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An appeal to fewer emotions in politics can sometimes come from a place of privilege, but I'm coming to realize that it's still USEFUL. I'm also in an odd, sem

by Mezzie 4y ago

An appeal to fewer emotions in politics can sometimes come from a place of privilege, but I'm coming to realize that it's still USEFUL. I'm also in an odd, semi-orthogonal situation: I'm a homosexual female of child-bearing age, so while I may be impacted by this, it's far less likely than for other women and the situation would always be one of those tricky exceptions (plus, since most women are raped by men they know... if you know me and you rape me without murdering me, you're an idiot, and dead women don't get pregnant). The issue with things being too emotional isn't that the emotions are bad or that people don't need support. They absolutely do. The issue is that if we ONLY focus on emotions and keep ourselves in panicked, fight-or-flight mode for all of our waking hours that we can't plan or strategize effectively. Deciding what to DO to make change requires a little emotional distance. I think it's possible to both acknowledge the devastation people are feeling while also thinking it's counter-productive to ONLY have that conversation.

heywoodlh 4y ago
> I think it's possible to both acknowledge the devastation people are feeling while also thinking it's counter-productive to ONLY have that conversation. Very good point -- I completely agree. From my place of privilege (again, not saying this about anyone else) I think I often considered emotion to be completely useless and to just set it aside. Thank you for the reminder that both emotion and logical thinking should be acknowledged. > since most women are raped by men One of the things that blows my mind about many pro-life arguments is how little responsibility is placed on men if they impregnate a woman. Women literally can't get pregnant without a man and yet the fixation surrounding abortion is on controlling the woman's body. And when this is acknowledged, it is accompanied by unreal ideas around stopping all rape completely. Idk, it seems to me like banning abortion is treating a symptom rather than the root of why unwanted pregnancies occur (i.e. lack of sex education, dysfunctional family/societal dynamics, etc.)
- Mezzie 4y ago
  > Very good point -- I completely agree. From my place of privilege (again, not saying this about anyone else) I think I often considered emotion to be completely useless and to just set it aside. Thank you for the reminder that both emotion and logical thinking should be acknowledged. Same hat, which is why I bring it up: If it can help somebody else figure this out before their 30s, it's good. In particular, emotions are great to help figure out priorities and set direction: If you don't feel anything, it's really hard to decide what you want to do with your life, for example. > banning abortion is treating a symptom rather than the root of why unwanted pregnancies occur (i.e. lack of sex education, dysfunctional family/societal dynamics, etc.) I mean, it is. Banning abortion is basically the only thing all pro-lifers agree on. To address the root of unwanted pregnancies, we'd all have to agree on the causes AND that unwanted pregnancies are the main concern. (For a certain percentage of pro-lifers it's more about discouraging non-reproductive sex than about preventing the death of the fetus).

by Mezzie 4y ago

heywoodlh 4y ago

> I think it's possible to both acknowledge the devastation people are feeling while also thinking it's counter-productive to ONLY have that conversation. Very good point -- I completely agree. From my place of privilege (again, not saying this about anyone else) I think I often considered emotion to be completely useless and to just set it aside. Thank you for the reminder that both emotion and logical thinking should be acknowledged. > since most women are raped by men One of the things that blows my mind about many pro-life arguments is how little responsibility is placed on men if they impregnate a woman. Women literally can't get pregnant without a man and yet the fixation surrounding abortion is on controlling the woman's body. And when this is acknowledged, it is accompanied by unreal ideas around stopping all rape completely. Idk, it seems to me like banning abortion is treating a symptom rather than the root of why unwanted pregnancies occur (i.e. lack of sex education, dysfunctional family/societal dynamics, etc.)

Mezzie 4y ago
> Very good point -- I completely agree. From my place of privilege (again, not saying this about anyone else) I think I often considered emotion to be completely useless and to just set it aside. Thank you for the reminder that both emotion and logical thinking should be acknowledged. Same hat, which is why I bring it up: If it can help somebody else figure this out before their 30s, it's good. In particular, emotions are great to help figure out priorities and set direction: If you don't feel anything, it's really hard to decide what you want to do with your life, for example. > banning abortion is treating a symptom rather than the root of why unwanted pregnancies occur (i.e. lack of sex education, dysfunctional family/societal dynamics, etc.) I mean, it is. Banning abortion is basically the only thing all pro-lifers agree on. To address the root of unwanted pregnancies, we'd all have to agree on the causes AND that unwanted pregnancies are the main concern. (For a certain percentage of pro-lifers it's more about discouraging non-reproductive sex than about preventing the death of the fetus).