Protesters on the Kennedy
I played hooky from work yesterday with the intention of surprising my oldest daughter with a trip to Great America. Feeling light and giddy, still keeping my plans a secret, I pulled my car up the entrance ramp and was quickly slammed by image after image of dead babies.
Overpass after overpass, the lines of pro-life protesters dangled ginormous posters of mutilated fetuses for all passing traffic to see. And that included my 12 year old co-pilot.
Good job on the message delivery guys. I, for one, won’t be open to hearing anything you have to say after such a visually abusive display.
Ahhh, yes. I actually got into a physical altercation with a few of these folks a few years back. One of them wanted to “spank me like your daddy shoulda done” (no shit, he really said that, i was 20 at the time) They stand their with graphic pics as parents and kids drive by, it’s irresponsible, whether i agree with them or not(which i do NOT). What are you gonna do? after years and years of seeing them, i just pulled my car over that day and exercised my right to free speech, (but eventually a cop had to break it up), some people get me sooooooooooooo mad.
In 10 years, those graphic images will be replaced by the images of women mutilated by back alley abortions.
Yesterday, two boys in red “Choose Life” t-shirts were working a corner downtown as I walked to the Metra. I’m not big on confrontation and probably would have crossed the street to the other side had the light not just changed. So I walked passed them and one said “Help stop abortion” as he shoved a graphic flyer in my face. I said “I should punch you in the face” and he stepped back. Violence isn’t the answer, but it’s so tempting.
I’ve always thought, if someone really believes that abortion is wrong, they should work at shelters for battered women with children, start programs to help teen mothers stay in school, stuff grocery bags at food pantries for poor families, etc. You know, selfless, Christian acts that benefit families.
Not self-righteously hold “ginormous” (I like that word!) posters over a f***ing interstate. And not harass people who exercise their right to abortion. How is self-righteousness and harassment considered Christian? I honestly never understood anti-abortion protesters. It just seems like retired people and high school kids wasting their time — I mean, if they have so much spare time, they should go build a house for Habitat for Humanity for heaven’s sake. Geez.
I always tell the sign holders in front of Planned Parenthood that they SHOULD do something useful, like raise money for a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.
And then I say “Oops, my bad. They discovered that cure already! Using embryonic stem cells!”
/Then I move on, chortling to myself.
/I’m not REALLY evil.
I just can not believe that visually accosting people in cars, many with small children in tow, is an effective way to get your message across.
When I was trying to raise funds for the camp in Koh Phi Phi, I didn’t show people images of mangled tsunami victims.