a_natural_beauty

I don't post much when it comes to politics, but this one hits home to me on a personal level so I wanted to write about this in a quick little entry that means a-lot to me and happened this past week: The first a president or vice president has ever done, Kamala Harris has visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota on the 14th.

This is a very important issue in our country considering that some states have been stripping away these rights. Every woman should have the right to free and/or affordable healthcare and should be able to make their own decision about what to do with their bodies. When I donated to Biden's cause the other week this was the first issue I wrote that is important I think they should put a bit more focus on. And then it happened like a week later! Planned Parenthood handles so many things from free Brest exams to STD testing & treatment to mental health care to educating patients on safe sex practices. And so much more!! Sadly the county I live in closed their Planed parenthood years ago. I used to go to it for the different services they offered. It scares me that some states are taking away the access for women to make this very difficult decision. As if making this choice for a woman wasn't hard enough, but now they are making some states even harder to live in. When Kamala went and spoke I felt emotional, motivated, worried and most of all HEARD. So many emotions. I hope others can see the importance in this huge step she took.

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/13/1238420757/harris-visits-abortion-clinic-minnesota

What Planned parenthood offers:
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-care/our-services

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: Arcade Fire Radio on Pandora

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

adafrog

Good.

From:

a_natural_beauty

It is! :-)

From:

jasonderoga86

You know that a politician speaks for you when they put YOU first. Kamala is one of those politicians.

Yesterday I was the sole person in my department to be interviewed to represent my agency by unanimous vote, and the timing couldn't be better. Before the meeting, I was assisting in our Pop Culture class. The instructor played a clip on the projector screen from a social media account, with a speech on women's rights. This particular speech was accompanied with several scenes from various movies staring female characters with emotions ranging from happy to scared to sad to broken. The speech itself was by Margot Robbie's "Barbie" character from the film of the same name. I spoke on the significance of the film; it's no coincidence that Barbie was released in theaters one year after the U.S. Supreme Court did the unthinkable. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was a deliberate attack on all American women by a vengeful right-wing Republican Party. To me, the whole reeked of the hegemonic masculinity aspect of the persistent and pervasive White Christian Nationalist agenda reignited by Trump back in 2016. I remember that awful day; White men nationwide were celebrating the election result, but news coverage also covered many, MANY American women of all skin colors and races/ethnicities who were anything but celebratory. They were horrified, crestfallen, and most of all, in a state of raw grief. They knew the President-elect all too well, and they knew what he stood for; the fact that he had a one night stand with Stormy Daniels to influence the election knowing FULL well that he was being unfaithful to his THIRD wife was a clear sign of what he thought of women, as if that horrible Access Hollywood recording -- which this callous filth of a person continues to defend -- wasn't enough.

The reason I mention White Christian Nationalism is because not only is it a the most widely embraced bastardization of Christianity in America, but it emphasizes the absolute power of solely White men. In this immoral ideology, women are no better than the Black slaves of old, to be confined in the house as a homebody, a housewife, responsible for all the menial housekeeping tasks and cooking meals. This sinful "religion" also strongly defense domestic violence against women. I can't understand for the LIFE of me why ANY woman would willing subscribe to such a treacherous movement, they're basically selling themselves into bondage.

The worst part of it is this ridiculous idea of the "Pro-Life" mentality reverently held by White men in the GOP. Kamala Harris mentioned how shocking it is to hear the GOP have the audacity to say that abortion kills children and thus it is immoral and it defies God. Her reasoning is clear; how can a politician be "Pro-Life", to believe all children are sacred, when they deliberately turn a blind eye from the neverending scourge of school shootings that government statistics have proven to be the leading cause of death for those same children? Why are GOP politicians so quick to attack a women for performing a procedure that could make the difference between life and death for both her AND her unborn child, but callously turn away anyone who charges them with hypocrisy since they continue to put all American families in perpetual fear that their child or children may go to school, but never come home? Children being forced to practice active shooter drills and relive the trauma of school shootings happening nationwide is truly child abuse. No Republican will say so, of course, because the only value they really see in children in America is the potential to be used for their far-right extremist political agendas.

