Tag: women’s rights

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The Case For Primary Day

Last night was a lot. Super Tuesday is always a crazy day for the candidates in primary races, and for the voters who support them, but the addition of social media (specifically Twitter) and the media commentary with stations calling winners as soon as polls close made it even more frenzied. And although there are clearly two candidates pulling ahead at this point, it could still be anyone’s game.

On Twitter last night, there was a rash of Bernie supporters (or bots – it is hard to tell the difference between them and bros at this point) attacking Warren supporters. The conversation went basically like this:

Warren supporter: I am so disappointed that Biden is winning.
Bernie supporter: Your candidate needs to drop out.
Warren supporter: There are still 2/3 of the delegates remaining after tonight so, no, my candidate can continue on in the race just like everyone else.
Bernie supporter: Your candidate needs to drop out. She is ruining the race. She is going to be the reason Bernie loses.
Warren supporter: Bernie is the reason Bernie will lose, if he loses. Why aren’t you telling Biden or Bloomberg supporters that their candidate should drop out.
Bernie supporter: …
Warren supporter: I figured. Misogyny. Blocked.
Bernie supporter: One vagina down – 169 million to go

So yes, the above is an over emphasized version of real twitter conversations, but you can see what is happening here, right? Even if these are bots that are interfering with twitter feeds, they are acting as trolls for Bernie. And they are energizing real Bernie supporters to continue the toxic rhetoric.

We saw a surge for Biden last night because many people are not on Twitter (lucky for them) and they are not seeing all the vitriol that gets spewed during online disagreement. But many of the people that are not on Twitter are certainly still on Facebook and that platform can be just as rough when it comes to political discourse.

The solution? Primary Day! Instead of dragging this process out over many months, why not have a few debates, early on, with the full candidate field present and then, in late winter, have ONE DAY where everyone goes to the polls and chooses their candidate based on the information each voter has gleaned from the campaigns, up to that point. This would close the door on Twitter discourse as it is now because the opportunity to smear each other between primary days would be removed.

Voters would have to be informed in the voting booth and truly vote their personal preference, rather than being swayed by earlier primary outcomes.

Yes – this might ruin the strategies of candidates like Biden, who got a huge boost from South Carolina and the suspension of the Buttigieg and Klobuchar campaigns on Monday night, but it would make it more fair across the board. This would also remove all the media commentary that happens between primary days and unite us behind the one candidate that prevails. Candidates are talking a big game about uniting behind the front runner, but pushing people out prior to even 50% of the delegates being assigned proves that they are not willing to stand behind their claims. Again – this would be alleviated by assigning all the delegates on one day. Primary day!

Also – sidenote – I truly believe that if everyone who likes Elizabeth Warren as a candidate, voted for her in the primary and the general we would have a President Warren. But, unfortunately, people still don’t think that a woman can win. The thing is if we all voted for her, she could, but if we keep believing a woman CANNOT win, she will never win because everyone is too scared to just vote for the MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE. You know? Seriously. Disappointing.

I would also like to say THANK YOU to Rachel Maddow for attempting to bring some levity to the discussion on MSNBC last night. When she saw that Biden and Sanders were the only two faces that kept coming up for the visuals during the calls for each State she pushed the producers to show the full field so as not to box out Warren, which is what generally would happen in that case. This also showed the full field, which is important for the country to see. We can’t keep showing two dudes over and over and over on the screen and expect people to ever envision a woman as a feasible candidate. As you know, representation matters.

Primary Day is a feasible plan and fairest for all candidates. It would prioritize party unity over trolling for one candidate. Twitter will always be twitter and the trolling will continue, but at least it wouldn’t effect the one day primary in the way that it has during these staggered events. Also – candidates like Bloomberg wouldn’t be able to jump it at the last minute in order to be on the ballot. Everyone would have the same deadline and have to make the case for themselves in real time, at the same time as every other candidate.

