Quote:
Originally Posted by Low C Sharp
Sure, many. Many hundreds. Possibly even many thousands. Tens of millions of Americans call abortion murder.
I see how differently people behave when born children are being murdered in front of them. You try to change the law in addition to direct action.
I agree that tens of millions of Americans believe abortion is immoral, tragic, etc. But exactly the same as shooting fourth graders in the head? Nah, not many really believe that. And if I'm wrong, and tens of millions truly believe that there's a Newtown massacre happening every day in every city in America, and their reaction is to pursue legal action alone (or do nothing at all), then that's a far less flattering picture of the movement than my claim, which is just that they're using exaggerated rhetoric.
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I see your point, though I think the Newtown shootings aren't at all an apt analogy. The people protecting children there were people already in the school who had at least some relationship to the children there. Other than law enforcement, there weren't random strangers running in to throw themselves in front of the bullets. Your earlier reference to Auschwitz (which I recognize was a reference to comparisons that those opposed t choice might make rather than your own comparison)
might have been a closer analogy, though I'm well aware that comparisons to the Holocaust can be unnecessarily inflammatory and Godwin the discussion in no time flat.
But don't you see how refusing to accept what people say their beliefs are can come across as disrespectful and dismissive at best and arrogant and condescending at worst, especially if you throw the "exaggerated rhetoric" in there, or make judgments about what actions someone else's beliefs should require them to take? Telling someone they don't really believe what they say they believe is usually a pretty effective dialogue killer. I would certainly wonder why I should bother talking with someone who seems to think they know more about what I believe than I do.
I'm not saying to uncritically accept whatever someone says. But I think we get a lot further if we give people the basic respect of taking them at their word about their beliefs and experiences. If we start there, then we can explore (and challenge) the implications of those beliefs, if not the beliefs themselves -- as long as we're also willing to be on the receiving end of exploration and challenges.