Today began Rotation Two of my internship: my time with SFLA. I enjoyed my time with FFL, and I can't say I wanted to leave the quiet office for the high-paced, hyperactive office of SFLA. But just as I discovered familiarity in Googling at FFL, so I found myself assigned to a project involving brainstorming, organizing thoughts, and writing: the kind of work I thought I'd left behind in college and knew I would miss.
Yesterday, during our "Volunteer" (read: envelop-stuffing off the unpaid clock) night, we interns watched a film "22 Weeks." I read another intern's blog entry about this film. He brought up two basic assumptions: 1) None of us have had personal experiences of abortion and 2) "You cannot stare at evil long without being affected adversely."
Well, my fellow intern and 3 loyal readers, I would like to refute gently the first assumption and discuss the second. Post-abortive women and men become at times the strongest of pro-life advocates, and college-aged women make up a staggering percentage of those seeking abortion. Something important to keep in mind. Almost all of us know someone, often someone dear, who has had a direct experience with abortion, even if we are not ourselves post-abortive.
"You cannot stare at evil long without being affected adversely." Sometimes, this fact worries me. In this line of work, one cannot help but stare at evil. Graphic images, of course, depict the results of the action, and no matter how hard one tries to avoid it, one will see them in the movement. The film certainly displayed, in visual form, images that left me stunned.
However, the evil that worries me more does not manifest in images against which I can close my eyes. In order to be effective in what we strive to do, we need to stare the evil of the mindset, the train of thought, the logic, the rhetoric of culture of death. To answer their questions, to speak in a language they understand, we need to listen to them. And that evil eats more subtly at the soul. Especially for a feminist, it calls out with a type of deadly seduction. It's easy to imagine, when one hears the manner in which they address the pro-life cause, that we've gotten it all wrong and are sadly deluded.
According to my fellow blogger, "It is then when we must gaze into the face of God." It is easy to fall into the seduction of women's rights rhetoric until that gaze at God calls to mind 1) that unborn person is a person of God and 2) God created each of us sacred and beautiful and nothing can take that away.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Great Falls
On Saturday, we held a huge pro-life intern social at Great Falls. By which I mean SFLA went hiking and invited some of the SBA List. We discovered NRLC was already hiking there! We met up and networked on the overlook... except for me. I had a wonderful friend from W&M with whom I needed to catch up. We always knew the pro-life world was small. Just not so small that there is only one hiking place on a given Saturday.
Walking through the woods, I remembered why I love Virginia. The green of the leaves and grasses. The sound of birds and running water beneath the breeze. The rocks and sky and water and trees all reaching together to give God glory. In fact, it brought to mind a line from a song that REACHers hate by now: "Sometimes it seems to slip so close/ You could touch it but your heart would break."
It also reminded me of Yosemite, not in the least because we encountered rock climbers. I wanted to join in so badly. The rushing Potomac brought to mind the peaceful Merced, which made me want to jump in. Unfortunately, I had neither the kayak nor the skills of the paddlers beneath us.
Walking through the woods, I remembered why I love Virginia. The green of the leaves and grasses. The sound of birds and running water beneath the breeze. The rocks and sky and water and trees all reaching together to give God glory. In fact, it brought to mind a line from a song that REACHers hate by now: "Sometimes it seems to slip so close/ You could touch it but your heart would break."
It also reminded me of Yosemite, not in the least because we encountered rock climbers. I wanted to join in so badly. The rushing Potomac brought to mind the peaceful Merced, which made me want to jump in. Unfortunately, I had neither the kayak nor the skills of the paddlers beneath us.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
On Congress and the Gods
On Thursday, I had the opportunity to meet with Rep. Spencer Bachus (R. AL-6). One of the other Missionaries comes from Alabama, and a prof of hers set up the meeting for AL interns. We just got invited along for the ride.
