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Planned Parenthood - "I had an abortion" t-shirt.... (pg. 4)
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| Kytracid |
In my opinion, as a joke, the T-shirts are really quite tasteless. As a political statement, they are highly inappropriate at the very least.
Free speech is one thing, but those slogans are meant for shock value and lets not forget it - to generate profits. I doubt they would even be purchased by someone who wants to make a serious political statement. Still, they have a right to be made, and worn. Having said that though, anyone who wear a t-shirt with an inflammatory message --shouldn't be suprized if they recieve a hostile reaction. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| I swear I posted in this thread...but it didn't show up. Interesting. |
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| Kytracid |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
I swear I posted in this thread...but it didn't show up. Interesting. |
The boards auto censorship feature was probably triggered....you're views are obviously too extreme for TOTA !
:D
Or...I might just have made that all up. |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by Kytracid
The boards auto censorship feature was probably triggered....you're views are obviously too extreme for TOTA !
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I will not be silenced!!! |
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| Silky Johnson |
| *puts on 'I had an abortion' t-shirt* |
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| Kytracid |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
I will not be silenced!!! |
LOL ! Firebrand ain't cha ?
*hands you a UNICEF childern of the world Scarf to go with that groovy looking T you got on there*
and they say men don't know how to accessorize ! |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by Kytracid
LOL ! Firebrand ain't cha ?
*hands you a UNICEF childern of the world Scarf to go with that groovy looking T you got on there*
and they say men don't know how to accessorize ! |
But does it come in purple?? |
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| Kytracid |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
But does it come in purple?? |
of course...standard royal purple, and a special order-by-email only embryonic purple. Dunno why they are so hush hush about the latter one though.
Good to go with purple though, it'll really bring out the highlights in your eyes... |
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| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by Kytracid
of course...standard royal purple, and a special order-by-email only embryonic purple. Dunno why they are so hush hush about the latter one though.
Good to go with purple though, it'll really bring out the highlights in your eyes... |
:stongue: |
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| charmscars |
i have no problem w/ the shirt. i don't think it's meant as a joke. I think it's meant to try to take away the shame and taboo that moral conservatives try to associate w/ abortions, and to encourage dialogue (obviously it does encourage dialogue- look at how many pages). i don't think the shirt is designed to say 'abortions are cool' or 'i'm proud that i had one' more like, 'there are more ppl that have had them then you may think' or 'i've had an abortioned and i refuse to have it relagated to a shameful hidden thing'
It makes me sad to see women who are young and uneducated who do not have anything (emotionally, intellectually or materially) to give to a baby having them rather than aborting or giving them up for adoption, but i would never want to take the right away from any woman to do what they want w/ their bodies. |
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| Kytracid |
| quote: | Originally posted by jennypie
:stongue: |
now that i've ad dressed you, lets not 'skirt' around the issues anymore...back to the topic at hand -- those damn groovy T-shirts.
You think the one with the plane wedged between the I and NY will be sold out in New York City ? Oh nevermind, i see now that it doesn't come in purple either...which just coincidently happens to be my favorite color as well.
( I do believe i'm in danger of thread-jacking...so i'll stop polluting this thread with my absurdity )
Let the serious debate continue, the time for levity has passed. |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by charmscars
i have no problem w/ the shirt. i don't think it's meant as a joke. I think it's meant to try to take away the shame and taboo that moral conservatives try to associate w/ abortions, and to encourage dialogue (obviously it does encourage dialogue- look at how many pages). i don't think the shirt is designed to say 'abortions are cool' or 'i'm proud that i had one' more like, 'there are more ppl that have had them then you may think' or 'i've had an abortioned and i refuse to have it relagated to a shameful hidden thing' |
Ok now, you've made several points here that I think all have to be discussed separately:
1. I don't think it's meant as a joke either. I can't possibly imagine someone without strong political views wearing that just to get a cheap laugh... I don't think anyone here could.
2. Of course it is an attempt to take away the shame and taboo associated with abortion. The question is, is throwing the issue in people's faces in order to "desensitize" them (much like television does to us with violence) really an appropriate way to go about it? Surely there are many, many people who would be happy to maintain a serious debate about the issue - yet somehow, I'd be willing to bet that the type of person who wears that shirt is not one of them. Intelligent, informed people usually do not resort to making political statements through "shock value."
3. Theodore Kaczynski was trying to encourage dialogue by sending bombs in the mail. He really did have a point to make, a whopping, incredibly intelligent point - it's all in there if you read his manifesto - but obviously most sane people will agree that he crossed the line in the pursuit of making his views heard by the public. By no means am I even *remotely* likening a serial killer to a girl wearing a tasteless T-shirt, but the point to infer here is that just about *anything* that *anyone* does can be said to "encourage dialogue." There's no limit to the size of the family that can be housed under that roof - PETA is trying to "encourage dialogue" with their ridiculous demonstrations, too. The real question is, what kind of dialogue does it encourage? In this case, it's mostly either inane rhetoric ("You tell it sista") or inflamed resentment ("That's disgusting/that's what's wrong with the world today"). Specifically, it tends to encourage dialogue more about the article of clothing and the person wearing it than it does about the real issue.
4. As for refusing to let it be shameful and hidden, I can certainly understand that when we're talking about cases of rape or even just accidents where a condom broke or something to that effect. But the proportion of those cases is greatly exaggerated by the media, and more often than not we may be looking at people who were simply incredibly irresponsible in their behaviour, women who don't even know who the father is half the time. Should they have to pay for their mistake for the rest of their lives by having to support a child, possibly within an environment totally unsuitable for raising it? Of course they shouldn't! But maybe, just maybe, they *should* feel the tiniest tinge of shame over the fact they couldn't face up to the consequences of their actions and took the easy way out instead. Shoving a taboo image into people's faces in order to attain a floundering sense of security about it does not constitute constructive political protest.
Think of it this way - take a step back from the abortion debate and look at its precursor. Can you seriously imagine any woman wanting to wear a shirt which said "I got pregnant at age 14?" Doesn't quite seem so PC now does it... and yet realistically we're talking about almost the same thing.
| quote: | | It makes me sad to see women who are young and uneducated who do not have anything (emotionally, intellectually or materially) to give to a baby having them rather than aborting or giving them up for adoption, but i would never want to take the right away from any woman to do what they want w/ their bodies. |
Having said all I've said, I'll once again reiterate that I happen to agree with the pro-choice position.
It's simply what I call "destructive debate" that rubs me the wrong way. The T-shirt is most generally a form of slacktivism, i.e. making a political "statement" by the cheapest and easiest means possible. Seeing as how we have free speech laws, slacktivism can't be outlawed, but I do think that all slacktivists should get a complementary kick in the nuts (men) or a slap in the face (women). We're talking about the real pseudo-intellectuals here, the societal parasites who don't really want to make a difference at all, who just want to feel good about themselves and use their "unique" brand of political activism as a means to that end.
I'll tell you one thing - I'll definitely be debating this issue in a frank and sincere manner with anyone whom I happen to see wearing that shirt. Precisely 12 minutes after hell freezes over. |
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