Thursday, July 18, 2013

Nature vs. Nurture - One woman's journey to discover the true value of human life...



"I was born to a real life, 100%, granola eating, acid dropping, hairy legged hippie who raised me to always be proud of my womanly capabilities. I knew at a young age the importance of things like breastfeeding etc. She taught me the "my body, my choice" religion. I can even remember writing research papers about the rightness of "pro-choice". When I was 11 I watched my mother bring my baby sister into this world. I witnessed first hand the utter miracle that is birth. When my sister was a day old I was in the hospital room keeping my mom company when the birth certificate worker came by to get the baby's information. I beamed with pride over my new sister as the worker asked routine question about my mother, and her health history. Then the question came. "Have you ever had an abortion?" My mothers answer? "Yes." I felt the blood leave my head. "How many?" "3." I thought I was going to be sick. It was one thing to preach "pro-choice", it was quite another to know you are only here because 3 of your siblings are dead. I wanted to cry. I looked at my sister wondering why she, and I, and my older sister were here. Why did we get to come, but the first 3 didn't? What if they had? Would I not be here? Flash forward 12 years; only 2 months into my marriage, and what do we get? A big fat positive pregnancy test. Wasn't exactly planning that. And for a split second, there was a fleeting thought..."Do I even want this?" I had to stop myself. I was right back in that hospital room with my mom and that feeling of disgust and shock. How could I even think that?! Because when it really sank in, that I was pregnant, I knew without a doubt, that I had a human baby inside me. And not just my human baby, my new husbands too. And when I finally welcomed her into this world (11 days past due!) that was it. Proof. These are people too, humans, not just a clump of cells. If that were the case, then that is all I am too. But until now, I haven't owned this belief. I felt like I was betraying my political party with this conviction. Well guess what, humans, all humans, no matter the size, are worth more to me than a political group.

...I also want to say that I still love my mother and respect her. She has taught me so much, and whether she meant to or not, she taught me to value life. And for that I am grateful."

-Kay Rogers

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

An Open Letter To Radical Pro-Choice Feminists...



Dear Sir or Madame,

Let’s get something straight; I don’t want anything to do with your uterus… your vagina… or your womb. And honestly, I think you know that.

I think you realize our opposition to abortion has nothing to do with your lady bits, and
everything to do with the limb by limb dissection of the child up above said goodies, but you don’t want us to think about that. I mean, who would? So instead you play this little game, where you scrawl catching slogans about your vajay across a sign, and pretend like the only reason we could possibly want to rid the world of abortion is because we are all sexually repressed and disgusted by vaginas or something. Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but that could not be further from the truth. I love sex. I love awesome sex. I have awesome sex. Often. And I sure as hell respect and admire my goods far more than you do, namely because I’ve seen what ALL they are capable of when they work together. I know the power my body holds. I revere it. It can make people with it. No, no, wait, really let that sink in… I. can. make. people. Oh yeah, and I feel I should point out, not with my “VAGINA!!!!” I believe there’s a lower case spelling of that word, but never once have I seen it used by your camp, so I’ll stick with what you know. Don’t get me wrong, my V is a wonderful delicate flower in a beautiful garden and all that other lame stuff our moms told us when we were like ten, but it does not make babies, it’s merely the portal. A super rad portal. So again, “VAGINAS!!!” do. not. make. babies. They’re capable of so much other awesome stuff, I do not know why you keep putting that on them. Because honestly it makes you look kinda dumb. No one is trying to cut off your clitoris, or take away your mind-blowing orgasms. You better believe, it that was the case, I’d be out of the front lines with you, sista.

Likewise, your federal government and mean evil Republicans are not trying to get all up in your womb. We don’t care about your uterus, as shocking as that may be, because as a female pro-lifer I can proudly say I am ALL for women’s reproductive rights! You don’t want to reproduce? Sweet. Don’t, girl. It’s 2013, that’s totally your call. You want to have a litter of kids? Cool, here’s some Mederma. I have no, and I repeat, NO business in your family planning when it comes to how many human lives you will or will not reproduce. Where you’re evidently a little foggy though, is your right to create a life then call take backs. Once a life has been produced, a living human being with its own body, which is now growing and thriving inside yours, you must p
rotect it. Bottom line. That’s your inherent duty for, at the very least, the next 9-months. You are to do everything in your power to guard that human being as it’s mother whether it's part of your 5-year-plan or not. When, however, you decide that person is expendable because they don’t work with what you’ve got going on right now, that is a blatant assault on their human rights, and hell yeah, people will feel compelled to get involved. Child abuse always seems to rile up the crowds, so you cannot act shocked when suddenly we care about what’s happening to the person inside your uterus. Did you catch that? The PERSON INSIDE YOUR UTERUS. Still, don’t really want anything to do with your uterus in a particular, I’m sure it's lovely and all, but that’s just really not my thing.

