Random Musings of an Insomniac (may contain triggers, discusses abortion)
Originally posted by flawed_karma at Random Musings of an Insomniac (may contain triggers, discusses abortion)
This is a rare public post. Please feel free to link to it in yor own journals or relevant communities.
Musing the First - Free Speech and Responsibility
Free speech isn't free, and free speech should not be confused with hate speech. You are always entitled to your opinions, but using them to incite hatred and violence doesn't make you cool. It makes you as guilty as those who act on your words.
Think twice before posting your hatred. People can and will act on it. There is no excuse to threaten an entire population because you don't agree with them. I have a strong dislike of Republicans, but I will use my words to fight them, not incite violence towards them.
I am better than that, and so are you.
Musing the Second - Mitt Romney's Stance on Women and Equal Pay
When asked by a reporter if the Romney campaign supported equal pay for women, the response was, "Um, we'll get back to you on that."
We know where Obama stands. Why can't this simple question be answered by a campaign spokesperson? The only conclusion that can be drawn from that is no, Mitt Romney does not support equality for women in the workplace. Yet more anti-women sentiment and a chilling undertone of what the GOP has planned if they take the White House this year. (1)
Musing the Third - On Abortion & Women's Health
Roe v. Wade was not the beginning of women having abortions. It was the END of women dying trying to get abortions via self-abortion tinctures, deliberately drinking too much, coat hangers and other primitive means. It took abortion from a dangerous, often self or friend administered procedure from seedy rooms and disgusting, dangerous conditions to a hospital like environment with professionals performing a necessary, needed service.
Keep the women you love safe. Keep fighting to keep the Government out of a personal, private medical decision. If you don't think the GOP is waging a war on women, take close look at the legislation being passed in GOP states to severely restrict access, not just to abortion, but to inexpensive preventive care including mammograms, PAP smears and BC.
If you think abortion is costing precious lives now, wait until women are dying from desperation of trying to self abort with recipes from the internet or wire hangers in a back alley, underground clinic. Women who are already whole people with lives, and possibly other children to care for. Abortion is not birth control, it is a LAST RESORT for desperate women that need to take drastic action to save their lives economically, professionally, personally or medically.
I personally had an abortion at 26, when I got "oopsed" by a failure of BC pills and antibiotics. No one had warned me. I am not proud of this fact, but I am not ashamed. Given my age, my new marriage, our very tenuous financial situation and my multiple health issues that would make it dangerous to carry a fetus to term, it was the best decision for me.
That abortion likely saved my life. And it saved the child (if it had survived healthy and whole from the cocktail of steroids, narcotics and mood altering medications I had to take regardless of pregnancy) from a disinterested mother that would have carried on a cycle of abuse and neglect. My husband had no desire to be a father, and I am now sterilized.
I'm telling you, my friends, this because women, our bodies, and our right to make decisions about our own healthcare are being systemically stripped from us, state by state, law by law.
Please stand with me and with Planned Parenthood, and stand up for your rights as a woman to determine your own destiny and identity. If the GOP continues legislation on the mass scale they're doing now, all women will lose. We can't be silent. Find out your local, state and Congresspersons and Senators and send them actual, real letters by post voicing your opposition to Personhood Laws and asking them to stand against this assault on women's rights.
If your state if considering a "Personhood Law" that gives a fetus, viable or not, alive or not, the "right" to be born, even if it is dead upon delivery, and dead inside your body for months. The reasoning? If livestock can carry a dead baby to term, so can women.(2)
Please, even if you reject abortion as an option for yourself, consider how many women each year desperately need the procedure to protect themselves, their bodily autonomy, their job, income, and ability to support current or future children. Stop and think. If your daughter, niece, aunt, or mother was raped and turned up pregnant, would you not want her to have the option of aborting the clump of cells invading her like a parasite and taking over her life for at least eighteen years?
I beg of you to speak out against this war on women. And yes, this IS war because WOMEN ARE DYING due to inadequate access to medical care, birth control, and education.
Thank you for your time.
Debate in encouraged, but I ask you keep it polite, without flaming or name calling.
Anyone who flames will be banned and the offensive comment deleted and/or the comment thread frozen.
We are all adults here and I expect you to act like it. You may disagree strongly with anything I've said, or everything. but please behave respectfully towards me and the others you are speaking with and keep your comments free of personal attacks. I will not censor rational, well thought out comments, only those that demean, bully, or personally attack another poster. Anonymous commenting is disabled. If you feel strongly enough to comment, you can be identified by your LJ Name, Open ID or other means of log in.
