A man's opinion on a woman's issue

This isn’t a fun post to write.  I hate being in disagreement with many of my friends, especially on such a heated and personal issue for many.

The following image has been going around my facebook lately:

Though I hate to disagree, this argument has been bothering me long before this post came around, and it bothers me still.  For those who may have randomly found my little corner of the internet, I by and large agree with my feminist friends.  I fully support legal abortion, I think that rape should carry far stricter penalties than it does, and overall I see the treatment of women by their government as nothing short of abhorrent.  Even as I write this, I hate these words.  I feel like I’m saying, “I’m not a misogynist pig, really!  I have lots of female friends!”

Still I write.  I must hate myself.

I have a very real problem with this argument, primarily on the grounds that it is an argument from emotion and not a particularly logical or reasonable one.  I understand how, for such a powerful issue, it should be an emotional issue in many ways for the people so affected.  I understand that the argument stems from many years of old white idiots making bad argument after bad argument for why women shouldn’t get abortions, or why the pill shouldn’t be covered by insurance (“I don’t want to pay for your recreation,” one overly belligerent acquaintance of mine said recently).  I wholeheartedly support your driving need to tell these buffoons to shut the fuck up, as they don’t know what they’re talking about.  There are better ways to do that, though, for this statement implies that their argument is invalid because of what they have in their pants, not what they lack in their brains.

From this argument we could further suggest that we shouldn’t have a strong opinion about illegal immigration unless we ourselves are immigrants, or that the only people who should have an opinion on science funding are actual researchers (wait...I kinda like that one...).   It says that our opinions matter only if the politics directly influence our lives.  Certainly the opinions of those most affected should be strongly considered when coming to a conclusion on any issue thanks to their personal account of the situation, but it is not the person but the argument that should have the final say.  

The worst part of this argument for me is that this argument seems to only apply if the Y-chromosome bearer disagrees with aspects of women’s rights.  My opinions are and have been welcome for some time, and I suspect they will continue to be welcome as long as I continue to support women's rights.   Though I doubt it, should I come to a conclusion that abortion should be illegal, or that women are made of sand and should be treated as such, I'd hate for my thoughts to be disregarded simply because I'm no longer playing for the home team.  I'd much rather they be disregarded because I had a massive head injury so I'm clearly not thinking straight, or because one of my assumptions was invalid.

 These arguments against women’s rights are bad arguments.  This treatment dismisses a contrary argument based on the source, when instead it should be dismissed because it’s a bad argument. We shouldn't cry foul because the arguments are coming from men, as it’s an easy claim for the opposition to ignore. I've met anti-abortion women, and their arguments are no better than those of the anti-abortion men. All they need is to bring forth a Sarah Palin or similar and the argument is invalid.  Instead of making our own logical fallacies that are as persuasive as a wet dog, I'd rather we stick to the solid, hard-to-refute arguments that women are people and deserve fair and just treatment.

Smut for Smut?

I'm conflicted on this in a lot of different ways:

At the University of Texas San Antonio campus, a college atheist group is offering students pornography in exchange for Bibles, Korans, or other religious texts. The group, Atheist Agenda, calls the exchange "Smut for Smut".

Group members claim that the Bible and other religious texts are just as as smutty as any pornography. According to the group, the Bible contains all sorts of misogyny, violence, torture and questionable sexual practices.

My first reaction to this activity was amusement, I'll admit.  There's nothing better than irreverence in comedy, and I find many things offensive to be quite funny, really.  It's clever, has a catchy slogan, and overall entertaining to think about.  I'd probably trade in a bible for porn just for the shock value alone.  Let's face it: making fun of religion is funny.  If it wasn't, I wouldn't laugh my ass off every time I heard this song:

(The animation in particular makes me giggle)

That said, I also wonder if this is as inappropriate as the qu'ran burning  last year was.  The two incidents bear some striking resemblances, as both involve desecrating what people consider sacred.  Is it as tasteless, or is there a difference in that one is rife with hypocrisy and the other treats everything as irreverent?  It's a worthy question for contemplation, and one I don't really have an answer to.  The only thing I do know is that the inappropriateness is irrelevant, because both activities are and ought to be legal.  None are truly harmed by the burning of the Qu'ran or the trading of bibles for porn, and while I equally support the right of others to protest these actions, there is and should not be anything wrong with the atheist organization doing this.  Reverence belongs to the believer, and has no place in the eyes of the nonbeliever nor the government.

At least that's my take on things.  What do you think about this incident?  Kosher or not?  I haven't given it enough thought to come to a full-on conclusion yet, and I'd like to hear the input of my friends. :)  

Freedom to be Vile

Oh Neil Gaiman, how I adore thee.  Today he wrote on his blog about the nature and necessity of free speech:

You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you're going to have to stand up for stuff you don't believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don't, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person's obscenity is another person's art.
Because if you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff youdo like, you've already lost.

The entire essay is in response to a reader asking why we should defend lolicon manga, and I agree 100% with everything he says.  I've seen lolicon in some of my searches (I'll admit a guilty pleasure in seeking out erotic-yet-not-vile doujins, and I find I have to wade through 5-10 distastful and icky ones involving lolicon, incest, or rape to find one that I don't find objectionable) and yes, it's quite gross.  I think the world would be a better place if it didn't exist, if only slightly.  Even still, I would not for a moment consider banning it or making it illegal, and would actively vote against any politician who did.

I can't make the argument any better than Mr. Gaiman did.  Go read his article, it's worth it.

The Bastrop Case: A reasonable Request

We expected the ACLU to respond, and respond they did in a joint statement with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation:

Our organizations are deeply troubled by Bastrop High School’s long history of presenting prayers as part of the official program at graduation ceremonies. Although the Supreme Court made it abundantly clear almost two decades ago that public schools cannot include prayers as part of school events, School District officials have persisted with this practice.