Let me see if I can explain it another way… If I saw you holding up a sign, oh let’s say in the mid-1800’s reading, “My Plantation, My Choice!” or “Keep The Government Out Of My Slave Trade Practices!” I would say, "Hey Paula Deen, uh-no." Because see, we’d be talking about another human being, I mean, at least in my opinion... which certainly would’ve been unpopular back then. It took society quite some time to fully evolve to the point where slaves were viewed as people just like you and I, and slavery viewed as barbaric because it‘s the ownership of another human being. And man, how much do I wish we would’ve learned from that huge embarrassment in American history that other human beings are not our property. What's that? Other human beings are not our property? Exactly. Yet, here you still are, fighting for the right to snuff out another person’s life just because you can… just because it's legal. Well, a lot of things used to be legal. That doesn’t mean they were right.

That said, you’re not scaring me off by screaming about your “VAGINA!!!” because hopefully as you can see by now, I’m far too comfortable with that word and its namesake. Vaginas are the best, wombs do some of the most amazing things I've ever seen, and your uterus ain’t nobodies business but your own, that is, until it’s used as a place to perpetrate injustice against the human race, then yeah, I’m gonna be up in your business, sorry. If you want us out of your womb, cool. Don’t make it the scene of a crime against humanity, and we’re gone. Trust, there's like a thousand
other places I'd rather spend my summer vacay.


Peace,
D.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Friday Bloody Friday...

We're hearing rumors that those protesting the bill down in Austin today are planning on getting pretty rowdy in hopes of being arrested, so y'all a) be very careful, b) do not engage them, and c) probably should leave the kiddos at home. 

That said, there's one rumor in particular that deserves our full attention for no other reason than it's so bat$#!+ crazy, it will bring a smile to your face this morning. Here's what someone posted:

"Some radicals originally wanted to throw menstrual blood on us Friday. Then too many of them said paint. Luckily they are now down to throwing red glitter wrapped in maxi pads."

Just take a minute and absorb the full awesomeness of that. If you're anything like me, you immediately started picturing the planning sesh/drum circle where this discussion took place.

"Hey y'all, how 'bout this- since they're trying to like ban our vaginas or somethin' down at the capitol, why don't we go throw period blood on them?!" "DUDE, that's such a rad idea! And when I menstruate, I go hard, so I could totally donate, only prob is, my menses aren't due for another two weeks." "Persephone Moonbeam, are you seriously telling me you're not feminist enough to will your goddess cycle into being." "Sorry dude, whenever I try, I just fart." *reluctantly puts period pail away* "Hey wait! Doesn't Rhonda, er, I mean, Lilith Patchouliblossom work at Home Depot? Think she could score us a few gallons of Heavy Flow Red?" "No, she's over at Michael's now, but I bet she can get us some glitter!"

And that kids, is the story of how the Capitol turned into a Ke$ha concert for a day...


Bro-Choice cries over loss of Hoe-Choice....womp, womp, womp.

This link has just turned me into feminist hulk. Feminist hulk types REALLY HARD, and likes to use CAPS LOCK. You've been warned.

This is the part, in particular, that hulkafied me...


"For those of us guys who like girls -- you know, like them like them -- and want to have relationships with them that may last anywhere from a few minutes to many years"..."Your sex life is at stake. Can you think of anything that kills the vibe faster than a woman fearing a back-alley abortion? Making abortion essentially inaccessible in Texas will add an anxiety to sex that will drastically undercut its joys. And don't be surprised if casual sex outside of relationships becomes far more difficult to come by."

Oh, you poor, poor little douchebag. GAWD FORBID we tie ANY LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY to that 2-MINUTE HOOK-UP in which you might accidentally CREATE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, because, like, radical fauxminism, and labiaration, and stuff.

IF YOU HAVE EVER WONDERED HOW ABORTION MAKES WOMEN MORE EXPLOITABLE THAN ANY OTHER THING UNDER THE SUN, read this garbage... I'm off to go smash $#!%... like the REAL PATRIARCHY. Ya know, the one where men expect you to kill your child so they can get a carefree piece of ass...

This is totes Ben Sherman, I just know it.


Radical Feminisms Blue Period

Sometimes it helps me to picture fanatical pro-choicers as the Smurfs, but instead of replacing every third word with "smurf" they say "vagina"....like, "Whoops, Vagina happens!" or "We're gonna blow the vagina off this Capitol" and of course my personal fave, "What happens in Vagina, Stays in Vagina!"

When I do this, my frustration fades away and I end up laughing so hard I sometimes vagina my pants.


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Oh, bless your heart....


Allow me to set you straight, shooter. Texas style. 


