I just had to vent.

[BalloonzForU]

This subject is not intended to be a debate in any way, so I'm not really going to voice my opinion on abortion, just the idiots in front of the local abortion clinic that are protesting. :main_angry:

This abortion clinic is located in a small office building with only a sidewalk between it and the main street (five lanes) that goes through Rocky River, just two short lights away from a primary school (K-2). As I would guess most are, you don't even realize it's there unless there are protesters in front of it. Note how close to a school it is!!!! This city is very small yet a big family type community and one of the reasons we chose to move here 7 years ago.

Now I don't mind protesters but considering the type of city this is and the close proximity to a school full of very young children, why on earth would protesters think it appropriate to have signs that are at least 5' tall with pictures of aborted fetuses on them. I mean really do our young children need to see a baby's head with it's jaw torn off, blown up to about 4' on the side of the road? How about a fetus that is completely dismembered? I've managed over the past 7 years to distract my son from seeing the images, but yesterday he saw them, I can tell you the questions started flying!!! I don't appreciate being blind sided by these people and their very insensitive tactics. My son just had sex ed at the end of school a year ago and I really didn't feel it was something he needed to know about just yet, after all he's only 12. Can you imagine how horrified he was or the impact it could have on younger children? They were out there almost daily a few weeks each school year both on my way to take him to that school and on the way home.

The odd thing is that they were forced to move to the opposite side of the street, a couple of years ago, because they were standing in front of the entrance of the building. I wonder how the new Chick-Fli-A that moved in last summer feels about having these protesters with their very graphic signs in front of their drive through, I can only imagine how it's hurting their business.

My gripe is the images on the signs, I know they have every right to protest, but don't our kids have the right to be kids and not subjected to those images? :main_angry:

 

[LizMarie]

I understand Fe... there's a clinic not too far from here and there are always protesters. They're not close to a school but I've seen and heard them calling the women names as they go in to do what they need to do. I know they have the right to voice their opinions but couldn't they do it in a more tasteful manner!? I honestly can't believe the school,parents or businesses haven't complained to the city/town/whatever. They shouldn't be able to do that during school hours when they're going to have mass amount of children passing by.

 

[Lena]

No offense to anyone who is religious here, but I've noticed that the most rude, cruel, and obnoxious protesters are the ones that are religious extremists.

I don't understand how people who believe in being kind and tolerant can be so very much the opposite!

Anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-seperation of church and state.. Ever see those people with signs that say "God hates gays"?

We all have the right to think for ourselves and form our own opinions, however, we don't have the right to shove it down other people's throats.

I guarantee you that there would be an uproar if I started posting signs voicing my opinions. But yet a giant sign blazoned with "Keep America Christian" can survive on any major road.

*Sigh* I could go on and on. I respect everyone's right to believe what they want, and I think others should learn to do the same.

(Sorry if I kind of spun off topic a little..)

 

[Riyo]

It's hard to believe how completely insensitive people can be. I have to say that I DO mind the protesters that surround most abortion clinics. Yes, they have a right to voice their opinion, but they have no right to be so abusive towards the women and the people that escort them to the building. Using such callous tactics to try to discourage women from making such an important life decision (that is none of their business in the first place) is a very low blow.

This is an interesting blog from the escorts' point of views.

EDIT: Lena, I completely agree with you.

 

[Kristi23]

That really bothers me, too. I actually got stuck looking at some of those signs during my last miscarriage. It's really painful to look at no matter what your views are.

 

[GeckoGal]

Yes, I agree that they take it over the top, but those signs have saved many life’s for young girls seeing them and choosing not to kill their baby. And I'm not trying to be rude, but I learned about abortion at a very early age, probably 7. My Mom used to work at an pregnancy counseling center and I'm a very nosy girl so I got the concept very quickly. I think it's very sad that they show those pictures, but lives can be saved because of it, and I think that’s worth it. Oh, and Lena I agree with what you said, but not they way you said it. Different people with different religions say different things. "God hates Gays" is very mean, and not true. God doesn't hate gays, he just doesn’t like there life style and there choices. I'm really not trying to offend anyone, but some one needed to defend the other side of their view. And I'm saying this all at the age of 13. Education is key I think, I have a strong opinion in many things and I think some people ruin things for other people, like that one group of protesters took it over the top during school hours, which was wrong of them. But it doesn't mean that all protesters are like that or it doesn't give them a right to think abortion isn't killing a baby. And some "religious" signs that aren't biblically correct doesn’t mean that should ruin it for Christians; it was a different region who said that with different beliefs. Yes I still think they are very wrong for saying those things though. All of the things that I just said where my opinion, and I’m not expecting anyone to agree with it, and I’m not pointing this at any certain person.