I think this would solve a lot of the speculation and infighting that is caused by the current system and help us all have less blood pressure spikes throughout the election season. What do you think? Let me know in the comments. I look forward to a lively discourse on this. We can’t solve all the issues now, but we can start coming up with plans to fix things and then follow through with the plans. Hmm – plans – what a NOVEL concept, right?

Peace, Chantale

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Christianity’s History of Oppression aka Hypocrites of the High Seas – a series

Hello lovely readers! I hope you are having a wonderful evening and are ready for some meaty material. I have been studying Christian Patriarchy, MRAs, and other misogynistic practices for a little while now and decided to write a multi-part series detailing some of the information that I have come across in my travels. So, without further ado, here is the first segment in the series. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, please share this piece with friends and enemies alike!

You might not think that Evangelical viewpoints have anything to do with you. If you come from another religious tradition or no religious tradition, you may feel comfortable living in America, because it is known as the home of the free. We take for granted the separation of Church and State and we couldn’t possibly be like other countries that have national religions and oppress their people based on religious doctrine.

If this is what you think, I will give you a moment to Google and mull that thought over.

Unfortunately, the separation of Church and State that we have always assumed was our earthly right is being eroded in our country. It has been for many years, but with this POTUS* we see the agenda much more clearly. Not only did he promise to dismantle women’s, gay, and civil rights, but he has shown himself to be a white nationalist and a misogynist. He was the one candidate on the Republican side of the aisle that was willing to do whatever it took to win and what it took was promising the Evangelicals that he would be their guy.

“Still”, you ask, “does this really affect me? I mean – I feel pretty safe here in America because I was born here and I pay my taxes. I think I can overlook the craziness of this administration because in a year we will be rid of this POTUS*.” And my answer to you is, YES. It affects you. It affects every single one of us. It even affects the Christians that think they are doing what is right. We are moving toward a nation that is not free and that will hurt EVERYONE.

How do we fix it? First, we need to understand the people who are lobbying for changes in our society. Evangelicals have a specific belief system that prioritizes the power of men over women. The most obvious example of this is something called ‘Biblical Patriarchy’ or ‘Christian Patriarchy’. This form of patriarchy is not very different from the definition of patriarchy that exists in modern society, and it could be said to be the basis for this modern understanding. Christian Patriarchy touts the idea that men are the head of the household inasmuch as they oversee their wives and children and direct their lives. Women are, in this scenario, considered helpers and their domain is merely the home. According to a literal reading of the Bible, women are responsible for raising the children in the way that their husband has set forth. Here is an example of this structure that I have seen shared in many online forums to describe this movement, with verse references:

Original creator unknown – The Biblical Model for Godly Homes

That last line is chilling. They have, 100%, worked in that direction and with the current administration they are getting many of the things that they have been striving toward. But why are they so powerful? How did they get someone elected who would move America away from the separation of Church and State and toward a ‘Christian’ nation? The better question is how can we turn this ship around? If we don’t understand the Christian Patriarchy Movement, we are defenseless against what it could do to hurt our Egalitarian society. We have issues with Patriarchy, on the daily, in our secular lives, but adding Christian Patriarchy to the mix takes the struggle for equality to another level.

Again you may wonder: What exactly does this have to do with me? Christian Patriarchy spreads across all denominations of Christianity. It is not just centered on Evangelicals, although we often see them as the largest faction within this movement. Evangelicals have successfully lobbied all levels of government to put their agenda front and center.

Consider this movement as a cruise ship. The Evangelicals and other Christian Patriarchy movement folks are all on the cruise ship and they offer everyone a ticket to their cruise but in order to board you have to leave behind some of the pieces of your identity that you may or may not be able to shed. In essence, you are either on the cruise ship, willing to get on the cruise ship, lost at sea on a raft or small craft, or simply treading water, for eternity.