I know a little bit too much about classics for my own good. I spent a great deal of time thinking of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of (as my Latin teacher said) "drugs, sex, and rock'n'roll." Definitely alcohol.
I had never ventured into a Congressional office building before. Bachus's office was full of his interns and crowded as we visiting interns waited for the House to finish voting. The Congressman's walls were lined with model trains -- I don't know if they are a personal hobby or if his district does something with trains. By the door, he had hung a framed display on the Civil War, including photos of Abe Lincoln and Jeff Davis side by side.
The actual meeting disappointed me a tad. It was obviously token contact -- let me talk to you for five minutes (history lessons on DC and Yorktown) and snap a picture, so it looks good for constituents. However he was friendly enough, and now, if I ever want to see mine own Congressperson, I won't be quite so nervous.
I know a little bit too much about classics for my own good. I spent a great deal of time thinking of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of (as my Latin teacher said) "drugs, sex, and rock'n'roll." Definitely alcohol.
I had never ventured into a Congressional office building before. Bachus's office was full of his interns and crowded as we visiting interns waited for the House to finish voting. The Congressman's walls were lined with model trains -- I don't know if they are a personal hobby or if his district does something with trains. By the door, he had hung a framed display on the Civil War, including photos of Abe Lincoln and Jeff Davis side by side.
The actual meeting disappointed me a tad. It was obviously token contact -- let me talk to you for five minutes (history lessons on DC and Yorktown) and snap a picture, so it looks good for constituents. However he was friendly enough, and now, if I ever want to see mine own Congressperson, I won't be quite so nervous.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Modest Is Hottest! *insert cheesy grin*
I have spent some time recently thinking about women veiling themselves in churches. Perhaps these thoughts should come as no surprise -- they follow a pattern of trying to figure out femininity in light of my work with Feminists for Life.
In my (scientific) Google searches, I came across all sorts of sites. Many of them promoted women wearing a veil as an expression of modesty. While I am trying to wrap my mind around modesty coming from covering one's hair, I had more trouble with some of the other standards for modesty. Skirts that cover the knees -- fine. Nothing low-cut or with exposed back -- I'm still following. But the creators of one site barely conceded 3/4 length sleeves. And forbade anything worn with a sweater or jacket if it wasn't modest without it.
I understand the logic behind it: a standard of dress based on "covering" rather than showing off. That's what I hate about the "modest is hottest" motto of the YouthWorks dress code. (I refused to say it and cringed every time my other staff members did.) Hot implies that one is trying to present oneself as sexually attractive. It implies lust. Modesty works against lust.
However, I'm fairly certain my elbows do not inspire lust. These standards just makes me question the reasonableness of these web-mistresses and casts doubt on all they say. Standing between extremes often means figuring out how to disagree with those with whom you agree and sorting between sensible and off-mark. Or something like that.
In my (scientific) Google searches, I came across all sorts of sites. Many of them promoted women wearing a veil as an expression of modesty. While I am trying to wrap my mind around modesty coming from covering one's hair, I had more trouble with some of the other standards for modesty. Skirts that cover the knees -- fine. Nothing low-cut or with exposed back -- I'm still following. But the creators of one site barely conceded 3/4 length sleeves. And forbade anything worn with a sweater or jacket if it wasn't modest without it.
I understand the logic behind it: a standard of dress based on "covering" rather than showing off. That's what I hate about the "modest is hottest" motto of the YouthWorks dress code. (I refused to say it and cringed every time my other staff members did.) Hot implies that one is trying to present oneself as sexually attractive. It implies lust. Modesty works against lust.
However, I'm fairly certain my elbows do not inspire lust. These standards just makes me question the reasonableness of these web-mistresses and casts doubt on all they say. Standing between extremes often means figuring out how to disagree with those with whom you agree and sorting between sensible and off-mark. Or something like that.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Iron-Jawed Angels
I am loath not to come up with a creative title for this post, but I decided that the name of the movie will catch attention well. I watched the film by that title today: Iron-Jawed Angels.
