"Yes on 26" Starts Off New Campaign by Disturbing Their Own Viewers

When initiative 26 (the "personhood" amendment) hit Mississippi a couple years ago, we documented their lies, misinformation, and general fail. It appears that they are back to push a new personhood amendment because their page is rapidly filling up with the most idiotic and revolting statements people can make.

Rest assured, DFFT will fight these people every step of the way - and not because we love abortion, but because we strongly value freedom and bodily autonomy. We oppose any government attempt to force a person to donate his or her blood, tissues, or organs to anyone else for any reason. Also please remember that the one time we had an opportunity to make such a choice, we chose the pregnancy. We have not ever and hope to never need to choose abortion. That is our personal preference. 

That being said, I want to focus today on a (possibly) disturbing image of a miscarried fetus and the incredibly harsh comments that followed.

This would be a very disturbing image for me as a mother who experienced a 23 week stillbirth if I still had properly working emotions. Not only does it give me flashbacks of my dead son but it also seems to imply that I, as a pro-choice woman, did not consider my son a person in any sense. This is untrue, of course, because I did consider him to be a future person and member of our family. But at no time did I think that he had any legal status. How could he? He did not have the ability to carry out even the simplest privileges of a born citizen - to breathe American air and experience his environment - much less carry out any duties.

Not everyone on "Yes on 26" appreciated this graphic image either. Two women and one man (all against abortion) told the page that this picture was too disturbing to them and possibly to others who had experienced miscarriages and stillbirths. The gentleman even said he would have to hide the post because he couldn't bear to see it. I am not going to post their names or comments because I do have respect for those who grieve. But guess who didn't show any respect? "Yes on 26" sure didn't bother taking it down. Better yet, some of the commentators retorted that it wasn't disturbing or, if it was, that folks needed to see it anyway so they could see what they were killing. I don't feel any remorse for showing you those comments below:

Never mind how this picture makes you feel, sir. Never mind if it makes you relive the agony of losing a child you desperately wanted. We've got to get these icky pictures in front of America and its children so they'll know that abortion is...well...icky. I hate to tell this guy but he could wave a thousand pictures of people dying or dead from horrid diseases and that won't make me vote to force people to donate their organs. Life is full of suffering and it is always good when we can give of ourselves to help alleviate another person's suffering. But it has to be a choice - not a legal imperative. And there's no need for you to so unapologetically rejoice in your fellow man's suffering. Where's your compassion for the born? You have none.

Well, hooray for you that you love women who, by your definition, are murderers. You are going to push for legislation to send them to jail for their abortions, right? And why do you need to gratuitously share these "loving memories" to fight your fight? Yes, I'm aware that the family has posted many pictures online and given everyone permission to share them; nevertheless, do you not stop to think that maybe they aren't making that decision from a good place right now? Do you not stop to think that maybe there are better ways to honor that family's decision than by slapping the picture on every pro-life site you can find like it was a cheap porn ad? Hell, I'm feeling pretty crappy for showing the picture now (so much so that I learned how to hide it) but I can't think how I will make my point if I don't. But you seem to have no concern for whom the picture hurts - you can only think about how many unborns you can save and then discard once they take their first breath.

I don't feel particularly happy about including this picture either but it's so crucial to my point. Perhaps this is a simple declaration of hope but, in context with the other posts, it sounds like, "Didn't bother me so it shouldn't bother you." I get that people need to believe their loved ones are in Heaven but please don't assume that your lack of pain is shared by us all. My mother desperately believes in Heaven but she has grieved for the loss of our son. You do not want to tell her that the picture shouldn't upset her. You really don't.

Here we have the worst offender - the commentator who drove me to write this post. Not only does he feel no sympathy for his fellow pro-lifers who were hurt by the photo but he lectures them and goes so far as to blame them for offending him! I hate to tell you, dude, but unborn babies are pretty revolting. Have you seen one come out? They're pretty revolting too until they get cleaned up. Isn't that why you guys parade the pictures around after all? Because they are shocking and revolting? 

And how dare you tell these grieving parents how they should feel or what they should look at! Does your picture of your dead cousin show him all mangled and bloody or is it a pleasant picture? It makes a difference. These parents shouldn't give a single thought to what offends you or what you expect. You don't control us and you don't speak for us.

I can already tell this next battle is going to be dirty. It's already begun. It's going to compel me to write and to relive my experiences until I have to double my blood pressure medicine. But one thing you won't see me do - you won't see me drag out pictures of my dead son and tell everyone to post them all over the internet to support my pet causes. Not because I'm ashamed of him but because I care about other parents out there who are grieving and do not need to be traumatized again so that I can make a point. I'll tell my story, yes, but I won't whore out pictures of my grief to win votes.

"Yes on 26" and their crew, however, seem to have little compunction about doing so. I guess we'll continue to discover their true colors again as this battle rages on. As for me, I'm not going to post a link to the family's blog or other pictures even though they've given everyone permission. I just don't feel like it's the right thing to do.

Facebooking for Jesus: The New Pledge of Allegiance

I hate chain emails. I mean I really, REALLY, hate them. They usually present half-truths or outright lies as fact and then try to derive some great moral lesson from them - usually at the expense of an unpopular group. This often serves to reinforce misconceptions, promote ignorance, and encourage unreasonable intolerance and fear.


