“I couldn’t have asked for a better year, all thanks to you.” — Taylor Swift
Merriam-Webster named “Feminism” it’s 2017 word of the year, but what we see in the quote above is dictionary definition “white feminism.” And after this week let’s just say your 2018 resolution better be to be even more intersectional and to fight anyone who isn’t.
Leading up to the Alabama election we saw like, a gazillion think pieces from every outlet about how “abortion” was gonna be the deciding issue for voters. Some even argued that Doug Jones should CHANGE his position, COMPROMISE A LITTLE, so that he could win. Well guess what, my dudes, you don’t have to compromise your beliefs to win elections. And we hope that this will be a lesson moving forward. Abortion is not a “wedge” issue. You cannot be a progressive candidate if you do not support a pregnant person’s right to choose. Never compromise!
Another big win this week was in Hartford, CT which approved an ordinance to stop CPCs from using deceptive language! Hope you still have those receipts for the white lab coats you bought, you non-doctor finks! In other good news, Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania, says he veto a 20-week abortion ban bill because he calls it “an attack on women.” So make sure to tell him he’s a total babe on Twitter.
But also if the FCC has its way you might have to let this effing site buffer for 20 minutes before you can read our witty posts. #NetNeutrality is over, unless we fight harder than ever. Read here about why Net Neutrality is so important and here about what to do next.
Let’s round this thing out and let you get to your weekend drinking with a little discussion about empathy. AT LPJL we wade through all the terrifying anti-choice websites out there so you don’t have to. And let us just say, those fuckers pretend like they’re “so sensitive and just worried about the babies” and NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE, don’t let them get away with it, they’re not empathetic at all.
First off, they still try to pass these bullshit “fetal burial” bills, like this one in Texas. In anti-choicers quest to make grown people feel shame for something they should FEEL TOTALLY FINE WITH BUT ALSO BE ABLE TO HAVE THEIR OWN, INDIVIDUAL REACTION TO, they also can completely emotionally destroy people who REALLY WANTED A BABY but then had a miscarriage. So, you see, they really don’t care about women who have miscarriages. But oh boy, if us pro-choicers EVEN TRY to say “miscarriage makes us believe in abortion more strongly” and you know, be a subtle, kind human being, anti-choicers will write twenty “nuh, uhh” articles that say how DARE you guys equate the two! Bro, you started it.
And then there’s this probably-unconstitutional Down syndrome bill in Ohio. It’s honestly, embarrassing to watch all these anti-choice sites pretend they give a FUCK about people with Down syndrome. We read your sites all year (and then take long showers to watch the stench off) we know the truth! You can’t just trot out some fake-y empathy when it suits you then forget about it later. Oh wait, that’s anti-choicers ENTIRE GAME. **COUGH** CHIP ***COUGH***.
And look, this Down syndrome bill issue raises a lot of emotions. Here is a story that deals with the issue of wanting to terminate a pregnancy because of genetic testing VERY WELL. It’s by Jen Gann, whose son, Dudley, has Cystic Fibrosis. SHE offers an empathetic look at a very complex issue. AND THEN anti-choice nightmare Kristan Hawkins writes a rebuttal. We’re going to link to it for the sole purpose of showing you what A COMPLETE LACK OF EMPATHY LOOKS LIKE. AND GUESS WHAT, KRISTAN AND JEN LEGIT HAVE THE EXACT SAME VERY-SPECIFIC-LITERALLY-IF-THERE-WAS-EVER-AN-EASIER-TIME-TO-BE-EMPATHETIC-I-CANNOT-THINK-OF-IT EXPERIENCE. Kristan also had a child with cystic fibrosis (and now she has two). I mean, if we’re not able to just look at someone whose life is so similar to ours and see them as a human being, struggling and trying and loving, what the eff are we even doing?
Oh, probably just being Taylor Swift saying this year couldn’t have gone better, when this was a fucking terrible year for most people.
And that’s the week that was.
QUICK HITS:
Friend-of-LPJL and all-around hero Dr. Willie Parker explains the good news about the good news from his home state of Alabama.
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Excellent Frontline article about Donald Trump’s efforts to fuck up everything, everywhere. For everybody.
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