I have always been very liberal (that's the American Liberal. I have heard that in other countries it means the opposite of what it means here). I realized I was when I was about 13 and started asking what words like "democrat" and "republican" meant, so from then on I realized my ideals fully fit on the liberal/left/whatever you want to call it side. I always thought the fact that we have parties, and especially the two party system, was stupid though but I always knew I did have values that fully fit in with liberal. When I say very liberal, I mean a mixture of all the liberals, like a full on mix of Communist, Socialist, Anarchist, Hippie, Green, Peace and Love, Democrat, with punk rock ethics as well and whatever else there is that is left. It's hard for me to choose just one since I fit in with all, so I usually just say liberal. If it weren't for the fact that I'm really into grunge and totally want to live in Seattle (the grunge holy-land), I would probably find a Hippie commune to live on.
I have always been very Feminist. I have always known I was a Feminist. I remember reading that Kathleen Hanna got into feminism when she was 9 or something, and thinking that was odd because I seemed to have always been into it, though of course we come from different times, so maybe I lucked out by growing up in the post-riot grrrl 90s, but then again the 70s was very Feminist as well. I think my first feminist memory was when I was 3 and I hated that people apparently can hit boys but not girls, because that isn't equal. I knew it was silly to say women couldn't take it, and it was silly to say men could. Those are just old-fashioned gender ideals that say that women are fragile and men are tough, and both are wrong. It goes by a human by human basis. We really shouldn't be hitting anyone, and it should be equal. When I said very Feminist, I mean I call myself a radical feminist because I know that feminism can't have anything to do with being a man hater so those who say that's what that means are wrong, and anything radical just means you support it more than just having a general sense that it is right and want to actually figure it out and fix it. You can't have radical equality that leans on one side. There is a difference between women's rights and feminism. Feminism incorporates women's rights but is about equality of the sexes. You can be for women's rights and not a feminist though, if you don't want equality of the sexes, and only care about women's rights. Those are more like the man-hater radicals that people confuse with feminists. Another misconception of feminism is that you have to be an activist and protesting all the time. You can sit on your lazy but and have a general sense that the sexes should be treated equally without picketing. That's a regular feminist. Those of us that actually want to see social change in the world are radicals.
I am very Atheist. I would say that even though I was never raised as an Atheist, I was always an Atheist. I realized I was one around 7th grade. My whole mom's side of the family is Mormon, and we did go to Mormon church when I was young, but luckily we stopped either when I was 6 or 7 (I don't remember exactly, but I know this because in the Mormon faith, you get baptized when you turn 8, and my brother is a little over 2 years older than me, and he was baptized, so we were attending church then, so I would have been almost 6, and then we stopped by the time I was 8, so I wasn't baptized (thank goodness)) My mother say she wishes she would have kept religion in our lives longer for the family type of stuff and that we missed out on some things, but I am so thankful for the fact that she didn't, as it would be SO much harder to come out as an Atheist. I'm SO glad she stopped taking us to church when I was still young enough to not know what was going on. I never bought the stuff at all, though when I was in my trying to find myself period, I did perhaps pray to god, like "help me find (whatever item I had lost) and I'll do whatever" and I think once I said I was a Christian when someone asked because I didn't know what else to say, but I honestly never believed any of it. It was just me playing monkey see monkey do and being afraid to come out in a world that looks down upon Atheist people. For that I say I was always an Atheist. Also, when I say very Atheist, I mean I don't think there ever is a possibility that there ever is, was, or will be a god or gods, so in other words, I'd probably be considered a Gnostic Atheist, and I think most Atheists are Agnostic Atheists. I don't bash people for their beliefs though. I think religion is an evil and definitely want it to go away, but the people aren't necessarily and I know what it's like to have them push their beliefs on me so I try not to stoop to that level.
I have always been very Pro-Life. Well, as long as I knew what abortion was. When I say very pro-life, I mean I have always been iffy on the life of the mother exception, but I have never accepted any other exception. I think I was 14 when I asked my mom what abortion meant because I had heard the word a few times, and didn't know. Right away I knew I was against it, and this wasn't so long after finding out how very Liberal I am, so since it seems like it was right up the Conservative side's alley, I assumed it was something conservative deadbeat dads created so that they wouldn't have to take care of their responsibilities and to keep women down. Being the feminist I am, and being a woman myself, I assumed it was something only ever used against women and women would never choose to do it, though now I know even more of how it's bad to assume women would never do anything bad to their children, I mean you even have women drowning their infants, but coming from a woman's perspective, I can't imagine any woman ever being ok with this. I also can't imagine parents ever being ok with this. Chalk it up to me never imagining that I could do it as a female, so being naive to the fact that other women could do it.
