07 March 2006 @ 02:28 pm
Serious Stuff  
link seen in [livejournal.com profile] roundrockronin's LJ: South Dakota Bans Most Abortions, The information itself wasn't new but this quote from the esteemed governor was waving the red cape for me:

"We must help each mother to see the value of the gift that is a child, and nurture the mother for her own sake and for the sake of her child," Rounds said in the statement.

To which I reply: Pardon me if I vomit while the government kindly explains it all to poor little, confused me about how blessed I am.

Fuck. You. Very. Much.

I don't need a sanctimonious prick to make my decisions for me. I can screw up all on my own; I can succeed all on my own. I am the one who must live with the consequences, physical and emotional, of my actions. That's what being an adult is all about and consigning women to an infantalized class that must be nurtured makes me want to puke.

I really don't want to be so angry over this. I hate being angry; I don't like the person I am when I'm angry like this. Once I get over the hump of my anger, I think I'll check into what is happening with the move to amend the Constitution with an explicit statement that citizens have a right to privacy. I helped defend clinics during the 1990 1992 convention and I'd really prefer that it not be a cyclical need. I'm tired of the bullshit answers to Congress, the rear-guard action to protect choice. If my viewpoint loses, so be it but let it be an open loss rather than the death of a thousand cuts.

I'd been thinking over the past few months about the Right to Privacy, about how it relates to my fundamental morals, and about how the social issues that most distress me all stem from government encroachment on what I see as a fundamental human right.
 
 
Current Mood: livid
 
 
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Mish: Cath Iz Mad[identity profile] hsapiens.livejournal.com on March 7th, 2006 09:46 pm (UTC)
Part of why I don't like being angry like this is that I respond with bitterness and I lose my sense of humor. Not who I want to be.

Even if men suddenly gained the ability to bear children (can you imagine how we'd drown in the resulting tide of mpreg fics??), I still wouldn't give any credence to this man's opinion about what I, or any other person, ought to do. Plenty of women are in the anti-choice movement and I don't give them any credence.

I am fundamentally opposed to any person or government entity telling a consenting adult what he or she may or may not do with his/her body. In this, I suppose I'm more a Libertarian than a Democrat. I figure we're born with very little that is truly ours, but our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls are most definitely not anyone's but our own.
Mish: Cath Iz Mad[identity profile] hsapiens.livejournal.com on March 7th, 2006 09:50 pm (UTC)
*sigh* Bad editing job.

Part of why I don't like being angry like this is that I respond with bitterness and I lose my sense of humor. Not who I want to be.

Should have said, "Part of why I don't like being angry like this is that I, too, get stomach cramps; I respond with bitterness and I lose my sense of humor. Not who I want to be."
[identity profile] darksylvia.livejournal.com on March 7th, 2006 10:36 pm (UTC)
Most of the women that are anti-choice have still never been in a tough situation like that and seemingly lack the imagination to put themselves in those women's shoes.

But I'm mostly libertarian about a lot of issues, too. I go against control more than anything else.

I'm already bitter. I wish I could do more to help, like those female doctors who bought a boat and sailed around the world offering abortions in international waters for women in countries who have banned abortion.
Mish: Cath Iz Mad[identity profile] hsapiens.livejournal.com on March 8th, 2006 01:48 am (UTC)
Empathy is an underappreciated ability. I often see smug superiority in those who make it their mission to tell rather than show others how to live righteous lives just like theirs.

I spent a lot of time being bitter during my college years; I even bought a Swedish language tape because I figured eventually I'd have to end up an ex-pat. I didn't get past learning how to say, "Good Dog!" in Swedish but the thought of emigrating was there. Thankfully, I've since discovered Vancouver. *g*

The Clinton years were a respite and allowed me to un-bitter quite a bit. I hope the next Democratic nominee for prez is capable of campaigning. *fingers crossed* I hope the Dems can figure out how to channel dissatisfaction with the current Repugs in Charge into actual votes at the ballot box. *toes crossed*