Reading Politics

I want to preface this monologue by saying that I am not particularly interested in seeing this become a thread that digresses... or degenerates into a thread with people bitching back and forth at each other about whether they are pro-life or pro-choice.

If you want to do that, then make it relate to the discussion at hand, or start your own thread.

What follows below is information pertaining to the grass-roots organization: 'Wombs on Washington'...

They have put out a call for people to knit wombs from the pattern on-line, to be sent to Washington by March 1st, to be dumped upon the steps of the Supreme Court building on March 15th, in conjunction with the V-Day activities. This is in response to the imminent threat here in the US, of Supreme Court Justice Scalia potentially becoming the new 'head'. And that IS a pun.

I have posted elsewhere here about having knitted my own little pink womb from a pattern I found online which is being given out as a link by hundreds of men and women across America and beyond. It isn't just me. It was a fun-loving, 'unphased by the world and its ills' sort of post. I knit the womb for a friend of mine's baby shower, because she thought it sounded cute. And admittedly, the pattern is described on Knitty.com's site as: "everyone's first cozy home." I mentioned in my post that the pattern was being linked to Wombs on Washington... but stated that, at the time, I knew nothing further.

I later, after having received a malicious e-mail from someone, checked up on the organization that I mentioned above. I probably wouldn't have, or would have done so far after this event had taken place, if I had not received such an e-mail. Having received it, I now feel obligated to wage my own war against the threat to the ultimate woman's right: To govern her own body. I have never felt more strongly about anything in my life. Never. I embrace this organization, until such time as they become violent in their activities. If they do so, ever, I will revoke my condonement of their activities. So far, they are non-violent protesters. Crafters, Knitters, Crocheters, women and men both, working to preserve the right to choose.

You may access their site here: Wombs on Washington!... or you may go to any of several other sites by doing a websearch on Yahoo! for that turn of phrase. Pun-intended again.

Excuse me for my humor coupled with my candor, but I both a)think some humor needs desperately to be injected into the situation, and b) I believe so strongly in a woman's right to choose, and in being pro-life as much as possible, as well... that I am willing, nay, champing at the bit to voice my opinion loud and clear.

If this starts a McCarthy-era-style Witchhunt, like the crap my family and I were subjected to in the late 70s because my father was active in the Civil Rights Movement, then maybe my quiet little life will have been worth something... although, I truly hope no one comes to shoot me. That would be kinda counterproductive... don't cha think?

At any rate, you can click on the above site for more information, and do a Yahoo! search for more, or you can, if you feel so inclined... humorously check out this woman's picture of her cat playing with the uteri she knitted out of Lion Brand Yarn's Landscapes yarn.

I'd post my own, but I don't have an internet-ready kind of camera, and no way to upload any photographs at all at this point in time. I just thought the humor would make people laugh a little at a potentially painful situation for a lot of women who may get their right to choose taken away in the future. I hope not.

That would be a horrible blow to what women tried to achieve for themselves during the 60's and the 70's. I was born into a world where women did NOT have the right to choose, and Norma McCorvey changed all of that. She has since changed her views on abortion, and last year she filed a motion with the U.S. District Court system to request a reversal of Roe v. Wade. A federal judge has since agreed to hear her plea. I disagree with her new views, and so do a lot of other people. For those of you who would like to read up on Pro-Life propaganda you may log onto www.RoevWade.org.

Wombs on Washington may be a little militant, by some standards, but really, this is passive protesting. Just like the kind the group Code Pink has done with their knitted 'Peace Sign' banners. Non-violent.

If we really care about life on the whole, there should be no violence.... and I agree, that abortion does violence, but there are a few instances where a woman should have that choice, and not be reduced to having back-alley abortions with a coat-hanger, or even with sterilized devices in secret. It should not be against the law. Currently, it isn't. That may change.

This is serious, serious business, folks. But try to see the little bits of humor, and try not to be jerks in your responses.