 

[joshua]

Amen GeckoGal GOD LOVES EVERYONE ON THE PLANET But It Is innaproprate To Have That On The Way To A KINDERGARTEN TO 2ND GRADE SCHOOL People Would Not Care If The Sighs Just Said Put A Stop To Abortion My Opion Is That If You Dont Want Kids Dont Try To Make Any

0.1.0 Green Anole 1.0.0 Half Human Half Monkey Brother

 

[BalloonzForU]

Yes, I agree that they take it over the top, but those signs have saved many life’s for young girls seeing them and choosing not to kill their baby. And I'm not trying to be rude, but I learned about abortion at a very early age, probably 7. My Mom used to work at an pregnancy counseling center and I'm a very nosy girl so I got the concept very quickly. I think it's very sad that they show those pictures, but lives can be saved because of it, and I think that’s worth it. Oh, and Lena I agree with what you said, but not they way you said it. Different people with different religions say different things. "God hates Gays" is very mean, and not true. God doesn't hate gays, he just doesn’t like there life style and there choices. I'm really not trying to offend anyone, but some one needed to defend the other side of their view. And I'm saying this all at the age of 13. Education is key I think, I have a strong opinion in many things and I think some people ruin things for other people, like that one group of protesters took it over the top during school hours, which was wrong of them. But it doesn't mean that all protesters are like that or it doesn't give them a right to think abortion isn't killing a baby. And some "religious" signs that aren't biblically correct doesn’t mean that should ruin it for Christians; it was a different region who said that with different beliefs. Yes I still think they are very wrong for saying those things though. All of the things that I just said where my opinion, and I’m not expecting anyone to agree with it, and I’m not pointing this at any certain person.

Everyone is free to their own opinion and that's not what this thread is about. I have not said if I support or oppose their opinion, I just don't like they way they go about doing it. No one here has said anything negative about the protesters' opinion.

The fact of the matter is if all people protested a choice a person makes in life that is 100% legal then they should be held to a higher standard and show a bit of integrity doing so as to not make their side look like a bunch of idiots.

Cigaretts & alcohol are legal however there are many people trying to make them illegal, but you don't see them protesting and belittling people for their choice to smoke or drink, when both do kill innnocent people. I understand the passion behind the abortion issue, but it is still legal and I can bet that every woman that makes that choice lives with the "What If I had done smething different?" for the rest of their lives. They pay for that choice whether it is right or wrong, however it is still legal.

 

[GeckoGal]

I apologize if you think what I said was toward you, I agree for the most part on what you said. I was just stating my opinion. And I disagreed with what one person said, so I was stating that. I DO think it’s wrong that they’d do that during school hours, and I even disagree with what the signs they were using but I do think there protesting for a good reason. That’s just my opinion

 

[T&KBrouse]

I think the point is that radical extremism in any arena can be a dangerous thing. Whether it be pro-life, abortion activists that show posters of multilated, aborted babies or the eco freaks that will take out humans to stop legal hunting.

These radicals, IMO, aren't getting the results they're looking for. Their purpose has been overshadowed by their methods. All they're doing is insighting anger and disgust at them. Then what have they accomplished? Nothing.

 

[snowgyre]

PETA recently did something very similar up in the northeast but with McDonald running around with a butcher knife and dead chickens. Fear is a powerful motivator. Radical extremists are really no different from non-violent terrorists in my book. They act first and then think, if the thinking happens at all. People like that tend to believe they're in a religious war and therefore anything goes.

I will admit that I'm pro-life and that I have attended a single protest in my life, but I never would have done something that distasteful. I think it's important whether you're pro-life or pro-choice to understand the consequences to the unborn child, but this should be discussed in sex education classes and Sunday school, not broadcast with billboards near children who are so young they still believe that storks deliver babies.