Today's offering is one you have probably seen making the rounds before.  The unspecified enemies here appear to be atheists and liberals, favorite targets of people who don't know much about our country, why it was formed, or how it works. Unfortunately, that describes many of my family and friends. Let's take a look: 

BY A 15 yr. OLD SCHOOL KID Who got an A+ for this entry Since the Pledge of Allegiance And The Lord's Prayer Are not allowed in most Public schools anymore Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....

I'm not sure which is worse - that a student could write something so stupid or that adults would pass this around as if it were true. The pledge can still be said in schools but the school can't force a student to recite it. Likewise, students may still say the Lord's Prayer during their free time at school but the school cannot make them pray it or pray it for them. God is not an evil word or a banned word at school. It is simply a subject that the school, because it is part of the government, must remain neutral on.

If your kids aren't patriotic or religious enough, then that is your fault as a parent. It is not the government's job to make your kid patriotic or religious.

A kid in Arizona wrote the attached NEW School prayer: "New Pledge of Allegiance" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now I sit me down in school Where praying is against the rule For this great nation under God Finds mention of Him very odd.

Once again, praying isn't "against the rule" if it's the student (or a group of students) doing it outside of instructional time. The school administration and staff are the ones that can't pray, make kids pray, or make kids listen to prayer.

As for America finding the mention of God strange, I have to wonder which America this kid lives in. America is so full of "Jesus" and "God" that you can't listen to a politician or read anything any more without someone sticking their god in it. Keep in mind that as of 2008, 76% of Americans claimed to be Christian and 9% more claimed to be theists of some other religion. That's a total of 85% of Americans who believe in at least one god and only 15% of people who don't (though, to be fair, of those 15%, some may be theists who simply have no religion). The idea that this nation is estranged from God is what's odd.

If scripture now the class recites, It violates the Bill of Rights. And anytime my head I bow Becomes a Federal matter now.

Scripture can be read in class if it's for a secular purpose. I'd argue that the Bible is an important source of literature that should be studied. I'd also argue that a comparative religion class on the high school level is a good idea. Scripture-reading only violates the Bill of Rights when the school endorses, opposes, or forces kids to do it for religious reasons. It's not a federal matter for a student to bow her head and pray quietly but it's a very big deal when the school tries to make kids bow.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green, That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

Actually, some schools do have dress codes against clothing or styles of dress that are "disruptive."

The law is specific, the law is precise. Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice. For praying in a public hall Might offend someone with no faith at all. In silence alone we must meditate, God's name is prohibited by the state.

The problem with school prayer is not that some atheist might "be offended." It's that the government has absolutely no right to tell anyone when and how to pray. Use your imagination for just one moment and pretend that you were at a school graduation and the principal asked everyone to get on their knees and face Mecca to pray to Allah. How would you feel? You'd be furious! Or how would you feel if he was praying a Christian prayer and ended it with an appeal to Mary and the saints? Protestants would be livid! This is why the government in general and schools in particular have no business leading prayers.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks. They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

Again, someone needs to reread the school dress codes. And the Bible hasn't been outlawed nor are students punished for quoting scripture. The real truth is that, for the most part, your kids just really don't care about religion. Most of them are too busy worrying about their friends and their lives to worry about that. You aren't going to catch too many teens going around studying their Bibles (unless it's for show). Most of them are going to be reading teen magazines and stuff that interests them. Again, the problem isn't the school - it's with the family.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen, And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King. It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong, We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.

Schools teach right from wrong every single day. Each classroom is supposed to have a code of conduct. What schools cannot do is teach a particular religious view. That is, yet again, the family's job. What we keep coming back to is the ugly truth that way too many parents are mad because the school won't do their job for them. It is the parents' job to teach morality and instill reasonable discipline. It is the family and the church's job to teach religion. If your kid isn't getting the message, the problem is with you - not the schools.

We can get our condoms and birth controls, Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles. But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, No word of God must reach this crowd.

I wish our school had given us better sex ed and access to contraceptives. I think that would have helped a lot of our students. When I taught in the public school, it was frightening how ignorant high school students were on how sex worked and how pregnancy and STDs could be prevented.

As for the rest of this line, anthropology and cultural studies are (or should be) important parts of student education. Teaching a particular religion, however, is not. That's the family and the church's job. How many times do I need to say that before it gets through?

It's scary here I must confess, When chaos reigns the school's a mess. So, Lord, this silent plea I make: Should I be shot; My soul please take! Amen.

If school is a scary place, then perhaps we need to take a look at how school boards and administrators are hamstrung by angry parents. Too many parents send their kids to school with no home training, no sense of respect, and no desire to learn. Then when their kids get in trouble or fail to perform, these same parents will threaten the teachers with physical violence and threaten the administrators with lawsuits. You simply cannot run safe and effective schools when parents act more like thugs than their own kids do.

If you aren't ashamed to do this, Please pass this on. Jesus said, 'If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father.' Not ashamed. Pass this on...

And now we get to the worst of it. The same trash I see on every one of these idiotic posts: that old threat that if you don't pass this along, you aren't a good Christian and Angry Jesus will get you one day.  That is the tactic of a bully. That is the tactic of these angry parents who don't want to raise their children right and expect the state to do it for them. That's the tactic of people who want to use government power to force you to pledge, pray, kneel, bow - all on command. That's the tactic of people who claim all the rights of American society but are unwilling to accept the responsibilities that go with it.

Do I dare tell my cousin that I am indeed ashamed to pass this on because it's untrue? Or do I continue to sit in my closet with my fists tightly clenched?