirty from the whole slimy thing.
I've re-lost my faith in humanity.
OK, so I clicked the first link and oh my god. Seriously? A freaking bloody abortion video? Why is that ok? What woman agreed to have that shit broadcast on the internet. I hate these graphic scare tactics. The second link has a picture of two bloody fetal arms (only arms, btw) next to a dime, shown juxtaposed with a lynched black man, and holocaust victims' bodies stacked on top of each other. The website went on to lie that abortion is legal without question in all 50 states in all nine months of pregnancy. Puh-lease. Like we feminists are 9 months pregnant going to doctors saying "Yeah, I'm due in two days, but uh, I'd really like to get this whole baby thing nipped in the bud. Changed my mind" I hate that they just LIE like that.
As bad as a lot of anti-choice messages are, these people are the worst to me. I'm Jewish, and that makes me extra-sensitive to people using the Holocaust to spread political beliefs unrelated to genocide or anti-semitism. Every time I run into someone like this I want to punch them in the face and stand over them screaming "how DARE you appropriate MY family's tragedy to lie to people?!" But I don't because I'm not a violent person :)