  1. First you have to believe in their God and only their God.  Being born-again is essential, so if you are anything other than a Christian before you set foot on the ship, you need to change your religion.
    Several States have passed bills to display “In God We Trust” and/or the 10 Commandments in front of or on government buildings and on public property. This is in opposition to the Separation of Church and State, but the Evangelical folks don’t believe that it applies to them. To them, the separation isn’t protecting them, it is restricting them. Bonkers.
  2. If you are a woman, you need to put men in charge of your body (preferably White men, but we’ll get to that in a moment).  If you are a feminist, you can’t get on the ship.
    The current POTUS* has installed two judges that are anti-choice and successfully won a majority of conservative judges on the SCOTUS. This is a move toward dismantling a basic right for women to control our bodies. Christian Patriarchy folks also believe that birth control kills babies (because of course people who don’t believe in science wouldn’t understand how medicine actually works – clue – birth control pills DON’T actually kill babies, they prevent ovulation) so the next step in the legislation of this kind is to outlaw birth control pills. This is a thing that could happen in the near future if we don’t fight against it with actual scientific facts, legislation to retain the rights of women to have basic healthcare, including contraceptives, and elect more progressive people to overturn the conservative seats in the US Senate. Basically, feminists have won many rights for women that allow us to control our bodies and futures, and the Christian Patriarchy peeps do not appreciate that. So – no cruising for the feminists.
  3. If you are anything other than CIS and heterosexual, you are unable to board. All the LGBTQPIA2S+ folks are out of luck.
    Legislation in this area started with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), bathroom bills that require individuals to present ID to prove their gender identity matches the sex that was assigned to them at birth, and bills that give cover to adoption agencies that favor straight couples to gay couples going as far as allowing these agencies to use religion as a means to discriminate against couples if they do not meet the criteria of sexual orientation. And we all know about the ‘Hobby Lobby’ case and what I like to call ‘it’s just fucking cake’ legislation. So I guess there will be no LGBTQPIA2S+ folks on the ship either. My goodness how boring it will be.
  4. Can I get on this cruise ship if I’m not White or is there a segregation clause as well?
    Well – there isn’t a segregation clause, per se, but you would need to denounce affiliation with any group striving for Civil Rights in the United States or that the cruise directors generally deem unnecessary or unworthy. This would include Black Lives Matter, the Black Panther Party, the Poor People’s Campaign, the NAACP, Affirmative Action, and any other group that is striving to help people of colour gain equality in the United States. This also extends to anti-fascist (and therefore anti-nazi and anti-white supremacist) groups, anti-hate groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or the ACLU, and any other group that seeks to make things fair across all of humanity. If you are or have ever been a member (or ever shown an affinity even for any of these groups) you will not be permitted to board.

So after all of that I say – keep your damn cruise ship, conservatives! Travel the high seas with your posse of bigots and leave the land to the rest of us.

If only it were that easy. Since we cannot exile the zealots to a ship, we have to continue fighting for our own rights here in America. We have to make this land free for EVERYONE, not just the conservative, White, religious folks. To do that, we have to join organizations, fund causes, and march. Our lives truly depend on us all partaking in the experiment that is America and getting active is the only way to ensure a better future for all. Rise up and stay standing for human rights!

Peace and keep up the fight!

Chantale – aka hippiegrrl

A few appropriate links:
Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Map – You would think that the deep south would have the most hate groups, but check out New York and California!
ACLU
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Human Rights Campaign
Black Lives Matter
NAACP
Poor Peoples Campaign
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Homophobic Tumblr post transformed into a LGBTI dystopian YA novel

Next up in this series: Twitter, Trolls, and Trumpsters. How are these movements connected to organized religion? Get ready for some interesting information to aid in your fight for good. DWP!

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Dudes and Women’s Rights

Why do dudes think they have any claim to women’s rights in the United States?

