my small pro-choice action/performance

[tigereye]

This morning I was doing some errands after I dropped my son off at school. I was in our nearby Squirrel Hill nieghborhood, which is very liberal and diverse. There were those horrible anti-choice protestors with their graphic pix of fetuses on all four main corners. I hate those guys ( all but one were guys) and usually I drive by and give them the finger and call the police, which is pointless, since alas, they have the right to hold up those graphic and manipulative pix. After ranting a bit and yelling at them, I went to the Barnes and Noble and picked out a book, THe War on Choice by Gloria Feldt. I stood there and read out loud for about a half hour and at least, I thought, if they can hold up those hiderous pix, I have just as much right to read from my pro-choice book. Wish I had more time. It was better than hitting, yelling and spilling paint on them, which is what I really WANTED to do.

Oddly enough, pretty everyone ignored them and me, but I felt better, anyway. I might just make a habit of this if I know where they are.... there is still a great gap between the antis and we rabid pro-choicers and it's too bad there can't be any dialogue.

:grr:

[waiting for hope]

1. You go Girl!

:yourock: As pointless as it may have felt (most of them are fanatics anyway and refuse to listen to another point of view - total lacking in empathy!) you did good!

[tigereye]

2. thanks

I really should have got on the horn and called all my feminist pals, but I figured none of them woudl be around. It might be a cool thing to do next time, get a bunch of people to just stand there and be the literal voices of reason. Thanks.

[shenmue]

3. Glad you solved it peacefully

Good for you. Probably better than I could have done.

[tigereye]

5. those people infuriate me!

most folks ignore em, but I used to be a pro-choice escort and I find their hypocrisy maddening. Violence isn't really my style, so.

[donsu]

4. hugs and kisses

nt

[Divernan]

6. The anti-ab. folks were there just to make people angry.

Squirrel Hill is probably the most intellectual,liberal neighborhood in Pittsburgh. You know, like the only place in the county where the movie theaters show all the good foreign films. I think the men involved in the anti-abortion activities are extremely hate-filled, frustrated human beings. They never achieved the "American Dream" with successful careers, blame women and minorities for that, and figure if society would just keep women barefoot and pregnant, they could be the next Ken Lay. Unfortunately they thrive on getting other people angry, so they probably were sinfully excited by your reading. LOL!

[tigereye]

8. well, I did it for me!

not for them. I figure it was better than going home and writing a check. ( well, I'll probably do that, too.)

It's funny, because if there is any place that is a bastion of liberalism and independent thinking, it's Sq. Hill. I was hoping some of those Red Diaper babies or old leftie ladies and professors would get out their signs or something and make the creeps back down.

There was one woman, they were mostly elderly fundie types. I would have read a copy of Howl, but I figured the pro-choice book made more sense.

[Ian David]

7. Hold aloft photos of dead and dismembered Iraqi children

"Iraqis have Fetuses too."

"Peace is Pro-Life"

"War is late-term abortion."

Also, have a chat with them about The Texas Futile Care Law, and one of our own DUers whose sister is about to be executed by doctors for failing to have adequate medical insurance:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x997301

[tigereye]

9. well, I was thinking about pictures of women who died

while abortion was still illegal. But I don't want to use their tactics. Wish I'd had a paint gun, though. ;)

[annabanana]

10. print this out and wave it the the fetus foisters faces...(graphic)

The results of a botched, backalley abortion.