March 05, 2005

• I was almost all the way through the LJ post - about five "Stop fucking them"s from the end - when the irony hit me like a trout in the face. In the red corner: "abstinence is the answer to abortion". In the blue corner: "stop fucking". I can't for the life of me decide if this was intentional ("You want abstinence? Here's your abstinence!") or accidental irony, but it sure makes me smile.
• I have a hard time with anyone who refers to an embryo or fetus as a parasite (Lysistrata link). I know, I know, it feeds off the mother (host), and pregnancy certainly can be life threatening, but I still have a hard time with that language, and it certainly is not helping the pro-choice movement to have activists keep using "parasite". Intestines/brains/livers etc. are not specifically made to host organisms. Uteri are. Does this mean that every woman should want to have a baby, and that all embryos or fetuses should be carried to term? Of course not. It just doesn't do any good to try to advance the idea that a fetus is a parasite in the same sense that a tapeworm is a parasite.
• Yeah, I wasn't sure whether we're supposed to get several layers of irony, or if she really meant "stop fucking him" was the only answer. The more interesting thing is that the anti-abortion folks seem to be against contraception (first link.) So, if she's serious, she's supporting the no-choice referendum? Ok, all of you who are screwing around, give up any contraception, get married, and have as many kids as come your way. You heard me. Just do it. There's only one reason for sex. Well, unless you're homosexual, which will be the next topic of mu sermon.
• I think the Dems are smart to push bills that seek to lower the number of abortions to show that they do not see abortion as just one more legitimate birth control option. Put the pressure back on the mouth breathers, is this about abortion or is this about sex? Reducing abortions is a pretty good goal on just about any political radar. Total sexual abstinence outside of marriage starts looking a little excessive and prudish. The right wingers have done a pretty good job of mainstreaming their message and it is time for the other side to show up the extremism in that message.
• Abortion aside, but has anyone, anywhere, ever been able to convince horny teenagers not to have sex, statistically speaking? I find it amazing how many adults seem to forget what it's like after a while.
• fatoudust: no.
• Do you want to reduce abortions, pregnancies, or sex? These should be three different questions, but they're not.
• Personally, I'd like people to have children because they want them. It appears that some sick fucks view them as a punishment for sexual pleasure.
• Goddamn it. Let's think about this from a tactical point of view, assuming that there are at least a couple of liberals out here who are with me. The answer, when presented with something like this, is not to get wrathful and certainly not to imply that the most important way that women can influence men is to withhold sex. The answer is to use this on the moderates who had gone over to Bush in the last couple of years. To anyone who sees abortion as murder, first and foremost, this discredits their current leadership. But the reason not to get hyperdramatic is to keep people who see abortion as murder from getting defensive. If you're a liberal, this is the opportunity to say "Hey, we're really against abortion. It's a terrible thing. Whether it should be illegal or not is a personal decision, but let's both work to make sure that there's fewer of them." This is a time to be friendly toward the (predominantly "Christian valued") lay people of the right. The Lysestrata thing is dumb, written by someone who would do more harm than good if chosen to be the representation of a liberal to Middle America, but the message that there are religious leaders who are right now putting politics above preempting abortions should be the one that gets hammered to every conservative relative, friend and coworker. Not in a smug, "We're better than you because you're hypocrites" way, but in a "Hey, isn't that nuts? Wouldn't you prefer to help us out, really doing something?" Sorry for the rant, but this is an opportunity for liberals and Democrats to get to be the ones who favor what works over what's "perfect." And that'll at least discourage people who might vote (say, in these midterms coming) from pulling for whomever any of these religious jackasses say. (The Democrats: Lesser of the evils!)
• If you're a liberal, this is the opportunity to say "Hey, we're really against abortion. It's a terrible thing. Whether it should be illegal or not is a personal decision, but let's both work to make sure that there's fewer of them." Yup. Try to find some common ground here. Problem is, pro-choice advocates are reluctant to discuss what a rough thing abortion can be, as they're worried about losing rhetorical ground if they do. But surely there's room for those of us who view the practice with some distaste, yet vigorously support a woman's right to make that choice for herself?
• Y'know, it's one of those no-brainer things. Would any woman say "Yeah, I'd rather have an abortion than not get pregnant?" No. This is something that can be emailed to pastors and preachers.
• I dunno, I think the woman has a point. She doesn't say stop having sex period. Just stop fucking those who oppose reproductive rights for women.
• I saw this via my friendslist because I am an LJ dork and I'm torn. Part of the message I agree with - clear up these issues with partners or you may end up in a really thorny situation someday. Part of the message grates on my nerves - sex equals power, women are better than men. And I don't like the tone, though saying fuck in bold a lot is probably what drew people to it in the first place. fuck. in bold. omg. So I don't know. Yes, it is a good idea to not risk getting impregnated if you don't want to be and if that may lead to epic battles over abortion. But I don't like the Lysistrata concept (sorry, all of Western history) because somewhere in my mind, it suggests that that's the only way women can be listened to, and I don't like that. Overreacting, probably, but I still see it as sex == power, sex as weapon (in its absence as well as its presence), and that doesn't sit too well with me. fuck. in bold. I'm edgy. ...as for the main link, I'm really too tired of being irritated by abstinence-only education to go into it. It doesn't work. It doesn't work, it doesn't work, here it is in bold: it doesn't work. Stop teaching them that. But that's never going to make any headway in their minds; it never has.
• Wurwilf - I hear what you're saying. It's wrong to equate sex with power and having that as our only communication tool. But, at the same time, it is a tool - not the only one - but one of the many we have at our disposal. We can talk and write and scream and rant all we want. But what's really going to have any impact on some ignorant man who thinks he's right? He's got his fingers in his ears chanting "la-la-la-la-la-not-listening." Maybe the only thing that will make an impact is withholding sex. Not that I think anyone would really do this. And I have no idea if it'd really work. But it's an interesting thought.
• If he's a jerk who isn't listening, why are you still with him at all, is my hypothetical question. I don't get that. Because it's not "stop dating the bullheaded moron," it's "stay with him, but sulk until he tells you he's changed his mind in order to get in your pants." Just rubs me the wrong way, for that reason, too. (Along with sexual-parts-as-weapon - ew - and women-are-better-than-men.)
• I betcha Remo Williams could use his sexual parts as a weapon.
• Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, but there have to be some women out there dating these jerks. Of course, if they're dating jerks, chances are they don't really have much self esteem/pride/worth anyway, so I guess it's a moot point. I'd hope that something might give these women a wake-up call, and that they in turn could maybe give these jerks a wake-up call. But, like I said, I don't think anyone would really do this.