I knew being fine with people choosing to kill, dehumanizing, and denying rights was totally a conservative thing. I created all these liberal and feminist ideals against abortion, and then I started hearing my mom and brother and others say that pro-life was a conservative thing and pro-choice was a liberal thing, so naturally I thought they were joking because it makes absolutely no sense. Then as time went on, I started to realize that there was that stereotype that conservative religious types were pro-life and liberal feminist types were pro-choice, and perhaps the majorities may be like this currently, but that makes no sense, and I never let the stereotypes stop me from being who I am and believing what I believe. I always knew that it's just as hypocritical to be for animal rights/vegetarian/vegan, pro-peace/anti-war, pro-universal healthcare, anti-gun, environmentalist/tree-hugger type etc. and to be for people choosing to kill their offspring as it is to be a pro-war, gun-toting, animal hunting, anti-universal healthcare type who actually cares about life and rights with the unborn.
I knew it was something to use womanhood and women's bodies and so men could back out of actually taking care of their children, and so they could use them for sex and then get rid of the problem if they got pregnant so they could just do it all over again. Though now I know women choose it because they feel like they have no other choice, yet men do do that all the time and also pressure them into it and make them feel like it's their responsibility because they are the mothers, but then other men are wronged and regret lost fatherhood like the women who regret their abortions. The pro-choice side lets bad guys get away with it and good guys hurt from it. I knew that the whole "it's the woman's choice" thing was old-fashioned gender stereotypes that say that the woman has to choose and it has to be all on the woman, the one who is the mother, the one who gets pregnant, so everything about babies has to be on her because that's women's work. That is OBVIOUSLY sexist and leads to the world we have now where men think that they have to say that the woman should deal with it because she is the woman and they will support whatever choice because it's her choice because she is the mother, and the women think that they have to deal with all of this and decide all these things because they are the women, the ones who get pregnant, the mothers who have to deal with baby stuff because that's a woman's job. I don't necessarily blame them though, because they have been wronged by society. Tons of really sweet guys are tricked into thinking they are great feminist men by telling the woman it's her choice and she has to deal with it. Tons of really great girls are tricked into thinking they have to carry the whole world on their shoulders just because they are women, or have to be pro-choice because their fellow feminist friends tell them they have to. I actually wrote a bunch of liberal, feminist, pro-life lyrics not long after finding out about abortion, and stuck them in a book of other lyrics, hidden, because I didn't want to admit that there was such a thing. I think I'll turn them into pro-life riot grrrl songs.
I have always been these things because I am not the type to go through phases or change that much. Really you should only change if you come across info that proves you were wrong, or if your tastes honestly change, like if you suddenly like one flavor of icecream more than your previous favorite. Neither of those things tend to happen to me. My beliefs have stayed the same, though perhaps a few tweaks here and there with new information, but essentially I'm the same person I always was, though actually my beliefs are stronger than they ever were. I have always been more strong-willed and don't tend to give in to peer pressure. I was always one to think rebellion and conformity are stupid and you should always just be yourself. It may be and has been a long and hard road finding out that what makes sense isn't in the norm right now, but I never let that stop me. I hate it when people choose sides based on what other people who also happen to be like that think or say or do (I hate that so many pro-choicers are pro-choice or at least don't like pro-lifers or the pro-life thing because of the crazy radical conservative religious types saying stupid things or bombing abortion clinics. Trust us, they are only a fringe group, much like how everyone labels feminists as man-haters yet only a small percentage of people who consider themselves feminist actually are, or like how the WBC is only made up of 40 members yet they get all the attention and give Christianity a really bad name), or just because it is labelled as what people of your side are supposed to think. Everyone should realize that this issue is switched on all sides.
Oh and I'm really, really in love with music, especially rock and roll, especially all that is Grunge, Alternative rock, Riot Grrrl, the 90s, Seattle, and Generation X. I tend to say that a lot. I say "all that is" because not only do I love the music, but also all the stylistic things, and the vibes of it. I love tattoos, piercings, log hair (I LOOOVE long haired dudes!), goatees, loose-fitting clothing, crazy colored hair, flannel shirts, band shirts, ripped jeans, Doc Martens boots, or really all dirty boots, Converse All Stars, shorts with longjohns, the whole entire Kinderwhore look, those cool black rayon mini dresses with the little flowers on them that you can usually find by typing in 90s grunge on ebay, and the whole entire laidback, down to earth, let your hair down vibe of the 90s. All of that, but especially the music, is my main stuff. My life, my love, my passion. I even have another blog on here called The Grunge Pit. So yeah, I'm always saying I'm like the alternative feminist punk type who usually gets pigeonholed as working the front desk at Planned Parenthood or something, yet pro-life, because sometimes stereotypes are false. I'm hoping that with this blog, I can help people realize the side of the liberal, feminist, atheist, cool pro-lifer. Usually you have pro-life organizations that cater to only liberals, only feminists, or only atheists, but I'm always thinking there should be something to tie in all of that, because since they tend to only do one of those, they are non-denominational with the other things and let everyone join in as long as they are pro-life and that one thing, and thus you might have people on pages for Feminists For Life who may be conservative or religious, or people on pages for Democrats For Life of America who may be religious or not Feminist, or people on pages for Secular Pro-Life who may be conservative or not Feminist, so why not make my own blog talking about all of these things? I hope I can connect this world too and give people resources for their needs within these types of things.