The HBO film covers the final eight years of the suffrage movement in the US, leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Spoiler Alert: Women get the right to vote in 1920 with an amendment to the US Constitution.
I knew that before this afternoon. I also considered myself well-educated on feminist history. I knew a little it more than the history class version: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote some stuff, then -- magic -- the 19th Amendment happened! I at least knew that they died before 1920.
Iron-Jawed Angels depicts the passionate struggle of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns to convince Congress, the President, and their fellow feminists to amend the Constitution. It covers bringing in a woman on horseback dressed as a goddess-warrior (no, for real!); campaigning and fundraising; and picketing outside the White House. These women snuck banners into Congress, paraded on Inauguration day, used Wilson's own words to change his mind, kept Vigil outside the White House. They were arrested on false charges and imprisoned. They endured torture and enacted hunger strikes.
The actual cinematography got a bit trippy at times, but most of the historical facts check out. They just never made it into the history books. It's almost enough to make me subscribe to the "herstory" school of thought. It at least makes me want every woman and older girl see the film to inspire their own investigation of our history.
Also, it makes me want to be Alice Paul.
The HBO film covers the final eight years of the suffrage movement in the US, leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Spoiler Alert: Women get the right to vote in 1920 with an amendment to the US Constitution.
I knew that before this afternoon. I also considered myself well-educated on feminist history. I knew a little it more than the history class version: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote some stuff, then -- magic -- the 19th Amendment happened! I at least knew that they died before 1920.
Iron-Jawed Angels depicts the passionate struggle of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns to convince Congress, the President, and their fellow feminists to amend the Constitution. It covers bringing in a woman on horseback dressed as a goddess-warrior (no, for real!); campaigning and fundraising; and picketing outside the White House. These women snuck banners into Congress, paraded on Inauguration day, used Wilson's own words to change his mind, kept Vigil outside the White House. They were arrested on false charges and imprisoned. They endured torture and enacted hunger strikes.
The actual cinematography got a bit trippy at times, but most of the historical facts check out. They just never made it into the history books. It's almost enough to make me subscribe to the "herstory" school of thought. It at least makes me want every woman and older girl see the film to inspire their own investigation of our history.
Also, it makes me want to be Alice Paul.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Civil Debate
A friend (a real one, not just the Facebook kind!) posted this on Facebook as "one of the most intelligent and balanced discussions of the pro life v. pro choice debate i've seen."
None of the loyal three readers whom I have recently discovered should have any question where I stand on abortion. (If you do, loyal three readers, read the post directly below this.) So instead of expounding upon Huckabee's well-articulated case, I am going to marvel at The Daily Show.
Why is it that, outside of the Nicholson 2nd Upper bathroom freshman year and a few other late-night places, this conversation is the most real conversation I have heard about abortion? Normal "discussion" consists of highly-charged rhetoric being thrown from one side to the other in simultaneous monologues that talk over around and through each other. Yet Jon Stewart, who claims his "fake news" functions only as comedy, can have a civil televised dialogue.
If I ever become a serious academic, conducting research of her own, I want to figure this one out. What is it about Jon Stewart and, in a slightly different manner, Stephen Colbert that allows them to confront current events in a way the mainstream media will not?
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 1 | ||||
| ||||
None of the loyal three readers whom I have recently discovered should have any question where I stand on abortion. (If you do, loyal three readers, read the post directly below this.) So instead of expounding upon Huckabee's well-articulated case, I am going to marvel at The Daily Show.
Why is it that, outside of the Nicholson 2nd Upper bathroom freshman year and a few other late-night places, this conversation is the most real conversation I have heard about abortion? Normal "discussion" consists of highly-charged rhetoric being thrown from one side to the other in simultaneous monologues that talk over around and through each other. Yet Jon Stewart, who claims his "fake news" functions only as comedy, can have a civil televised dialogue.