I am in a cafe in Alabama and The Dudes Sitting Across From Me are two White, straight, cis dudes of means in their late 20s. They are discussing choice. Yes, choice. Women’s choice. I was hoping that they would be pro-choice because the cafe I am sitting in is pretty hip and progressive, but no – they are talking about how happy they are about the Alabama laws that have recently been passed to restrict abortion to 6 weeks. They want it to go farther and hope that abortion will be eradicated eventually. They look like two young dudes would, sitting at a table in a cafe, talking about the future of what women have the right to do with THEIR bodies. But they have thoughts on choice – something that has NOTHING to do with their own bodies. This surreal to me. How can their opinion mean anything at all?

Now don’t get me wrong – this is not a conversation you will solely hear in Alabama. I have been sitting in cafes in Buffalo, NY where I have heard dudes having similar conversations. The movement to take rights away from women is national – international even. Women have been consistently and constantly fighting for a little more power in the world while dudes are working to take those rights away.

The people that I take issue with, as much as the dudes, are the women who have stood, and will continue to stand, by these dudes even at their own detriment. The women who voted for Trump. The women who don’t believe other women should work outside the home. The women who think that women without children are horrible people. The women who see those of us who would choose to end a pregnancy as murderers, rather than women taking care of our bodies based on decisions we should be allowed to make for ourselves without state or federal intervention.

But let’s get back to the dudes. You may ask why The Dudes Sitting Across From Me believe they can STILL oppress us, even after 100 years of women having the right to vote. You may wonder why they think women of colour should have even fewer rights than white women. You may be confused about why dudes think that we as a civilization should continue on this patriarchal path. The answer is simple: fear. They are afraid because they can see that straight white dudes of means are quickly becoming a minority. So they gather and make their MRAesque plans for the future and devise schemes to keep the women down. A matriarchal society scares the shit out of them and they are doing everything they can to keep us from rising up as one.

And here is the key – women from all parts of this country need to stick together no matter our backgrounds or political affiliations. We need to vote as a bloc in this next election to oust the misogynist-in-chief from office so he can’t do 4 more years of damage to our FREE nation. We still haven’t seen full freedom for women and, most especially, freedom for women of colour and lgbtq+ women. If we don’t work to change the trajectory of the political system we will never see these freedoms. We will lose more and more freedoms steadily each day – eventually leading to that future dystopia people love to read and write about and watch on television, but don’t truly believe could happen.

If we are not careful it can happen. As evidenced by The Dudes Sitting Across From Me in this cafe, and sitting in cafes all across this nation, plotting the end of women’s rights. They may not frame it that way but that is EXACTLY what they are working on. They think it is for the best, but it is only the best for them. Straight, white, cis, dudes of means. That’s it. The rest of us can basically go scratch in their estimation. They want the world to serve them.

If the rest of us stick together and do our civic duty in 2020 by voting for the Democratic candidate, we can show them that we are not here to serve, but to live in peace and harmony with one another and, in the end, to lead. What The Dudes Sitting Across From Me don’t want you to know is that they are quickly becoming a minority and that scares them more than anything. They don’t understand that we won’t treat them the way they have treated us for 300+ years. We will be fair when we are in power. That is the difference between us and them.

So who are The Dudes Sitting Across From You? Do you want to show them that the world is made for all of us? Then join us! Make this country a better place. VOTE for the Dem in 2020 and take the country back. We can repair the damage done, but only if we rescue the nation from the brink of another 4 years of disastrous leadership. Together we can make things better and move forward in a positive and hopeful direction.

Peace and happy organizing!

Chantale aka hippiegrrl

Links to visit:
Kamala Harris for the People
Elizabeth Warren
Julian Castro
Pete Buttigieg
Cory Booker

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How To Make Things Better

What Happened?