 

[T&KBrouse]

Very well said, Vanessa.

We had an issue out in WA state a few years back when one of the reservation won their right to whale hunt. They were going to do it traditionally, in canoes, with harpoons, and it would be ONE whale. There was an eco organization out there so hell-bent on stopping them that they were shooting at the warriors in the canoes and ramming speed boats in to them.

The eco organization may have had good intentions, but their vigilante tactics ended up making them alot of enemies.

 

[snowgyre]

There was a book written on that, K. It was a phenomenal read and really examined the social, ethical, and cultural aspects of that issue. It was written by Robert Sullivan and is called A Whale Hunt: How a Native-American Village Did What No One Thought It Could. It's a must read for anyone interested in these kinds of topics.

But back to this current thread topic. There's a huge difference between changing your behavior because of a trauma versus an education. Education obviously is the best way to go, but unfortunately it's also the most difficult, and extremists tend to take the lazy way out and prey upon human psychology to get their points across.

 

[Lena]

Frankly, you can believe it's a life from conception or from birth, but the fact of the matter is - NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH YOU! And you've no right to tell me I don't have the right to chose. It is a very big decision but in many cases people's lives are ruined.

You guys can do whatever you want with yourselves, but keep your theology off my biology. What I do with my body and my life is my own business.

 

[Gecko]

What's kind of funny is that they use those signs in places where the late types of abortions are banned anyway.

 

[rawson5084]

Amen GeckoGal GOD LOVES EVERYONE ON THE PLANET But It Is innaproprate To Have That On The Way To A KINDERGARTEN TO 2ND GRADE SCHOOL People Would Not Care If The Sighs Just Said Put A Stop To Abortion My Opion Is That If You Dont Want Kids Dont Try To Make Any

0.1.0 Green Anole 1.0.0 Half Human Half Monkey Brother

OKAY I don't usually get into these things but this comment really did it in for me!!!!! The thing that got to me is you said "My Opion Is That If You Dont Want Kids Dont Try To Make Any"...... What if they didn't TRY to make a baby!! What if they got raped!!!! I don't think that you would want to carry or have a baby that reminds you that you got raped!!!!

Sorry just had it say it out loud!!!

 

[Riyo]

OKAY I don't usually get into these things but this comment really did it in for me!!!!! The thing that got to me is you said "My Opion Is That If You Dont Want Kids Dont Try To Make Any"...... What if they didn't TRY to make a baby!! What if they got raped!!!! I don't think that you would want to carry or have a baby that reminds you that you got raped!!!!

Sorry just had it say it out loud!!!

I had the same reaction, as well.

In a perfect world there wouldn't be any rapes, birth control failures (or improper use), or medical emergencies that would warrant a termination...

Unfortunately we do not live in that world.

 

[Wolfyhound]

I really don't care what anyone's opinion is on anything. Spreading hate is wrong. Telling someone they are going to hell because they have a differing opinion is wrong. If you're religious, you're now speaking for god, saying YOU will declare what that person's soul is and what will happen to it.

Don't tell me my opinion is wrong, and don't try to force YOUR opinion on me. If all those protesters think abortion is wrong, they should be fighting to change the laws, not harrassing women who are doing something perfectly legal.

The first time one laid hands on me, I would press charges right then and there. The unreasoning fanatics are useless to anyone on earth. Doesn't matter if they are against abortion, against alcohol, or against keeping pets. I'm ashamed that the police allow that sort of harrassment to happen.

 

[ang3l3s]

i vote for pro choice

 

[Misstasha]

alot of people may disagree but my view on abortion is this... I believe children are the most beautiful thing in the world and it sh ould be cherished... But there are certain circumstances its not such a beautiful thing and can ruin lives.... (molestation, rape, or just being extremely young and making poor decisions, with that being said i dont believe abortions should be used as a birthcontrol!!) I believe in free choice, when abortion wasn't legal women were going to crooked doctors or doing it themselves, murderering any chance to have a life beyond themselves.... I personally have never had one, but I am not apposed to it...

I think the protesters are rediculous and need to get a life....