If I ever become a serious academic, conducting research of her own, I want to figure this one out. What is it about Jon Stewart and, in a slightly different manner, Stephen Colbert that allows them to confront current events in a way the mainstream media will not?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Seamless Garment, Part II
Maafa. I had never heard the word until my SFLA boss said it, in the name of a movie she wanted us interns to see. She explained that Maafa refers to the oppression of Africans and African Americans through slavery and other atrocities. The movie, Maafa 21, explains how this has carried into the 21st century.
Congressman Trent Franks screened the documentary for a crowd of pro-lifers, the National Black Pro-Life Union, some African American pastors, and more people I did not know where to place.
The documentary started at the beginning of racial oppression in the US, way back before it was the US. The coverage of history through the Civil War was a much more up-front and in-your-face about the horrors of slavery than you sometimes see, but it told basically the same story you get in a history course.
After the Civil War, it shifted course. We don't hear much about eugenics and forced sterilization in our country, but the movement to eliminate minorities using the principles of evolution was strong. (Note: I'm putting in some links in case anyone wants to read a little more, but I gleaned all these facts from the documentary.) States sanctioned, and sometimes required that women seeking help, especially from minorities, and at times their pre-adolescent children be sterilized. The founder of the American Birth Control League (later Planned Parenthood), Margaret Sanger, along with Lethrop Stoddard, Dr. Harry Laughlin, and others, was deeply involved in both eugenics and birth control. They saw targeted marketing of birth control as a method to achieve the ideal population.
But eugenics gained the bad name it should always have had after WWII and birth control didn't work -- it did not appeal to the people the movement targeted. Civil rights leaders, including Jesse Jackson, spoke out against birth control and then-illegal abortion. But once the civil rights movement gained victories and abortion was legalized, the tune changed. For civil rights leaders, giving up their pro-life message meant political gain; for the "former" eugenicists, legal abortion meant a marketing make-over for the same agenda.
African Americans make up 13% of the US population and 37% of abortions. African American babies are 5 times more likely to be killed by an abortion than white babies. Abortion providers place a huge proportion of abortion facilities in minority neighborhood.
I can't do the film justice here. It made me tear up and feel ill. I recommend that you watch the trailer. I recommend that you watch the documentary.
Congressman Trent Franks screened the documentary for a crowd of pro-lifers, the National Black Pro-Life Union, some African American pastors, and more people I did not know where to place.
The documentary started at the beginning of racial oppression in the US, way back before it was the US. The coverage of history through the Civil War was a much more up-front and in-your-face about the horrors of slavery than you sometimes see, but it told basically the same story you get in a history course.
After the Civil War, it shifted course. We don't hear much about eugenics and forced sterilization in our country, but the movement to eliminate minorities using the principles of evolution was strong. (Note: I'm putting in some links in case anyone wants to read a little more, but I gleaned all these facts from the documentary.) States sanctioned, and sometimes required that women seeking help, especially from minorities, and at times their pre-adolescent children be sterilized. The founder of the American Birth Control League (later Planned Parenthood), Margaret Sanger, along with Lethrop Stoddard, Dr. Harry Laughlin, and others, was deeply involved in both eugenics and birth control. They saw targeted marketing of birth control as a method to achieve the ideal population.
But eugenics gained the bad name it should always have had after WWII and birth control didn't work -- it did not appeal to the people the movement targeted. Civil rights leaders, including Jesse Jackson, spoke out against birth control and then-illegal abortion. But once the civil rights movement gained victories and abortion was legalized, the tune changed. For civil rights leaders, giving up their pro-life message meant political gain; for the "former" eugenicists, legal abortion meant a marketing make-over for the same agenda.
African Americans make up 13% of the US population and 37% of abortions. African American babies are 5 times more likely to be killed by an abortion than white babies. Abortion providers place a huge proportion of abortion facilities in minority neighborhood.