We could have had it all. We could have had a leader that would understand our place in the world and act accordingly. A President that would have led us to a better place as a society. A President that understands America’s place in the world and would have governed accordingly. We could have had a President that cares about social justice and human rights for ALL. Instead – we got the opposite of all that. We got a dud. The Electoral College math was in favour of the worst human possible for the job and he slimed his way into the highest office in the land. Now, we are slowly moving toward demise as a ‘great nation’. Our status in the world has been diminished by someone that has no clue how to be a successful businessman, let alone President of the United States. A President that would rather tweet about the media and how he feels they attack him. A President that just says whatever comes to mind, no matter how detrimental it might be for the citizens of this country. A President that only cares about being liked, which, in turn, has led us down a path of horrible outcomes. A President that has tarnished the highest court in the land by adding a second accused sex offender to it’s ranks.

Hillary

What Do We Do Now?

Vote! Vote like your life depends on it (because it does). Vote like the lives of your family members and friends depend on it (because they do). Vote for peace and justice. Vote to remove the disgusting old, white, dudes that are clogging up the system with their misogynistic views of the world. Vote to turn the House blue. We need it. The only way to right the ship that is America is to vote out these horrible people who have been killing our country with their rhetoric. Vote to remove those that do not believe in freedom for all. And then, after you have done your civic duty and voted, take to the streets and raise your voices! Find a protest and MARCH! Civil disobedience shows the world that we are on the side of right and that we do not agree with the people who are currently in power.

Find Your Polling Place

If you have not already, please check here to see if and where you are registered to vote. The deadlines are mostly passed, but hopefully, you are registered in your area. Take a look at the requirements and be prepared at the polls. There may be voter suppression at your polling place, so take special care to be prepared (both mentally and with proof of residency).

See You On The Other Side

If we all band together and raise our voices – both in the voting booth and on the streets – we can bring our country back to where it needs to be. We can move forward in a positive direction. We can find peace and justice for all. This experiment in democracy is not at the end, but the beginning. We can make this a better country and, by extension, a better world.

Additional Resources

Rock The Vote
The 2018 Midterm Elections
24 Acts of Self Care Perfect for Concerned Americans

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New Year, New World

We all thought that 2016 was the worst year on record (and I would definitely venture to say that music-wise, it was a pretty bad year considering how many great artists we lost – Pop star deaths in 2016), but 2017 saw that disaster and raised it to extreme levels. Seriously. Is it safe to say that 2018 will be better? If nothing else, the wounds that have been festering for all of eternity when it comes to women’s place in the world have been peeled wide open. The sadness that comes along with the realization that women are still trying to conquer workplace harassment and violence, across industries, coupled with the anger that has been re-directed at the perpetrators will be the catalyst for change throughout the working world. These changes are LONG overdue and hopefully, we can continue the trend of calling out horrible people and holding them accountable moving forward. Never shall we go back to the days of just ‘letting shit go’. We said no more and we meant it.

But for real, can 2018 be better? Can we move forward with positivity, leaving behind the hopelessness that has been present for most of eternity? Can we build upon the good things that happened in this particularly horrible year and bring about a change like the world has never seen? Can we finally and for all time, dismantle the patriarchy?

I usually do a year-end/year beginning post that is positive and uplifting. A post that charts out the things that I would like to do during the new year to make things better. But, I think for 2018, I’m just going to say let’s keep the momentum up! Let’s continue on this great path of change that has been sparked by so many women (and a few men as well) coming forward to name their predators and keep pushing for the removal and downfall of men who, for too long, have felt it okay to do and say whatever they wanted, without repercussions. This includes the current POTUS. He needs to go and 2018 is the year to do it. He should be the first president to be impeached AND removed from office. Let’s make history in that way and make this country great for EVERYONE again.

2018 should be the year that we see the white supremacists pay for what they have done throughout history. Their leader needs to fall from grace and they should also be outed in ways that hurt them. People that believe any one race is better than all the other races should be called out for their bullshit. If they march with tiki torches (as they did in 2017) they should be given a special place on the internet to be seen so that their employers can take action by letting them go. If they are hurt financially by their stance, so be it. That is the punishment you receive for being a racist asshole.

