Dear American friends

[blamebrampton]

What the fucking fuck?

I mean, I know that you are all also saying what the fucking fuck, because we're friends and all, but, fuck …

I am rarely reduced to spluttering profanity, but when you have one state banning abortion one day and another legalising murder the next …

Seriously, if any of you like marsupials, I do recommend Sydney or Melbourne. It's not perfect here, but it's much less grim if you're not a wealthy white man.

You're all going to stay and try to fix things, aren't you? Because you've got that American capability and boundless hope. In which case, GOOD LUCK! I believe in Americans like YOU! And those other fuckers can fuck right off.

Comments

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

There is no consistency when it comes to States Rights. You will always have the red (conservative) states against the blue (liberal) states and never the two shall meet. If you took the whole center of the United States and moved it over, then took the east coast and the west coast and stuck them together, you would have two completely different countries bearing little resemblance to each other.

Truly, we aren't all morons. (Just the ones in power?) IDK, it's pretty embarrassing. There is no consistency. It is hypocritical to make laws that run completely in opposition to each other. I guess to the rest of the world the US just looks to be bipolar!!

[janey-p.livejournal.com]

Truly, we aren't all morons. (Just the ones in power?)

Heh! Summed up like this it seems to cement my theory: Once you're a politician, your brain power decreases rapidly...
Or they're all brainwashed by a master mind in the shadows. ;)

As I'm not familiar with American legislation: What has to happen to undo that abortion law? And how soon could that happen?

Here's to hoping that all the people against it will be able to make a difference somehow, even after it has been passed.
Good luck!

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

It seems as how the Texas conservatives are working hard to make changes in the abortion laws that will make it harder for women to obtain abortions in the state. This explains the whole thing rather well:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/texas-abortion-vote-signals-brewing-legal-fight/2013/07/13/d68a6df6-ebd8-11e2-8023-b7f07811d98e_story.html

With all due respect to my Texas friends, I must point out that Texas is a very wealthy and a very conservative state. It's home to several former presidents and is the largest state in the continental US. That said, the state has always been a bit 'full of itself'. There is always a movement afoot for Texas to secede from the union and become an independent country. These changes in abortion law are in Texas do not come as a surprise, but it is a very sad situation for the women of the state. Perhaps they would like to put women in burkas too?

[janey-p.livejournal.com]

I've never understood the appeal of being conservative. Because what being conservative ultimately means is that you don't want change, that you cling to the past.
But conservatism shouldn't be a human trait, as evolution has shown that a species only survives if it knows how to adapt to changes. And humans have become the dominant species, because they HAVE been great at adapting.
Makes me wonder why we seem to have lost that trait once we became "civilized". Or rather, why those who have lost that trait always are the ones who end up in governing positions...

And on the topic of abortion: Personally, I don't really plan on ever having children, but if I were pregnant, I don't think I'd be able to consider abortion. That still doesn't mean that just because I wouldn't be able to, I'd want others to think the same.
And while I really can't understand women to have an abortion just because "the time isn't right for a baby" (they should have considered that before having sex - they knew the "risks"), I'd hate to see a woman not having the chance to have one, if there are dire circumstances.
I stumbled across a picture over at tumblr (no idea where and when exactly, since I don't have an account there) where a young woman held a poster asking who'd have defeated Voldemort if Lily Potter had had an abortion. I loved the reaction to that picture, because someone countered with something that amounted to "there wouldn't have been a Voldemort in the first place, if his mother had had the option of an abortion". That example simply shows that people SHOULD be allowed to make their own decisions and to have the chance to act on them, too.
If there's no place women can turn to for an abortion I bet they'll find other (illegal and probably far more dangerous) ways to get it done. They just have to be desperate enough. Who wants to be responsible for the possible consequences?

Apart from that: What does the government think will happen if they keep passing laws against the will of so many people? Recent events all over the world show that people are willing to resort to violence if they are pushed too far. Just because the US is an apparently well-off country with only one war (that I know of) on their own ground, doesn't mean they can't suddenly have an uprising at their hands... Things escalate so easily everywhere nowadays.

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

In truth, I believe much like you in regard to abortion. I'm not happy about the whole concept, but it doesn't have the emotional impact for me that it does for so many others. In my mind, it isn't really my decision. I'll leave it to the involved parties to decide. I think there far more pressing issues affecting our lives today.

Number one on the list for me is some kind of universal healthcare. As it now stands, healthcare is paid for by one's employer. So if you are not employed you are out of luck, unless you qualify to be covered on someone else's policy. If you are a woman with little children or have a disability you can get coverage by the state. Otherwise you are not eligible. If you are unemployed you have no help at all. The state will not cover you unless you meet certain criteria, which is getting harder and harder to meet. For example, if one loses their job and cannot find another one soon he is left without healthcare until such time as he finds work. Some work does not provide healthcare, so if he manages to find a part time job he is still unable to get medical care. The whole system is effed up.

Basically, the conservatives believe that if the government funds everything it will bankrupt the country. They want the rich and wealthy to remain rich and wealthy gained off the backs of the poor. There used to be three classes of people, the wealthy, the working class and the poor. The working class gets smaller every year and the poor gets larger. This country should be able to provide basic human rights to their citizens.

[quatrefoil.livejournal.com]

My personal view on abortion is that human life begins at conception and that abortion is the taking of a human life. BUT, I don't believe I have the right to make that decision for any other woman and nor do I believe that anyone else has the right to make that decision for me. For that reason, I support women's right to choose, and I'll support it energetically in the political arena. People who are serious about reducing the numbers of abortions should look at providing real alternatives to women with unwanted pregnancies - alternatives that don't involve poverty and discrimination. And if conservatives are all about the right to life (as opposed, say, to wanting to control women's bodies), they'd all be pacifists, wouldn't they?

[celestlyn.livejournal.com]

I would have to agree with everything you say.