| Subject: I have plenty to say to you all. This is only a fraction of it. |
Author:
obitchecker
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Date Posted: Sun, February 22, 2009 6:54:23
In reply to:
Mercedes
's message, "Hi again, Teller. You are so right..." on Sun, February 22, 2009 3:16:05
And, of course, ALL republicans are....you name it.
Sound familiar?
Like ALL blacks are lazy, shiftless, and criminals. ALL Hispanics are same, plus they overbreed and can't speak English. ALL Italians are in the Mafia. ALL Russians are Communists. ALL Jews are money-grubbers. ALL Catholics overbreed and want the Pope to rule the country. ALL Muslims are terrorists out to kill us all. ALL Communists are evil followers of Joe Stalin. ALL Socialists are just Communists using a back-door approach. The list could go on and on....
So, tell me, how many Republicans do you all know? I mean, really KNOW. And of those, how many have you actually sat down and talked with?
I can hear it now, a lot of you insisting you know a lot of them. Maybe you'll tell me that the ones you know really are penny pinching, shallow, not caring, racist, religious zealots, warmongering, etc. Or maybe you'll tell me that they are none of those things, but well, you didn't mean THOSE Republicans, they're not "representative".
Just like you hear so many people making negative comments about blacks, but then insisting that they don't mean those good blacks they know and work with.
I have so much to say in response to this it'll fill enough for ten or more posts when I'm through, but for now I'm just going to tell you about one of those examples of Republican human refuse.
She has been a friend of mine for twenty years. I did not know about her political affiliation at first.
She was born with cerebral palsy. She has been in a wheelchair all her life. She has also given a great deal of her time in trying to help others with disabilities. I was working in a transportation firm when I met her, and I can tell you from firsthand knowledge how she bent over backwards to schedule rides every weekend for a number of other disabled people she knew, even though doing so was becoming physically exhausting, because she knew that if the service wasn't used it would be lost and many other disabled people would lose their weekend rides when they desperately needed it. She is one of the kindest persons I know. I would say, easily, that she has a far bigger heart than I do.
She has also frequently gone to the state capitol (Madison) to testify on the behalf of the disabled, and to oppose cuts that she feels would hurt them. Including when the cuts have been proposed by Republicans.
It surprised me somewhat, though not totally, to find out that she was herself a Republican. Yes, she defends George W. Bush. Strongly. Far, far more than I do, as I'm not a great fan of his.
Now, it's true, her parents are also Republicans, so she grew up with it, but she is definitely intelligent enough to break with them on politics if she wishes to.
However, the big thing which has reinforced her Republicanism is the abortion issue. Simply put, as she sees it, legalized abortion means that it will be people like her that get aborted.
Now, first of all, I'm not with the anti-abortion or pro-abortion movements. I know too many people who feel strong on both sides. And my own niece had an abortion. So I understand both sides. But I'm going to put my friend's feelings on the issue as best I can.
I know, you're probably all saying "The right to choose is NOT about aborting people with disabilities. It's about giving EVERY woman the right to choose."
Realistically, though, when prenatally diagnosed, and particularly when and if opposition to abortion fades, what percentage of people given a prenatal diagnosis of cerebral palsy, or Down's syndrome, or other challenging but viable disabilities, will choose to carry to term? I believe they've already done studies on this with Down's syndrome (yes, I've known many fine people with that too), and something like 90 percent of parents who knew they were going to have a Down's child chose to abort.
Which is, I think, why I have noticed that many of the disabled, and parents of the disabled, are staunchly opposed to abortion. Not all, but many. And I'm not saying I agree with them, just that I fully understand their point of view, and I don't find it any less legitimate than I do those who support legal abortion because they or a family member became pregnant after rape.
Now, of course, it would be possible to permit abortions in cases of rape, incest, or even because a woman is just not ready to have a baby....all the other reasons, but not allow it in the case of those who's only reason for wanting the abortion is a prenatal diagnosis of a viable but challenging disability. But do you know of ANY pro-legal abortion advocate who is willing to make that exemption?
The way that many of the disabled and their families (and many who work with them) see it, allowing abortion merely because the child is going to have a disability is basically telling all those who have theat disability that they don't have a right to be here.
And yes, I've actually heard people make remarks like that. Essentially this: "These poor people (in this particular case, the developmentally disabled). They did not ask to be here, and thank God, with prenatal diagnosis and the right to choose abortion, in the future they won't have to be here. But since they are here, well, we'd better do all we can for them." Tell me, if such a statement was applied to YOU, would it raise or lower your sense of human dignity?
So, yes, I see why many people in those situations oppose abortion. We are all products of our experiences, and it is arrogance to assume that ours are the only experiences that count. Like it or not, many of our disagreements on matters of policy are based on our different experiences, but until we've really shared the experiences of everyone else (and really heard all the arguments pro and con) we should not arrogantly assume that our opinion is the only one that could possibly be valid, and that those who hold other opinions are somehow evil or stupid.
My friend is anything but evil. She is anything but stupid. If you think her being a Republican makes her that, let me know and I will gladly arrange for you to meet her in person so that you can tell her so to her face.
Then you can deal with me too.
Oh, but I can hear it now, "We are NOT attacking people like your friend. It is the LEADERS of the Republicans we are talking about. She has been brainwashed by the ruthless, evil people who run the Republican Party. She doesn't even realize it."
Notice the arrogant condescension implicit in this kind of statement. They (all those people who have followed the other side) are brainwashed, We are not. We are smart. We know the truth because we are so much smarter than all those stupid people. We are not brainwashed because we are TOO SMART to be brainwashed.
None of us are that smart, ANY of us can be fooled, any of us can be brainwashed. And yes, any of us can be WRONG, even about issues we may feel strongly about. (I know, there are reductio ad absurdums to that, but in general, it is true).
My friend is just one of the Republicans I have known. (And yes, I know and respect many Democrats as well, and in fact forced to choose I would still prefer to identify as a Democrat, though one of an old variety). I also know many who can intelligently argue their side from an economic or other point of view. If you want to meet them and tell them to their face what immoral stupid people they are, my offer is the same.
When all is sorted out, I may be wrong, and you guys may be right, about some issue which I have felt strongly about and strongly disagreed with you over. None of us knows how events will unfold in the long run. We can predict, but we don't know.
Now, are any of you willing to say that, when all is said and done in the long run, YOU may be wrong, and Republicans may be right, on ANY issue which you feel strongly about?
If you can't even say that that is possible, then you are even more arrogant and immature than I thought.
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