I can't do the film justice here. It made me tear up and feel ill. I recommend that you watch the trailer. I recommend that you watch the documentary.
Brackish Water River Horse
One of my fellow interns at FFL is transferring to Georgetown, which inspired our boss to tell us about one amazing sight at GW: the Potomac River Horse.
Apparently, a statue of a hippo yawns or roars outside a campus building... I was told that it was the gift of a university president, but the plaque attributes it to a class gift. While GW is represented officially by the Colonials, this guy has become the unofficial mascot. I have to admit, I was struck by the idea of the River Horse Statue. Oh yeah, and by the explanation that George and Martha Washington watched them "cavorting" in the Potomac. Didn't you know that the hippopotamus is native to Virginia?
Of course, I understand that finding a real live colonial can present difficulties, and you have a river horse right there, but some schools don't even have one mascot! Thus, I present a modest proposal:
George Washington University, we want your river horse. Being in southeast Virginia, it could be called the Brackish Water River Horse, to differentiate it from the Potomac variety. William and Mary, here is your new mascot.
Williamsburg may represent the only region in the world with a superabundance of colonials. We'll catch one and exchange it for your River Horse. We get a mascot, you get a colonial, and everyone wins.
If not, we can always be the Fighting Ampersands.
Apparently, a statue of a hippo yawns or roars outside a campus building... I was told that it was the gift of a university president, but the plaque attributes it to a class gift. While GW is represented officially by the Colonials, this guy has become the unofficial mascot. I have to admit, I was struck by the idea of the River Horse Statue. Oh yeah, and by the explanation that George and Martha Washington watched them "cavorting" in the Potomac. Didn't you know that the hippopotamus is native to Virginia?
Of course, I understand that finding a real live colonial can present difficulties, and you have a river horse right there, but some schools don't even have one mascot! Thus, I present a modest proposal:
George Washington University, we want your river horse. Being in southeast Virginia, it could be called the Brackish Water River Horse, to differentiate it from the Potomac variety. William and Mary, here is your new mascot.
Williamsburg may represent the only region in the world with a superabundance of colonials. We'll catch one and exchange it for your River Horse. We get a mascot, you get a colonial, and everyone wins.
If not, we can always be the Fighting Ampersands.
Monday, June 15, 2009
On Being Classy
This past weekend, I had the joy of taking a trip back to the 'burg to see some friends, including a belated 21st birthday celebration. The sum of the trip was all sorts of new experiences (including ale and a Corpus Christi procession), in an almost-familiar setting.
One of the new experiences was listening to classical music on a road trip. Country music is my driving companion, and other people I drive with prefer soft or classic rock, or else Christian music. I had one fun trip to a capella from back in the day when they still made cassette tapes, and lots to fun mind-twisting games. But never classical music.
However, road trip companion who held the wheel likes classical and had a few of Beethoven's overtures that he wanted me to hear. While admitting that I am not generally a classical music type of girl, I listened. Before each piece, he explained to me the back story. I never realized that each piece tells a story. The first one I heard was Coriolanus, whose classic roots I enjoyed. And my friend was right -- the music said so much without using words. Knowing the story helped me appreciate it and made me wonder how much of what I appreciate springs from what I have been taught in a way that speaks to me.
I can't say the trip completely converted me to music without words, but I at least have a greater appreciation for it.
A note on classiness: whenever I use the word "classy," I remember an occasion where a boy told me that some girls just wear low-cut shirts, and others wear tank tops underneath, which was classy. I like this as an alternative to my much hated "modest is hottest." We're classy!
One of the new experiences was listening to classical music on a road trip. Country music is my driving companion, and other people I drive with prefer soft or classic rock, or else Christian music. I had one fun trip to a capella from back in the day when they still made cassette tapes, and lots to fun mind-twisting games. But never classical music.