I have always been very Feminist. I have always known I was a Feminist. I remember reading that Kathleen Hanna got into feminism when she was 9 or something, and thinking that was odd because I seemed to have always been into it, though of course we come from different times, so maybe I lucked out by growing up in the post-riot grrrl 90s, but then again the 70s was very Feminist as well. I think my first feminist memory was when I was 3 and I hated that people apparently can hit boys but not girls, because that isn't equal. I knew it was silly to say women couldn't take it, and it was silly to say men could. Those are just old-fashioned gender ideals that say that women are fragile and men are tough, and both are wrong. It goes by a human by human basis. We really shouldn't be hitting anyone, and it should be equal. When I said very Feminist, I mean I call myself a radical feminist because I know that feminism can't have anything to do with being a man hater so those who say that's what that means are wrong, and anything radical just means you support it more than just having a general sense that it is right and want to actually figure it out and fix it. You can't have radical equality that leans on one side. There is a difference between women's rights and feminism. Feminism incorporates women's rights but is about equality of the sexes. You can be for women's rights and not a feminist though, if you don't want equality of the sexes, and only care about women's rights. Those are more like the man-hater radicals that people confuse with feminists. Another misconception of feminism is that you have to be an activist and protesting all the time. You can sit on your lazy but and have a general sense that the sexes should be treated equally without picketing. That's a regular feminist. Those of us that actually want to see social change in the world are radicals.
I am very Atheist. I would say that even though I was never raised as an Atheist, I was always an Atheist. I realized I was one around 7th grade. My whole mom's side of the family is Mormon, and we did go to Mormon church when I was young, but luckily we stopped either when I was 6 or 7 (I don't remember exactly, but I know this because in the Mormon faith, you get baptized when you turn 8, and my brother is a little over 2 years older than me, and he was baptized, so we were attending church then, so I would have been almost 6, and then we stopped by the time I was 8, so I wasn't baptized (thank goodness)) My mother say she wishes she would have kept religion in our lives longer for the family type of stuff and that we missed out on some things, but I am so thankful for the fact that she didn't, as it would be SO much harder to come out as an Atheist. I'm SO glad she stopped taking us to church when I was still young enough to not know what was going on. I never bought the stuff at all, though when I was in my trying to find myself period, I did perhaps pray to god, like "help me find (whatever item I had lost) and I'll do whatever" and I think once I said I was a Christian when someone asked because I didn't know what else to say, but I honestly never believed any of it. It was just me playing monkey see monkey do and being afraid to come out in a world that looks down upon Atheist people. For that I say I was always an Atheist. Also, when I say very Atheist, I mean I don't think there ever is a possibility that there ever is, was, or will be a god or gods, so in other words, I'd probably be considered a Gnostic Atheist, and I think most Atheists are Agnostic Atheists. I don't bash people for their beliefs though. I think religion is an evil and definitely want it to go away, but the people aren't necessarily and I know what it's like to have them push their beliefs on me so I try not to stoop to that level.
I have always been very Pro-Life. Well, as long as I knew what abortion was. When I say very pro-life, I mean I have always been iffy on the life of the mother exception, but I have never accepted any other exception. I think I was 14 when I asked my mom what abortion meant because I had heard the word a few times, and didn't know. Right away I knew I was against it, and this wasn't so long after finding out how very Liberal I am, so since it seems like it was right up the Conservative side's alley, I assumed it was something conservative deadbeat dads created so that they wouldn't have to take care of their responsibilities and to keep women down. Being the feminist I am, and being a woman myself, I assumed it was something only ever used against women and women would never choose to do it, though now I know even more of how it's bad to assume women would never do anything bad to their children, I mean you even have women drowning their infants, but coming from a woman's perspective, I can't imagine any woman ever being ok with this. I also can't imagine parents ever being ok with this. Chalk it up to me never imagining that I could do it as a female, so being naive to the fact that other women could do it.