The objective is to have put out the word to knitters and crafters of all kinds across America and the world, to knit from this pattern found on knitty.com. The woman who created the pattern, didn't create it in conjunction with the organization 'Wombs on Washington';but, she apparently has no qualms with the grass-roots efforts going on.

The idea was - as the final date for submission of knitted wombs, little 'knitted' hoohoos (vaginas ... oh, bad word for some of you), even coat hangers (representative of the implements women used before the advent of Roe vs. Wade, and outlined 'for your 'not-so' pleasurable viewing' in the movie: Vera Drake) is now past... having been March 1st - to send these items to the organization in question to be used for non-violent protest purposes.

Maybe my titling my post in my journal as Wombs Away! didn't strike certain people as light-hearted. Maybe my subtitling it as: Wombs-a-go-go, should have really been: 'Worms-a-go-go', in the spirit of the fact that I was, in truth, opening up a can of worms... and I did know it. 'Yarn-a-go-go' was already taken. So be it.

I meant the post to be humorous, but since someone chose to be rude... I will make all my feelings known on the subject. I have more worms than some people in my 'apple'.

Aside: To look for the 'veiled' definition of that term, check any blues-related lyrics... for example, a certain song by Erykah Badu.

As to the 'myth' that women did not perform back-alley abortions... they did. I did not personally witness one, but my mother told me of someone she knew who came home and found her mother dead from a botched self-abortive technique in the 50s. One of my great aunts in Denmark hung herself after having seven children in a row, and getting pregnant with another. Not exactly abortion, but one of the many 'solutions' that women in her day turned to... She was so tired. That was in the 20s.

Granted, birth control is now available, but most insurance companies in the US will barely cover the cost of it, the way that they will such things as Viagra. One of my best friends went shopping through three insurance companies trying to find one that didn't hypocritically cover Viagra, but only partially covered birth control. That is scary, but it is tangential.

Most of the time I am a little loathe to do something that might start a fight. But there are two things that define my life: Yarn and Poetry. I will defend them both to the end. But, more than that: I love the fact that my body could give life, if it worked right... that is. And I BELIEVE in protecting the rights we struggle so hard to have in 1973.

I would love a child, I believe in finding alternatives to abortion, and I don't believe in third-trimester abortions...EVEN in the event of rape. Although I understand very well what rape does to both men and women. If you want to know my opinion on that, read between the lines of my poem: Daisy Petal Blues. I am not saying this to start a nasty war, but only to answer the kinds of questions people might pose to me in advance. To expedite things.

As I said, I do not believe in third-trimester abortions under any circumstances other than 'saving the mother's life'. Better to save one than lose both. I do believe in first and second trimester abortions for reasons of physical incapability, and in the event of a rape. There really are such things as: Therapeutic abortions. That term is NOT a euphemism.

I believe very, very, very, very, very strongly in a woman's right to choose. I know that when she does choose to have an abortion, then the poor child inside the womb looses their choice. But everything in life is not fair.

Sometimes it is necessary for the health of the mother physically. Or in instances of rape. Making a woman carry the child of her rapist, IS treating her like a fetal container. And if you don't think so, sit back for a minute and imagine someone telling you after a rape that you must carry that asshole's child. Additionally, sometimes a woman has reasons for the abortion that might not be understood well enough in time to have it, and she may not be articulate enough to voice these reasons well. Women like these need their voices heard loud and clear.

Conversely, carrying your child to term and giving it up for adoption, is very, very painful... but if you can physically and financially do it, and no one has raped you, and you have gotten pregnant by accident, or by not using a valid form of birth control... then it is the fair thing to do for the fetus inside who has differentiated into a girl at six weeks of life, and a boy at seven... if I have that correct. If I am wrong, please correct me. Also, men, when a woman gets pregnant with your child, whether she lied to you about using birth control, whether it was an accident or not, you have just as much responsibility in having caused that new life to occur as she does. You do NOT have the right to own her body, but you do have a responsibility in having made a fetus. As long as your sperm are viable, you do.