However, road trip companion who held the wheel likes classical and had a few of Beethoven's overtures that he wanted me to hear. While admitting that I am not generally a classical music type of girl, I listened. Before each piece, he explained to me the back story. I never realized that each piece tells a story. The first one I heard was Coriolanus, whose classic roots I enjoyed. And my friend was right -- the music said so much without using words. Knowing the story helped me appreciate it and made me wonder how much of what I appreciate springs from what I have been taught in a way that speaks to me.
I can't say the trip completely converted me to music without words, but I at least have a greater appreciation for it.
A note on classiness: whenever I use the word "classy," I remember an occasion where a boy told me that some girls just wear low-cut shirts, and others wear tank tops underneath, which was classy. I like this as an alternative to my much hated "modest is hottest." We're classy!
Friday, June 12, 2009
How to Use a College Degree
I have been graduated from college somewhere in the area of 4 weeks, and already I have used both my English degree and my Sociology degree. I feel smart!
What do you do with a BA in English? one might ask. I certainly did. Am I any more employable? Likely not. However -- it does make it easier to catch literary references on Colbert.
As for the sociology degree, as part of my work with Feminists for Life, I am trying to find some statistics. Which means I have been wading through loads of articles interspersed with charts and tables full of p values and standard errors and random samples or population studies -- even trying to makes sense of a couple code books to figure out if what I'm looking for has even been studied. I may be using the one class I would have elected not to take, but I am using my soc degree!
What do you do with a BA in English? one might ask. I certainly did. Am I any more employable? Likely not. However -- it does make it easier to catch literary references on Colbert.
As for the sociology degree, as part of my work with Feminists for Life, I am trying to find some statistics. Which means I have been wading through loads of articles interspersed with charts and tables full of p values and standard errors and random samples or population studies -- even trying to makes sense of a couple code books to figure out if what I'm looking for has even been studied. I may be using the one class I would have elected not to take, but I am using my soc degree!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
It's HUGE!
I have shared my personal space bubble with more people in the past 4 days than in the previous four months. Okay, maybe that's not quite accurate, since there was an Encounter in there, but be that as it may, I have shared it quite a bit recently. And my personal space bubble is extremely important, guarded and huge.
However, if you want to get anywhere in the Metro area during just about any hours of the day and you don't have a car to protect your bubble with a metal, traffic-braving, can't-be-parked-anywhere cage, you will find yourself sharing space with all sorts of people.
I am a commuter, something I never wanted to be. Now that I am, however, I find that the whole thing fascinates me, and it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Granted, by the end of the summer, I might be singing a different tune.
It's funny how we keep family, co-workers, friends at a physical distance all day long, and then crowd as close as we can to perfect strangers in order to fit everyone on a train. Or the agony we suffered in middle school when we had to sit beside a stranger on the bus, compared to the relief in simply finding a seat. The composed manner in which businessmen conduct themselves, until they have to sprint to make it to their chosen transit before it pulls out without them.
And the cross section of people! Men in business attire and backpacks, women in suits and sneakers, soldiers in BDUs, a smattering of humanity with suitcases and travel plans... and at least seven pro-life interns scatter throughout the Metro system. I like the freedom and self-sufficiency, as well as (parking permitting) the relative cheapness, of a car, but the people watching on buses and the Metro is unparalleled.
Take for instance the fact that the 7am bus to the Pentagon was completely silent, whereas the 9:45 bus to Springfield was filled with a variety of conversation. The knack commuters have for looking around without actually seeing anyone. The confident stride of a seasoned commuter versus the meander route of the confused tourist. The perpetual school groups in matching t-shirts or name badges.
The major downsides are the temporal and financial drains. I think we should extend the metro to Potomac Mills and save me a bus ride.
However, if you want to get anywhere in the Metro area during just about any hours of the day and you don't have a car to protect your bubble with a metal, traffic-braving, can't-be-parked-anywhere cage, you will find yourself sharing space with all sorts of people.