I knew being fine with people choosing to kill, dehumanizing, and denying rights was totally a conservative thing. I created all these liberal and feminist ideals against abortion, and then I started hearing my mom and brother and others say that pro-life was a conservative thing and pro-choice was a liberal thing, so naturally I thought they were joking because it makes absolutely no sense. Then as time went on, I started to realize that there was that stereotype that conservative religious types were pro-life and liberal feminist types were pro-choice, and perhaps the majorities may be like this currently, but that makes no sense, and I never let the stereotypes stop me from being who I am and believing what I believe. I always knew that it's just as hypocritical to be for animal rights/vegetarian/vegan, pro-peace/anti-war, pro-universal healthcare, anti-gun, environmentalist/tree-hugger type etc. and to be for people choosing to kill their offspring as it is to be a pro-war, gun-toting, animal hunting, anti-universal healthcare type who actually cares about life and rights with the unborn.
I knew it was something to use womanhood and women's bodies and so men could back out of actually taking care of their children, and so they could use them for sex and then get rid of the problem if they got pregnant so they could just do it all over again. Though now I know women choose it because they feel like they have no other choice, yet men do do that all the time and also pressure them into it and make them feel like it's their responsibility because they are the mothers, but then other men are wronged and regret lost fatherhood like the women who regret their abortions. The pro-choice side lets bad guys get away with it and good guys hurt from it. I knew that the whole "it's the woman's choice" thing was old-fashioned gender stereotypes that say that the woman has to choose and it has to be all on the woman, the one who is the mother, the one who gets pregnant, so everything about babies has to be on her because that's women's work. That is OBVIOUSLY sexist and leads to the world we have now where men think that they have to say that the woman should deal with it because she is the woman and they will support whatever choice because it's her choice because she is the mother, and the women think that they have to deal with all of this and decide all these things because they are the women, the ones who get pregnant, the mothers who have to deal with baby stuff because that's a woman's job. I don't necessarily blame them though, because they have been wronged by society. Tons of really sweet guys are tricked into thinking they are great feminist men by telling the woman it's her choice and she has to deal with it. Tons of really great girls are tricked into thinking they have to carry the whole world on their shoulders just because they are women, or have to be pro-choice because their fellow feminist friends tell them they have to. I actually wrote a bunch of liberal, feminist, pro-life lyrics not long after finding out about abortion, and stuck them in a book of other lyrics, hidden, because I didn't want to admit that there was such a thing. I think I'll turn them into pro-life riot grrrl songs.
I have always been these things because I am not the type to go through phases or change that much. Really you should only change if you come across info that proves you were wrong, or if your tastes honestly change, like if you suddenly like one flavor of icecream more than your previous favorite. Neither of those things tend to happen to me. My beliefs have stayed the same, though perhaps a few tweaks here and there with new information, but essentially I'm the same person I always was, though actually my beliefs are stronger than they ever were. I have always been more strong-willed and don't tend to give in to peer pressure. I was always one to think rebellion and conformity are stupid and you should always just be yourself. It may be and has been a long and hard road finding out that what makes sense isn't in the norm right now, but I never let that stop me. I hate it when people choose sides based on what other people who also happen to be like that think or say or do (I hate that so many pro-choicers are pro-choice or at least don't like pro-lifers or the pro-life thing because of the crazy radical conservative religious types saying stupid things or bombing abortion clinics. Trust us, they are only a fringe group, much like how everyone labels feminists as man-haters yet only a small percentage of people who consider themselves feminist actually are, or like how the WBC is only made up of 40 members yet they get all the attention and give Christianity a really bad name), or just because it is labelled as what people of your side are supposed to think. Everyone should realize that this issue is switched on all sides.
Oh and I'm really, really in love with music, especially rock and roll, especially all that is Grunge, Alternative rock, Riot Grrrl, the 90s, Seattle, and Generation X. I tend to say that a lot. I say "all that is" because not only do I love the music, but also all the stylistic things, and the vibes of it. I love tattoos, piercings, log hair (I LOOOVE long haired dudes!), goatees, loose-fitting clothing, crazy colored hair, flannel shirts, band shirts, ripped jeans, Doc Martens boots, or really all dirty boots, Converse All Stars, shorts with longjohns, the whole entire Kinderwhore look, those cool black rayon mini dresses with the little flowers on them that you can usually find by typing in 90s grunge on ebay, and the whole entire laidback, down to earth, let your hair down vibe of the 90s. All of that, but especially the music, is my main stuff. My life, my love, my passion. I even have another blog on here called The Grunge Pit. So yeah, I'm always saying I'm like the alternative feminist punk type who usually gets pigeonholed as working the front desk at Planned Parenthood or something, yet pro-life, because sometimes stereotypes are false. I'm hoping that with this blog, I can help people realize the side of the liberal, feminist, atheist, cool pro-lifer. Usually you have pro-life organizations that cater to only liberals, only feminists, or only atheists, but I'm always thinking there should be something to tie in all of that, because since they tend to only do one of those, they are non-denominational with the other things and let everyone join in as long as they are pro-life and that one thing, and thus you might have people on pages for Feminists For Life who may be conservative or religious, or people on pages for Democrats For Life of America who may be religious or not Feminist, or people on pages for Secular Pro-Life who may be conservative or not Feminist, so why not make my own blog talking about all of these things? I hope I can connect this world too and give people resources for their needs within these types of things.