Every Republican who claims to be "Pro-Life" is guilty of nationwide child abuse. Also, statistics draw a VERY disturbing connection between mass shootings and primarily minority-populated states and neighborhoods. Personally, I believe the GOP is intentionally let the massacring continue because it's now targeting communities of color and of the LGBTQ crowd. They pretend to care about unborn children, but even when unborn children are murdered by guns violence the same Republicans shy away from questions, and declared in 2023 after the Nashville tragedy that they simply would not stop the slaughter, claiming "inevitable criminalities" while also talking about a "Christian revival." As an ex-Christian myself, this mentality, along with state-sanctioned police brutality against communities of color, revealed the blasphemous truth of how all along White conservative men never believed in the American values they claimed to cherish. They used Christianity as a shield to protect them any accountability, but when Trump came into power, they were comfortable enough to drop the act. One of our clients at work asked me why Christians in America are receiving so much hate. Knowing that this was the sole reason for it all and how it would break this client's heart (he is a true Christian, who upholds his faith to help others through his business, unlike "Christian" politicians in the Republican Party), I didn't answer the question and told him to keep practicing his faith.

After January 6th, 2021, true practitioners of the Christian faith came out in grief at what this venomous belief had done; Christianity had been gravely violated and people were leaving the faith. In my opinion, the Trump administration effectively killed Christianity in America on Day One. At that moment, this faith, which I myself was raised in, was no longer valid. That day, frustrated with what this religion had done and continues to do to women and all people of color, I had no choice but to personally disown Christianity. I refuse to be associated in any way to a religion that had been perverted from the founding of America in the interest of empowering White men with clearly wicked intentions. So many have suffered, FAR more have died as a result.

The final straw for me on this "Pro-Life" garbage was a story in Texas, I believe, or some red state, where a female doctor who had performed an abortion on a 10-year-old girl carrying an illegitimate child had her entire reputation eviscerated by a GOP politician who clearly idolizes the disgusting "religion" of toxic masculinity.

Barbie was not a coincidence. America is the Land of the Free, and yet Republicans are toiling around the clock trying to relegate that freedom to apply only to White conservative men out of a rekindled misogynistic lust for power sparked by the amoral monster that is Trump. The same Republican Party that loves to demonize third world countries that oppress women (George W. Bush proudly claiming that Saddam Hussein's "rape rooms" would be dismantled before invading Iraq, for example) has revealed itself to be no better than those countries; it's a known fact that White Christian Nationalism and Islamic Radicalism are one and the same, the only difference is the religion being bastardized.

I stand with and respect all women, all people of color, all of the disabled, and the entire LGBTQ community who continue to fight what is clearly a cultist movement desperate to return all power to immoral White men who have a insatiable lust for carnal, perverse domination of all women. In fact, by attacking women, I'll go as far as to say that these men are disgracing their own mothers, grandmothers, and so on. It's a poison that needs to be drawn from this traumatized country, and only Democrats seems focused on making that happen.

I commend you for donating to Biden's campaign; I made a huge donation last year. Unfortunately I couldn't commit to a subscription donation that would renew itself monthly until Election Day 2024, but I needed to pitch in to stop this madness. These White male infidels do not deserve the power they have over the entire country; in fact, it was never their power to begin with. In true fascist dictator fashion, they manipulated American women into surrendering that power and now they're threatening those women with serious punishments simply for trying to take their back. It's one of most heinous crimes against humanity, and if I could make it happen, I'd have every one of them thrown out of office; they are not even worth the privilege of being voted out. They are monsters. ALL of them.

You are strong and brave, Jess. Remember, you have us here on DW, your boyfriend, your family and real-life friends, and the alliance of the rest of Americans who want to return decency, democracy, and the rule of law to this gravely ill nation standing with you. This evil will be rooted out of America once and for all in November -- no same American will accept the alternative, because there IS no alternative.

Edited Date: 2024-03-17 04:13 am (UTC)

From:

a_natural_beauty

Thank you! I'm happy to have your support and friendship! You are also a brave and very knowledge person. I feel like your posts have opened my eyes to news and information. And our comic has been a positive and fun part of my online comic reading experience. :-)

From:

medusahealing

I live in Minneapolis.

For the most part Minnesota is very pro women's rights and LGBTQ+.

The migration for different states will continue to happen as the political and socioeconomic landscape continues to change in states.

From:

a_natural_beauty

That's good about your state! I live in Ohio and my state is pretty mixed.

Yeah, it is worrisome about that fact. I hope there are enough safe states for woman to go to if they need/want an abortion. I hate to think of the risks they may take if they can not.