I am a commuter, something I never wanted to be. Now that I am, however, I find that the whole thing fascinates me, and it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Granted, by the end of the summer, I might be singing a different tune.
It's funny how we keep family, co-workers, friends at a physical distance all day long, and then crowd as close as we can to perfect strangers in order to fit everyone on a train. Or the agony we suffered in middle school when we had to sit beside a stranger on the bus, compared to the relief in simply finding a seat. The composed manner in which businessmen conduct themselves, until they have to sprint to make it to their chosen transit before it pulls out without them.
And the cross section of people! Men in business attire and backpacks, women in suits and sneakers, soldiers in BDUs, a smattering of humanity with suitcases and travel plans... and at least seven pro-life interns scatter throughout the Metro system. I like the freedom and self-sufficiency, as well as (parking permitting) the relative cheapness, of a car, but the people watching on buses and the Metro is unparalleled.
Take for instance the fact that the 7am bus to the Pentagon was completely silent, whereas the 9:45 bus to Springfield was filled with a variety of conversation. The knack commuters have for looking around without actually seeing anyone. The confident stride of a seasoned commuter versus the meander route of the confused tourist. The perpetual school groups in matching t-shirts or name badges.
The major downsides are the temporal and financial drains. I think we should extend the metro to Potomac Mills and save me a bus ride.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
My Kind of Feminists
Day One with Feminists for Life today. I woke up to thunder outside and a rather violent lightening storm, reminding me what Virginia summers are like. I missed thunderstorms. Not so much that I needed them book-ending my day, but since the part where I was walking outside coincided with the sun, I won't complain. The walk from the metro to FFL is enjoyable: a pretty walk and the perfect length, long enough to be a good walk, but not so long as to be annoying.
The small office is quiet and peaceful and I felt at home there right away. There's an FFL summer intern there already and another one coming soon, so it might get more crowded. But I have no doubt I'll continue to enjoy the office where I am surrounded by my foremothers.
I keep returning to these women when I try to define myself as a feminist, maybe because of the conflation of women's rights and abortion rights that arose in the '70s. But look again at that list of pro-life feminists. Some of them are considerably more modern than Susan B. Anthony. As I looked at the list earlier today, I felt cheated. Why don't we learn about these women alongside other feminist history? Why don't we learn that the vast majority, if not all, of the first wave of feminists abhorred abortion, and that women in the second wave dissented from the abortion platform? Even as we bring women into our historical narrative, the bias of the history simply takes another form: women who follow the new accepted way of being a woman.
The small office is quiet and peaceful and I felt at home there right away. There's an FFL summer intern there already and another one coming soon, so it might get more crowded. But I have no doubt I'll continue to enjoy the office where I am surrounded by my foremothers.
I keep returning to these women when I try to define myself as a feminist, maybe because of the conflation of women's rights and abortion rights that arose in the '70s. But look again at that list of pro-life feminists. Some of them are considerably more modern than Susan B. Anthony. As I looked at the list earlier today, I felt cheated. Why don't we learn about these women alongside other feminist history? Why don't we learn that the vast majority, if not all, of the first wave of feminists abhorred abortion, and that women in the second wave dissented from the abortion platform? Even as we bring women into our historical narrative, the bias of the history simply takes another form: women who follow the new accepted way of being a woman.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Joke I Really Wanted To Make
It's probably all because pro-lifers are terrorists. Oh. Wait. I'm not supposed to say the punchline yet. In my defense, I waited until we were several blocks away from the Capitol to say anything...
Today started my time with Missionaries for Life, my internship and summer adventure. Having already located the office last night, I found it without hitch this morning, and we launched into several hours of orientation. Of the 4 jobs I have attended training to perform, this orientation was by far the least painful. Probably because there are only 7 of us and while we are saving babies, we aren't working with minors.