if you actually did a little bit of history and research you would find that prochoice isn't old fashioned gender stereotypes, its actually a more recent issue/stance on abortion. Women back then, weren't allowed to have abortions & couldn't divorce from men, THAT is old-fashioned. The whole thing about prochoice is actually very modern AND isn't a "trick" used by men or society to make women feel like they don't have a choice in keeping their baby, it is actually the opposite. It liberates women from having the responsibility/duty/forced role of being a mother. It LETS women choose whether or not they are ready to be a mom. The fact that you are pro life & are a "liberal" seems to me like you don't even understand the concepts of what those titles actually mean. Some women don't have the means or maturity to be a mom and people who are prolife don't seem to grasp that concept, that some women aren't ready to be moms. Prolife people too quickly jump the gun & say SAVE YOUR BABY and don't think of AFTER the child is born. What is the mom is a druggie & submits her child to a horrible life afterwards? What if the mom is too poor & can't afford the kid & has to let the kid live a poverty-stricken & struggling life? What if the mom doesn't have a father-figure ready for her kid or a stable life & then she brings a child into the world? Do you even understand how horrible & difficult it is for children to be brought into a world without loving parents, without help, without a stable environment? Prolife groups just want to think about the baby in the present state & don't even consider anything else, except the fact that it's a "life" form, which is a very narrow-minded perspective. But you can't be narrow-minded at all, since you're "liberal"
ReplyDeleteI have been searching through the abortion issue for several years and I have done the history research, in fact I have a blog post uncovering the history of how abortion was sold to the masses in another post http://riotgrrrlsforlifeprolife.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-pro-choice-side-is-based-on-lies.html as well as how you guys aren't told many things by your own side and facts are covered up, in this one http://riotgrrrlsforlifeprolife.blogspot.com/2013/08/intellectual-dishonesty-in-pro-choice.html
DeleteWe know from science that it is indeed another distinct living human being that happens to be growing inside of the woman but is not part of her body or just a clump of cells, so she technically is already a mom, and even Guttmacher (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) shows that the reasons women get abortions are economic reasons that could be fixed if she were given more support, told her options, or given more or better ones. Women don't abort because their children are unwanted, they abort because they feel like they have no other choice. Offering a women abortion instead of support and other options is very anti-woman. One should be there for her, and help her through all the options she already does have, and make sure she feels supported. Abortion is a band-aid solution to a much bigger problem. We do need to further social safety nets for women, but they have options already, and choose them when feeling supported and being told about them and facts about it all. Sure some women aren't ready to be moms, but that is what adoption and safe surrender and giving the child to a family member are for, adn there is a long waiting list of people dying to adopt out there. There is no reason to actually kill your offspring, and society does a disservice to women by not informing them of everything. They have a right to know their options, they have a right to know the science behind fertilization and the unborn and the humanity of it and the stages of development and what happens then, they have a right to know what abortion actually is, and how women can regret it afterward, and they have a right to be supported, but so many women don't get any of that.
See you wouldn't say we should kill children born because they have druggie moms and submit them to horrible lives, so why say that before it even happens? You never can tell the future, you never know how someone's life will end up, even planned and wanted children can lend up having lives like that, but none of it is reason to kill. Yes, I absolutely do know what it is like to be brought in a world without loving parents, as I was planned and wanted but my parents were not loving to me, and yes I have had depression and all that but that is NO reason to kill me. They do NOT have the right to kill me, only I do. Really, bad things like that are reason to support helping society that way, advocating to get rid of poverty, supporting drug rehabilitation instead of just throwing them in jail etc. Abortion is not a solution to these things and thinking so is where society has wronged you.
Lots of pro-lifers do consider other things, I assure you that, You are just generalizing and assuming. No, realizing it is a life is not narrow-minded, it's science. I seriously urge you to check out the science.