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In defense of women's rights and GLBT rights

My response to Todd: to claim, as you do by writing, “insulting these people for being upset about abortion or gay rights”.

Those who oppose Christian Taliban do so through language. These are not insults or put-downs or trivialization or demonizations, they are descriptors: abortion and gay rights are not political questions to be answered by politicians, they are individual human rights and violence is not used as a tool to achieve these aims, language is the tool.

Individuals have the responsibility to live within the laws of the land and if one disagrees with the laws, then they can work to change them. We have already asked the question about whether abortion is legal or not and the Supreme Court decided women have the right to control their own bodies. Obviously, there are those who disagree with the abortion decision and they have the right and responsibility to work to change the law.

Look at the history of anti-abortion believers; they include assaults, blocked access of women to health care, name calling, and murder, all crimes against people, in addition to destruction of property, through arson, and vandalism.

Remember the crimes committed by those who took part in illegal behaviors and defend the use of whatever means necessary to achieve their ends? They perceived themselves as justified to commit homicide in defense of unborn children. This is only a partial list but do their crimes justify their means? Eric Rudolph, James Kopp, Paul Jennings Hill, Scott Roeder, Michael Griffin and Peter Knight. Do you hear the silence of the religious in response to their crimes? I do! Do the ends justify the means?

Christian terrorism is a political weapon used against women’s rights and Gay rights. Christian Taliban members are willing and able to use violence to achieve their ends.

Does this make any sense? In my opinion, it is my responsibility and right to describe their attitudes, behaviors, speech and action as I see them. No insult intended. Descriptions based on facts are not insults.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on November 18, 2012 at 4:46pm

Joan, sounds wonderful to me.

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 17, 2012 at 10:00pm

“this NewYorker article makes a point: Hostess may have been on the way out anyway, due to inability to adapt to a changing market.”

Via Sentient Biped

That is the way I read the events, Sentient. Wonder Bread and Twinkies have lost market share and have filed several bankruptcies. No doubt the business was failing. Putting blame on unions for failure of the company easily occurs because most people don’t remember the background. If the public blames unions, further weakening them to become impotent, other workers will acquiesce and work for poor wages as profits climb for investors. How does a widening gap in income help anyone in the long run?

WHO KILLED THE TWINKIE?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/11/who-killed-t...

Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on November 17, 2012 at 10:01pm

“It's criminal that pensions are considered an archaic concept. What a corrupt world corporations have created.”

Via Sentient Biped

Yes, pensions were agreements between corporations and workers that workers would work for smaller wages, putting that money into an account to accrue interest and to be used after retirement. After spending years working to accumulate money for retirement it was too easy for corporations to back out of their obligation. Retired workers fulfilled their part of the bargain, some corporations did not.

Permalink Reply by booklover on November 18, 2012 at 8:03am

My husband is a Teamster. His pension will be through them. The HUGE company he works for has always done well. He has 25 years in so far, so he is vested in his pension. We will still save $ and stay debt-free so we don't count on any one thing. He also has a 401k that his company does NOT have matching funds for. That's okay. We just want to retire the smartest way we can.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on November 18, 2012 at 10:31am

Glad you have some security! I am trying not to keep all of my eggs in one basket, too. The future is not an easy thing to predict.

Permalink Reply by booklover on November 18, 2012 at 4:10pm

Thanks Sentient. We also worry about our kids, who are very young adults now, because our son has type 1 diabetes (an auto-immune disease, unlike type 2.) We worry about him getting enough health-coverage, and want to make sure we can always help him with expenses for that. His latest insulin-pump cost $7,000.00. $490.00 was our share with our awesome insurance. Hopefully there will be a cure in his, hopefully younger, lifetime!~Melinda