After training at SFLA, we moved to Capitol Hill. We had been invited to a conservative leadership seminar, because good pro-lifers are, of course, conservative (**pls acknowledge the sarcasm**). I got to hear Bay Buchanan and Liz Cheney speak, along with 2 other women whose names I don't remember, the unfortunate effect of being a visual person and not knowing enough names in politics. I tried not to make faces, succeeded in holding my tongue, and enjoyed the hilarity of my being there.
As one of the last speakers on the agenda was finishing up, I was trying to ignore the goosebumps forming on my arms by watching the door that opened to the hallway as a policeman walked up. I heard him ask for the person in charge. When she came, he told her we needed to leave: the building was being evacuated!
If you want to know my first thought, see the first line of this post. On second thought, however, I realized that the seminar was conservative, not pro-life.
We wandered through mazes of Capitol until somehow elevators that looked like we were deep in the bowels of the building brought us to ground level and sunlight! We promptly stopped to take pictures and were yelled at by the police for blocking the road.
I still don't know why we were evacuated, though I am actively seeking information.
Today started my time with Missionaries for Life, my internship and summer adventure. Having already located the office last night, I found it without hitch this morning, and we launched into several hours of orientation. Of the 4 jobs I have attended training to perform, this orientation was by far the least painful. Probably because there are only 7 of us and while we are saving babies, we aren't working with minors.
After training at SFLA, we moved to Capitol Hill. We had been invited to a conservative leadership seminar, because good pro-lifers are, of course, conservative (**pls acknowledge the sarcasm**). I got to hear Bay Buchanan and Liz Cheney speak, along with 2 other women whose names I don't remember, the unfortunate effect of being a visual person and not knowing enough names in politics. I tried not to make faces, succeeded in holding my tongue, and enjoyed the hilarity of my being there.
As one of the last speakers on the agenda was finishing up, I was trying to ignore the goosebumps forming on my arms by watching the door that opened to the hallway as a policeman walked up. I heard him ask for the person in charge. When she came, he told her we needed to leave: the building was being evacuated!
If you want to know my first thought, see the first line of this post. On second thought, however, I realized that the seminar was conservative, not pro-life.
We wandered through mazes of Capitol until somehow elevators that looked like we were deep in the bowels of the building brought us to ground level and sunlight! We promptly stopped to take pictures and were yelled at by the police for blocking the road.
I still don't know why we were evacuated, though I am actively seeking information.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Seamless Garment
Sing a love song for the first to fall
And keep singing until they fight no more.
Abortionist George Tiller, certainly not the first to fall. But for a part of the movement that calls itself "pro-life" (no matter what AP guidelines now say), the person who chose to kill him certainly did not make a pro-life choice. While I never intend to give up this fight, I do know that adding to death is not the way for life to win.
Pro-life groups and individuals around the nation have jumped to express their outrage at this action, with the notable exception of Randall Terry (who has subsequently received media attention for his lonely reaction). Each statement looks similar: a short paragraph or two, expressing sympathy for his family and reaffirming the pro-life message that all life is sacred and no one should have theirs taken away. How can anyone call themselves against abortion because it is murder, and then murder someone? It doesn't make sense to anyone with logic or empathy, especially not a reasonable pro-lifer.
And keep singing until they fight no more.
Abortionist George Tiller, certainly not the first to fall. But for a part of the movement that calls itself "pro-life" (no matter what AP guidelines now say), the person who chose to kill him certainly did not make a pro-life choice. While I never intend to give up this fight, I do know that adding to death is not the way for life to win.
Pro-life groups and individuals around the nation have jumped to express their outrage at this action, with the notable exception of Randall Terry (who has subsequently received media attention for his lonely reaction). Each statement looks similar: a short paragraph or two, expressing sympathy for his family and reaffirming the pro-life message that all life is sacred and no one should have theirs taken away. How can anyone call themselves against abortion because it is murder, and then murder someone? It doesn't make sense to anyone with logic or empathy, especially not a reasonable pro-lifer.
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