There need to be more organizations in place to help women have their babies in safe conditions, and to provide them with open-adoptions so they can receive information on the progress of their child, and organizations to help with the exhorbitant cost of giving birth, and organizations providing free birth control and good literature, and good programs to educate BOTH men and women about the risks of unwanted pregnancy.

It is NOT just the woman's responsibility to keep her legs shut. What an awful phrase. It is the man's responsibility to ask the right questions, protect himself from causing a pregnancy, and to make judicious decisions. It is also the responsibility of men not rape women and potentially cause an unwanted pregnancy. It is also a woman's responsibility to respect her body, and do what she needs to do to protect herself from an unwanted pregnancy, but there aren't enough programs in place to do that consistently, and not enough people support the ones now in place. Until such time as these kinds of things and programs are in effect, there will continue to be a need for abortions... unfortunately.

I am very opinionated on this subject, but also willing to listen to informed opinions, considered opinions, well-written opininons. I will NOT, however, give the time of day to anyone posting rudely, or with foul language. If you do so, I will place you on 'ignore'.

I love my womb, I love the color pink, I love knitting, and I support organizations such as Code Pink for supporting the 'new' Peace Movement. I support Wombs on Washington for preserving a woman's right to choose. And I will continue to finish the tiny, cute little pink womb that I knit for my friend's baby shower, because, I too, love life. And she asked for one as a gift.

I want to apologize in advance to all those whose posts I have not yet answered elsewhere... this takes precedence for me. We are down to the wire on this one... and you can take that as a sick joke.

And yet: This is no joke, folks.

This I am willing to ruin my rep for....

UPDATE: the organization "Wombs on Washington" is potentially calling for... 'womb-drops' in local areas even after the V-Day event. So, get out your knitting needles boys and girls, and knit away!

My mind is made up...not like my bed, which is a mess.

This post was edited by rosyxxx on Mar 08, 2005.

This may seem off topic but hear me out:

Teleportation, we are nearing the practicallity of it. We can already teleport small items (Like, atom small) but anything larger is beyond us. This brings up one thing we've wanted for some time: Human teleportation. The problem as I see it, is that if anything defaces the concept of a soul, it's teleportation. Right now, there are two possibilities, one being the spirit is a physical part of us, thus able to survive teleportation (In theory), and two, it only resides amongst the body (most likely not in any physical state) thus we are unable to make the copy. I said copy for a reason...

Teleportation digitizes, destroys, tranfers, recreates, etc. Well, that makes copying possible right? So if the soul is a physical part of the body, the soul is copied. With teleportation will come a wealth of technology...

If the soul gets copied, does the consienceness as well? Will that make immortality possible? Will child bearing die off as a consequence? Who knows, hell, I may not know in my life time. This saddens me, but to sum it all up, if I live long enough, I'll find my stance when the first working test of teleportation happens. If souls don't exist, I'm anti abortion, but if they do, go ahead, he or she (the soul) can come back another time. My understanding of heaven says as much. In short, if the body drops dead every time for no apparent reason, I'm pro abortion (because to me, that'd be a failure to copy the spirit) and if that happens, it's because it's an immeasurable quantity. Something we can't feel or touch...

Anyway, if souls are like that, go abortion, because you aren't killing the soul, just a body.

I should be ashamed of myself.

This post was edited by Aynjell on Mar 09, 2005.

What an interesting idea... I shall have to give this some thought. I had not considered the idea that we could copy our souls. That makes me think of 'Ghost in the Machine'. I hope that our souls go onward, and I think that they do.

I feel my mother's presence daily. This response of yours almost seems to link with the thread about ghosts, and the one about Atlantis, in an interesting kind of way.

You've given me a lot to think about.

Incidentally, I just rated your post, but everything started rolling uncontrollably, and so I have no idea what the computer decided to rate you as... I hope it rated you excellent, because I think you wrote that very carefully, and thoughtfully. Thanks, Aynjell.

My mind is made up...not like my bed, which is a mess.