Makes you stop and think

[buttwhale]

Read the following article for what it is. Reserve your comments or rantings until you have read the entire thing. I am not promoting Palin here, but the comments made by Dr. Lynette Long are quite profound and the resistance she has met from Senator Obama's campaign is a bit disheartening.

Comments

[buttwhale]

No, don't be hurt, please. It's not that a person needs to know what an abortion feels like, per se. Cripes. I'm a woman and I do not know what one feels like, but I can certainly empathize with a woman over being pregnant and not knowing what to do next and being bombarded from all sides on what is best or right for me. Sure, you can respect a woman's right to have one, but can a man truly understand the necessity of it and why it has to remain legal? Yes, you can argue about a woman feeling that way also, but I am going to give a woman's opinion on the matter a bit more weight, even if it is not the same as mine, because she will be able to actually relate to me.

It would be nice to be able to put gender aside, but this election is going to show us just how important gender actually is and that people, women especially, are ready for some serious changes. Regardless of how damaging it may be to this country, people, again mostly women, are tired of doing the same thing over and over gain expecting different results. It's not working.

Do I agree with voting for Palin just because she is a woman. Absolutely not. Can I understand why so many women will do just that? Yea verily. It sucks, but something has got to give.

[iskender]

Well, I get that, and I reply above.

All I can say is that Meg and I got surprised by a pregnancy. As much as anyone can understand and be thankful that Meg could have gotten an abortion if she wanted to, I do. I didn't want to force her either way, to bear a child or terminate the pregnancy.

I understand as well as I can, and I think I understand a little bit more than some people with vaginas can, like Palin. I just... don't like being judged by my physiology without consideration of my experience, you know?

[buttwhale]

I am sorry about that. I am not meaning to judge you, as I know you (and others) have been through situations that may put you more on the side of understanding. You and some men I know are far more understanding of a woman's right to choose than women like Palin.

[iskender]

No, it's fine. I understand you, Steph, and I don't think you really demean me. It's just something that we have to be careful about, because there are a lot of men who are crossing the gender line alongside women, and I like to think I'm one of them. There are other things I need to learn, I know, and I don't dare equate my situation with yours, or Meg's, or any woman's. Because I know there are still advantages I hold. I'm not instantly regarded as irrational if I show emotion or backed-up if I act in a stable manner. I'm the default, and there's a benefit to that.

But patriarchy leaves its marks on the young men, too, and those who try to act as people rather than rigid, artificial archetypes. Anyway, soapbox abandoned. I know you get what I'm saying, and you're my friend for that. I just felt I needed to say it.

By the way, gender discussion continues on my page, where I've taken it in new areas, I hope. I've been doing a lot of reading lately.