Detente?
Imagine reading this paragraph from an opinion in a major metropolitan daily:
WHEN IT became clear that that the congressional elections bill would restrict some funding for voter registration drives in poor black neighborhoods, the expected players voiced the expected outrage, howling at the encroachment on civil rights.
Pretty awful, eh? "Expected players, "expected outrage," "howling:" pretty condescending and arrogant language which makes clear the racism inherent in the writer.
Now read the real paragraph in Joanna Weiss's op-ed column in the Boston Globe:
WHEN IT became clear that that the congressional health care bill would restrict some funding for abortions, the expected players voiced the expected outrage, howling at the encroachment on women’s rights.
To be fair, Ms. Weiss is no misogynist, merely a self-described GenX-er who yearns for a little "detente" between the two sides in the abortion debate. She wants the two sides to each admit that the issue is not a simple one and that there are merits to both sides, shades of gray, if you will.
Oh, really? Roe v Wade was about a woman's right to privacy when it comes to reproductive issues, not about the religious sensitivities of one side or the other. Either a woman has the right to choose, or she does not, just as either one is pregnant or is not, or a citizen has a right to vote or does not have that right. There are no shades of gray here.
Ms. Weiss suggests that the current argument may not really be a step backward on women's rights. After all, with the mandated insurance, women, even poor women, will have access to contraception, which would make unwanted pregnancies disappear--just. like. that!
...Perhaps the congressional elections bill isn’t a terrible moment for civil rights, but a great one, a point when both sides of the voter registration debate can move past the polarized rhetoric and start working toward a goal that most people would share: making voting safe, legal, and very, very rare among poor blacks.
God, it's only December 26th, and already I miss Ellen Goodman
WHEN IT became clear that that the congressional elections bill would restrict some funding for voter registration drives in poor black neighborhoods, the expected players voiced the expected outrage, howling at the encroachment on civil rights.
Pretty awful, eh? "Expected players, "expected outrage," "howling:" pretty condescending and arrogant language which makes clear the racism inherent in the writer.
Now read the real paragraph in Joanna Weiss's op-ed column in the Boston Globe:
WHEN IT became clear that that the congressional health care bill would restrict some funding for abortions, the expected players voiced the expected outrage, howling at the encroachment on women’s rights.
To be fair, Ms. Weiss is no misogynist, merely a self-described GenX-er who yearns for a little "detente" between the two sides in the abortion debate. She wants the two sides to each admit that the issue is not a simple one and that there are merits to both sides, shades of gray, if you will.
Oh, really? Roe v Wade was about a woman's right to privacy when it comes to reproductive issues, not about the religious sensitivities of one side or the other. Either a woman has the right to choose, or she does not, just as either one is pregnant or is not, or a citizen has a right to vote or does not have that right. There are no shades of gray here.
Ms. Weiss suggests that the current argument may not really be a step backward on women's rights. After all, with the mandated insurance, women, even poor women, will have access to contraception, which would make unwanted pregnancies disappear--just. like. that!
...Perhaps the congressional elections bill isn’t a terrible moment for civil rights, but a great one, a point when both sides of the voter registration debate can move past the polarized rhetoric and start working toward a goal that most people would share: making voting safe, legal, and very, very rare among poor blacks.
God, it's only December 26th, and already I miss Ellen Goodman
Labels: Abortion Rights, Women's Rights
posted by Diane at 4:25 AM
2 Comments:
I was having a very pleasant morning up till now.
Damn.
ql
Abortion, on demand, no questions asked...and no "compromises!"
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