References:
(1) http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-11/romney-woos-women-as-campaign-stumbles-on-equal-pay-issue
(2) http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/03/09/georgia-republican-compares-women-to-livestock-video/
This is a rare public post. Please feel free to link to it in yor own journals or relevant communities.
Musing the First - Free Speech and Responsibility
Free speech isn't free, and free speech should not be confused with hate speech. You are always entitled to your opinions, but using them to incite hatred and violence doesn't make you cool. It makes you as guilty as those who act on your words.
Think twice before posting your hatred. People can and will act on it. There is no excuse to threaten an entire population because you don't agree with them. I have a strong dislike of Republicans, but I will use my words to fight them, not incite violence towards them.
I am better than that, and so are you.
Musing the Second - Mitt Romney's Stance on Women and Equal Pay
When asked by a reporter if the Romney campaign supported equal pay for women, the response was, "Um, we'll get back to you on that."
We know where Obama stands. Why can't this simple question be answered by a campaign spokesperson? The only conclusion that can be drawn from that is no, Mitt Romney does not support equality for women in the workplace. Yet more anti-women sentiment and a chilling undertone of what the GOP has planned if they take the White House this year. (1)
Musing the Third - On Abortion & Women's Health
Roe v. Wade was not the beginning of women having abortions. It was the END of women dying trying to get abortions via self-abortion tinctures, deliberately drinking too much, coat hangers and other primitive means. It took abortion from a dangerous, often self or friend administered procedure from seedy rooms and disgusting, dangerous conditions to a hospital like environment with professionals performing a necessary, needed service.
Keep the women you love safe. Keep fighting to keep the Government out of a personal, private medical decision. If you don't think the GOP is waging a war on women, take close look at the legislation being passed in GOP states to severely restrict access, not just to abortion, but to inexpensive preventive care including mammograms, PAP smears and BC.
If you think abortion is costing precious lives now, wait until women are dying from desperation of trying to self abort with recipes from the internet or wire hangers in a back alley, underground clinic. Women who are already whole people with lives, and possibly other children to care for. Abortion is not birth control, it is a LAST RESORT for desperate women that need to take drastic action to save their lives economically, professionally, personally or medically.
I personally had an abortion at 26, when I got "oopsed" by a failure of BC pills and antibiotics. No one had warned me. I am not proud of this fact, but I am not ashamed. Given my age, my new marriage, our very tenuous financial situation and my multiple health issues that would make it dangerous to carry a fetus to term, it was the best decision for me.
That abortion likely saved my life. And it saved the child (if it had survived healthy and whole from the cocktail of steroids, narcotics and mood altering medications I had to take regardless of pregnancy) from a disinterested mother that would have carried on a cycle of abuse and neglect. My husband had no desire to be a father, and I am now sterilized.
I'm telling you, my friends, this because women, our bodies, and our right to make decisions about our own healthcare are being systemically stripped from us, state by state, law by law.
Please stand with me and with Planned Parenthood, and stand up for your rights as a woman to determine your own destiny and identity. If the GOP continues legislation on the mass scale they're doing now, all women will lose. We can't be silent. Find out your local, state and Congresspersons and Senators and send them actual, real letters by post voicing your opposition to Personhood Laws and asking them to stand against this assault on women's rights.
If your state if considering a "Personhood Law" that gives a fetus, viable or not, alive or not, the "right" to be born, even if it is dead upon delivery, and dead inside your body for months. The reasoning? If livestock can carry a dead baby to term, so can women.(2)
Please, even if you reject abortion as an option for yourself, consider how many women each year desperately need the procedure to protect themselves, their bodily autonomy, their job, income, and ability to support current or future children. Stop and think. If your daughter, niece, aunt, or mother was raped and turned up pregnant, would you not want her to have the option of aborting the clump of cells invading her like a parasite and taking over her life for at least eighteen years?
I beg of you to speak out against this war on women. And yes, this IS war because WOMEN ARE DYING due to inadequate access to medical care, birth control, and education.
Thank you for your time.
Debate in encouraged, but I ask you keep it polite, without flaming or name calling.
Anyone who flames will be banned and the offensive comment deleted and/or the comment thread frozen.
We are all adults here and I expect you to act like it. You may disagree strongly with anything I've said, or everything. but please behave respectfully towards me and the others you are speaking with and keep your comments free of personal attacks. I will not censor rational, well thought out comments, only those that demean, bully, or personally attack another poster. Anonymous commenting is disabled. If you feel strongly enough to comment, you can be identified by your LJ Name, Open ID or other means of log in.
References:
(1) http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-11/romney-woos-women-as-campaign-stumbles-on-equal-pay-issue
(2) http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/03/09/georgia-republican-compares-women-to-livestock-video/