2018 should be the year that we see the demise of right-wing Christian organizations that lobby against all citizens having the right to marry. Hard fought rights should not be torn down for one group’s religious belief system. This is America. We ALL have rights, no matter our religion and Evangelicals need to learn that lesson in a way that shuts them up. You don’t have to change your mind about the world, but you certainly need to mind your own business. Lobbying for laws that restrict the rights of others is not Christian, but if you belong to a sect of Christianity that believes it is, you should simply continue your worship in private. Changing the world for your morals is not cool. The rest of us want to be able to live freely without you making laws to restrict our rights that are based on your archaic view of the world. Stop trying to shove your traditional values down our throats. Concentrate on your own houses and leave the rest of us alone.

2018 should be the year that we rebuild the world in a better image than the one that has been persistent for the whole history of time. Gain a new understanding of each other as humans and the ability to give each other credit for our strengths. We should move forward with positive force and allow humans to compete on an even playing field with one another. This should be the year that we learn, indeed, women are capable of leading our country. Even though we still haven’t had a woman president, it is possible. The only requirement for POTUS should be a sharp mind. There shouldn’t be any kind of restriction based on sex organs. And, I suppose, judging from our current leader, a highly intelligent mind is not even a requirement, but it would be a useful thing to have. We prefer smart presidents, as we should. After all, they do hold a bit of the future of our country in their hands. 2018 should be the year that we, in earnest, work toward a better set of presidential candidates. Regardless of their sex organs, or skin colour, or religion – we should be searching for the best and the brightest from all cultures and backgrounds. Our future depends on it.

So – will you join me on a positive path? Or are you still committed to the old ways of the world? Do you still feel like women should be merely mothers and wives? That they should stay in the kitchen and out of politics? If this is the case, I don’t want to know you anymore. I realize that to be open-minded means that you should retain friends and acquaintances that think differently from you, but I’m over it. I cannot be in close contact with people that are so backward in their thinking anymore. If you don’t believe that every human is equal, I cannot relate to you anymore. So, I suppose what I’m saying is, 2018 will be the year that I move forward without the baggage of the past. If you are hateful toward others, due to the fact that those other people are different in any way from you, I’m done interacting with you. Have a great life – good luck to you – I hope that your way of living serves you well. I have my doubts, but hey, it’s your life to live. If instead, you want to join me on the right side of history, I’m here for you. Welcome to a new year and a new way of being.

Love and peace always,

Chantale (aka hippiegrrl)

relevant links:

7 Ways 2018 Will Be Better Than 2017

How To Do Things Better in 2018

Positivity

Priorities

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Women Really CAN Do Anything

Remember when we were kids, in the 80s, and the teachers would say, “you can be anything you want to be”? They encouraged us to work hard and we would succeed. I get that we were raised in a time when that seemed to be true, but as a girl I never had the feeling that it was.

This year, we are finally seeing a shift toward the ideals we were taught as children. But it is not without pushback. Unfortunately the pushing back is not just coming from the standard, “other side” contingent, but also from inside the party of progress.

Bernie Sanders ran in the Democratic Primary to push the party in a more progressive direction and this was truly a good thing. The unfortunate outcome of his campaign, though, was the creation of BernieBros. These (mostly) dudes refuse to give up, even in the face of Senator Sanders concession on the floor of the convention. They continue to complain on social media and attack those who are trying to be happy for the historical progress we are making with the nomination of the first woman for President on the Democratic Party line.

Let me pause here to just ponder that last sentence. The first woman, in 240 years, to get this far in a presidential race in the United States. This is extremely important. It is a moment in time that we must recognize as important. Whether you vote for her or not, you must at least admit that this time is important.

But why? Why is it such a big deal? Well, think back to how I started this post. When I was a little girl, growing up in the 80s, I was told I could be anything. But people don’t truly believe that things are possible until they can see other people like them doing those things. Until a woman leads the United States, other women cannot truly believe it is possible. Someone has to go first. And it is important.

