Once again, the accusations of racist, sexist, homophobe and bigot, are front and center in our national debate.To be honest, many good people on the left are unhinged, calling anyone who disagrees with them on anything including supporting the President the basic load of truly horrible, hurtful, hateful names. We can now add not properly educated to that litany.
As an old fart, I can remember when the term racist was reserved for true racists. Sexist was reserved for people who deserved it, homophobic was used to describe vile people full of hate. Today merely disagreeing with the progressive train of thought makes you a Nazi. Nazis were Socialists and horrible people; referring to folks like me as Nazis is outrageous, but the left-wing pundits haves not met a vile epithet that they will not use to refer to good people who disagree with them.
Abortion is not one of my main issues; however. I fully realize that it is the most important issue (pro and con) to most of the people in Hopkins, Martin, Moline, Dorr and Wayland.
Let me tell you of a recent conversation with a pro-choice person. The statement “I support a woman’s right to choose” was made; I asked, to choose to do what? The answer was to do with her body whatever she wishes to do. I asked, what is it she wishes to do? The answer was to have reproductive rights. Again I asked, the right to do what? This person was not going to use the term abortion for anything; the term means ending a life. The woman may have a good reason to end the child’s life, but it is still killing a child, no way to sugarcoat it.
The Supreme Court’s decision calling a child a “non-viable tissue mass” makes about as much sense as when the court called an African American not a human. The court was proven wrong then, and DNA has proven it wrong now. That said, if you object to abortion, you are not compassionate, caring or open minded. Oh yes, if you object to abortion you are also a racist, sexist, homophobic, bigot.Gone are the days when hateful language was used to describe truly deplorable people. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to 23% of all the people in our nation as “the basket full of deplorables, right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic-you name it.” And folks say President Trump is divisive?
Years ago, the American left objected to the right putting people in a box, judging people by the group. Today it is many on the progressive left who place people in boxes and judge folks by the group; however, they see no problem with doing the very thing they objected to so adamantly in the 1960/’70s. The overheated rhetoric, the broad brush condemnation of folks we disagree with left and right needs to stop, but it will it not as long as it works.
I have yet to hear anyone call pro-life people bigots, racists, homophobes or sexists. What I have heard said is that many pro-life advocates haven’t taken the time to listen to the stories of people whose situations make the ending of a baby’s life the only regrettable decision they have.
Seems maybe you have “put in a box” anyone who expresses pro-choice leanings.
Our tendencies to label and limit the scope of anyone’s character by one opinion are unfortunate. I try to use qualifiers like “many” or “some” to avoid broad-brush characterizations. But the true problem is not simply the terms we use that engender divisiveness. The true problem is that we tend, as a society, to fail to actively listen to those who have differing points of view, and to take those differing views as personal affronts.
Ms Mandaville
Could you kindly list the conditions where taking the life of the unborn child is acceptable?
It may be old or antiquated but there use to be a belief a mother would give her life for their child
Was there a starting and ending age where a mother would not die for their child?
Mrs. Mandaville,
Lynn,
Please look to the folks on MSNBC and CNN it will not take long before you see a person like Mrs. Clinton who will state the words you have never heard.
Thank you for the comment.
Bob, perhaps a clarification of my statement is in order. I have not heard anyone equate a pro-life stand with being sexist, racist, homophobic or bigoted. I have no doubt that in some cases that is true, but I personally haven’t heard anyone say that being pro-life automatically makes one all of the things listed above. I’m sure there are pro-choice people who are some or all of those things, too, but one opinion does not automatically include the others.
I would hope the author/publisher would cease and desist using the term “Progressive” for Democrat. There is nothing progressive about supporting infanticide, abortion, or pro-choice or socialism/communism. The media and Democrats are trying to mask who they are and who they support. Any party with the history the Democrats have would welcome a change of descriptor other than Democrat.
Mr. Don’t Tread On Me,
Sir,
It is my opinion that the Democrats are indeed looking to mask their history, my use of Progressive is designed to say that if we call a liberal socialist a Democrat or Progressive it does not matter. You can dress up the history with a new name but it is still a history of slavery and Jim Crow, the Confederate States of America, anti Civil Rights Act of 1964 and abortion.
Thanks for the comment.