“If our children were sacred, you would stand for their rights, 
You would ride on buses and fight all the fights. 
If my womanhood was precious, you would treat it with care, 
You wouldn’t sell all its secrets because, well, why go there. 
Since my womb is life giving, Planned Parenthood can't pry it, 
It's not a grave for my child's cold, dead body, I surely would riot. 
If my vagina was respected, its name would be protected, 
not crudely drawn on poster boards, for the shock value it erected. 
If my body was a temple, I would value its purity, 
treating it with honor, not trading it because of insecurity. 
If my brain were the focus, not what's beneath my pants, 
true female equality might just stand a chance. 
Because my body is not a weapon, it is a mightier thing, 
With a voice that speaks out for the life it can bring. 
Female brains are not delicate, they are muscular and magic, 
So stop messing with mine, with offensive poetry that’s tragic. 
My bill is here to demand it runs its full course, 
Listen to the silenced voices of MILLIONS or feel their full force.”


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Post by Destiny

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Silencing Speech



"Ma'am, excuse me, would you mind telling everyone why you're here today?" a young man, probably no older than 16, asked me. It was a question I had already answered two times earlier in the day as bright lights from local Austin news cameras were shoved in my face. This boy was not with a T.V. station though. He was wearing a blue shirt with a swatch of red tape stuck to it. I recognized him from a group called "Bound 4 Life" out of Austin. They're the ones who wear the tape over their mouths emblazoned with the word "LIFE," symbolizing how they stand in solidarity with the unborn, whose voices are silenced everyday. While normally, I love their peaceful, prayerful message, today I came to Austin to be heard. I came to Austin so that Wendy Davis, who just one week prior stood for over eleven hours filibustering the Senate, would know that while I admired her greatly, she does not speak for me. So even though the last thing I wanted to do was hop up on a flimsy, plastic step stool in the middle of a courtyard rotunda, I agreed and was quickly shuffled over to the microphone. 
As I carefully hopped up onto the rudimentary 12x10 inch stage, and rose above the small crowd of blue, my eyes met two young women, dressed in all orange to represent their opposition of House Bill 2 (formerly HB5). They were draping a black sheet over the balcony with the words, "You Oppress We Resist" scrawled across it in silver spray paint. I began to speak about how my mother, at the age of 19, became pregnant with me just down the street at the University of Texas, and they started shouting pro-choice slogans. Out of necessity I found my voice growing louder and bolder while recalling how years later, now married and in her 20's, she had her IUD taken out, a fairly common procedure done in most clinics and doctor's offices. I told of how the doctor slipped and punctured her uterus, an injury that could've sterilized her had her physician not had access to the proper medical facilities, and still they heckled. By the time I finished giving my testimony, which I’d originally written just in case I was one of the lucky few chosen from the 2,200 people who had signed up to address the State Affairs Committee, my throat was aching and dry. What was originally intended to be a somber and powerful explanation for why I supported the more rigorous women's healthcare regulations proposed in HB2, had somehow morphed into an impassioned battle cry, and left me cleaving to my water bottle as my heart pounded within my chest. 

As the day wore on I watched more and more orange shirts show up in the courtyard. At first they congregated around the perimeter, then they began packing in on the second floor balcony with signs reading, "F*** Rick Perry" & "If the child you save is gay, then what?" Suddenly this rather meager pro-life rally being held solely for the benefit of an at-home audience, who was live streaming it, became a highly volatile form of agitation to those opposing the bill. What had started as a few catch-phases being blurted from the balcony was now a low steady hum of civil unrest. People in blue continued to crawl up on the step stool, however their voices were becoming harder and harder to hear.
By the time night fell on the courtyard, the rotunda was an even mix of both blue and orange. The pro-lifers were huddled tightly together in the center, as pro-choicers marched around them in a swift moving circle. I stood back against a pillar, just watching, very curious how this social experiment would play out, all the while silently praying it wouldn't escalate beyond the chanting that now rang through the night. 
By 11pm, emotions were running high. The rotunda had become a proverbial furnace within our state's capitol building, its heat and energy now spreading into the halls. All the while testimonies from those chosen few (in the end less than 100 constituents) were taking place in a orderly chamber room.
As I stood amidst the chaos, barely able to hear my own thoughts, I realized where the true power laid in my first amendment right. My freedom to speak hinges on others willingness to listen.
There will always be someone trying to shut me up, or shout over my thoughts. There will always be red tape, whether it’s meant for good or ill, literally or bureaucratically, there to silence me. It’s no longer enough to merely vote, and call or write your elected officials. Pandemonium is breaking out in the heart of our state, and sadly our elected officials are struggling to represent the majority that put them in office.
We are at a pivotal time in Texas right now. The minority is being presented to the world as the oppressed, frustrated revolutionaries our country was founded upon. Elected officials are encouraging civil unrest because by votes alone, they know they will lose. I encourage everyone in the state of Texas to take heed to what is happening in Austin right now. I saw it with my own two eyes. And whether you would be donning a blue shirt or an orange, I really do not care, I just beg you to get down there during this Special Session, to represent your side with honor. The unborn are no longer the only ones being silenced in our great state. A mob has moved in and they will be determining how our government is run from now on if we do not stand up and make our voices heard. 

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Post by Destiny