So, if you have children, especially girls, you need to have them watch the DNC tonight when Secretary Clinton accepts the nomination. It is an important part of our history and it shatters a glass ceiling that has been sealed for 240 years. We should be sharing this moment with the young ones. We should be celebrating. This is a wonderful time and I’m not going to let the BernieBros, or the Racist Trumpites, or the Evangelicals who are afraid of female power, get me down.

My one wish, that will unfortunately not come true, is for my niece to see this moment. She should be exposed to this wonderful time in history and all the doors it opens for her future. She should be taught that she can do anything she wants and see other women who are doing those things. She needs strong female role models to counteract the messages she is fed through fundamentalist sources. I cannot change the path of the future for her, but I hope that someday she finds it on her own. Women truly can do anything and my wish for her is that she has the opportunity to see and feel that fact.

Enjoy the convention. Let the moment wash over you. We are a part of this awesome time in history and we must carry it through into November!

Peace,
Chantale aka hippiegrrl

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2003.1.23 – roe vs. wade, 30 years later

They came, they saw, they fizzled out. Thus was the plight of the “Army of God” in Buffalo, New York. Wednesday, January 22, 2003 marked the 30th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision, meanwhile, in Buffalo, the trial of James Kopp continues.

“the hate filled want to build bunkers in your beautiful red earth, they want to build them in our shiny white snow…”

Mr. Kopp has confessed to shooting Dr. Barnett Slepian, in his home, in October of 1998. The previously mentioned “Army of God” believes that Kopp was justified in what he did because it helped save babies from being aborted. The so-called army descended on Buffalo this week to whip up support for their newly crowned hero, Kopp.

As many of you may know, Buffalo is a pretty cold place to live. Winters are harsh and not really conducive to protesting and rallying. The “Army” numbered about 12, and looked more like a gang than anything else. Toting signs that stated “Save a Baby, Call a Kopp” and other wonderful anti-abortion slogans, they froze their butts off in defense of what they believe to be a worthy cause.

“So they went and stuffed God down the barrel of a gun, and after Him they stuffed His only son”

The irony of the crusade is what really strikes me. Apparently, it is okay to shoot and kill Doctors, but not okay to abort babies. If they were truly pro-life, as they claim to be, they would be wholeheartedly against the killing of anyone. This includes the doctors who perform abortions.

As you may have guessed, I am a staunch pro-choice supporter. I have always been and always will be a proponent of a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body.

Politics and religion have no place in the womb.

This may not be a shared view, but it is mine and I am entitled to any opinion I have. After all, that is what being a human is about. We are thinking animals and even when we don?t agree we should be able to appreciate the fact that individuals come to opinions after much deliberation.

“a bullet marked ‘right to life’, whizzed past his kids and his wife, and knocked his glasses right off of his face…”

On both sides of the abortion issue there are valid points to be made, I just really feel that in the end it all comes down to the fact that this is my body and nobody can make decisions for me about what I want to do with it. In the end, whether abortion is legal or not, women will continue to make the choice. The difference is that when abortion is not legal the choice becomes much more dark and dangerous.

Certainly a wire hanger is not the answer, but in desperation choices become cloudy.

Abortion will always be a hot button in American society. There is absolutely no way around it. On both sides of the issue opinions and feelings run strong. It is a never-ending battle of politics and personal views that will just keep circling around and around for centuries to come.

The important thing is to keep the Roe vs. Wade decision upheld, so as to not lose the legal means of this procedure. Women will continue to have control over their bodies and the choices that they make, but without the legal means of abortion many women will perish as a result of half-assed procedures.

If we learn nothing else from the debate on choice, we must keep in mind this fact – criminalizing abortion does not stop it from happening, it just makes it more dangerous.

Peace –
Hippiegrrl

All quotes in this piece are attributed to Ani Difranco, from her song “Hello Birmingham”.