Ouch.  Still, their request is fairly reasonable.  A formal apology to the student, a statement condemning the action, considering disciplining the student who recited the Lord's Prayer in equal measure with similar infractions of protocol, and use a staff member to lead the moment of silence in the future.  I think the disciplining the student is a tricky one: yes, she should be disciplined, but she's graduated now and I don't know what the school could reasonably do.  Take away her diploma?  The infraction wasn't severe enough to warrant that.  Everything else, though?  I absolutely, 100% agree.

I'm interested to see how the school responds.

These people are awful

I don't really have anything left to add on this one.  All I can say is I'm glad I never moved to the south.  I think I'd lose hope for humanity after a week there.

EDIT: I just wanted to quote the same quote Damon Fowler wrote on his facebook page.  It seems appropriate.

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

News around Bastrop

The local newspaper continues to cover Damon Fowler's protest.  For the first time since this began, though, they actually covered the issue from a slightly positive angle.

Within hours after the public learned that the prayer had been removed from the program, principals in the story began receiving hundreds of e-mails of support for the student’s decision to, as Christina Niermann stated, “... finally gain the courage to speak out.”

What really chokes me up is a reported letter from Michelle Robinson, a local, self-professed Christian.  Unlike the more vocal majority,  Robinson was in support of Damon.  Even though she reports that she doesn't have a personal problem with the prayer,

“... I shudder to think of what would happen if a MUSLIM or JEWISH prayer was read. Because of that we must be free of all religious influence in our public institutions. My church will always stand strong and so will my faith. Keep your government out of my religion and I will keep my religion out of your government.”

 The wording is a little iffy, but I understand and respect the sentiment.  Robinson is clearly strongly religious, and holds convictions I no doubt disagree with, but this is a person who is at the very least trying to find that middle ground, to respect the secular law while still holding strongly to their own personal convictions.  It's a little judgmental, but being judgmental really only seems to be wrong when it's a stance one disagreed with.  So yeah, thank you, Michelle Robinson, for proving that not every Christian in Bastrop, LA is completely insane.

Of course, the newspaper also includes an opinion piece by a local pastor, and I don't really know what to make of it.  Ok, well, I do know what to make of it.  It's kinda icky.

As followers of Jesus Christ we should not be surprised of the secular world’s resistance to our beliefs.  The movement of Christianity has met resistance at every turn.  Jesus Christ himself was rejected and removed from many portions of society.

He warned his disciples and future Christians of the resistance we would face related to our faith.  In the Bible Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33)  The power of evil through Satan is largely at work to hinder the love of Jesus in this world.  Anything God is for, Satan is against. Anything Satan is for, God is against.  Scripture warns us time and time again to expect resistance and to persevere in the Christian faith.

The "Christians are so persecuted" complex that seems to pervade religious thought in america is bullshit.  If you want to talk about persecution, move to Iraq or some other strongly Muslim country where your life is at risk for being Christian.  Being denied public, government sponsored prayer is not persecution.  Get over yourselves.  Being told your beliefs are stupid is not persecution.  It's called being in america, where open discourse involves open criticism.  Yuck.

The graduation is today, and I'm sure there will be a video or two of the actual ceremony.  I'll probably post one more response on that this evening, and that will be it.  I can't help but be passionate about this.  I call myself an atheist but don't feel any strong drive to be vocal about it or challenge religion in general.  What I do feel strongly about is the secular condition of our nation, and any efforts by any aspect of that government to sponsor prayer or deny others from personal prayer is anathema to me.

A friend asked me regarding this, "What if they do as Damon Fowler fears, and have a large group of students loudly start praying during the moment of silence."  Although I find that in poor taste, as long as it's not being led by someone (even another student) in a way that could be construed as being sponsored by the school, I think they legally have the right to do that.  It's crude, mean, and spiteful (all the things that make up a good prayer in Louisiana, I guess?), but I don't think it's illegal.

I shouldn't be surprised.

I really shouldn't, not when it comes to people from Louisiana.  The folks at Bastrop High School that I talked about earlier decided to pray in spite of the principal's decision during Senior night.  Watch the video.



Ugh.  I don't normally get angry, but this just makes me furious.  It's blatantly disrespectful, not to mention illegal.  I don't have a problem with these people wanting to pray, but when the government (in the form of a high school here) actively sponsors or allows a captive audience, they break the establishment clause.

Damon Fowler continues to astound me with his courage:

Back from Class Night... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaD8iQFaw7I&feature=youtube_gdata_playerDealt with people staring at me, calling me names, talking about me behind my back (even teachers). I'll walk across that stage tomorrow, whether they want me to or not.

I can't even begin to imagine living in that environment, to have my teachers berate me like that.  I went to a catholic high school, and the teachers would never have treated an atheist student like that; in fact, one of my best friends was an atheist and he never once was treated with anything but the utmost respect.  Those teachers should be ashamed of themselves.  If there is a christian God, I'm sure Jesus is.

Remember the Establishment Clause? Damon Fowler does.

Damon Fowler is a brave student.  Living in the bible belt, he demanded that administration-endorsed prayer be removed from his graduation commencement.

My graduation from high school is this Friday. I live in the Bible Belt of the United States. The school was going to perform a prayer at graduation, but due to me sending the superintendent an email stating it was against Louisiana state law and that I would be forced to contact the ACLU if they ignored me, they ceased it. The school backed down, but that's when the shitstorm rolled in. Everyone is trying to get it back in the ceremony now. I'm not worried about it, but everyone hates me... kind of worried about attending graduation now. It's attracted more hostility than I thought.
My reasoning behind it is that it's emotionally stressing on anyone who isn't Christian. No one else wanted to stand up for their constitutional right of having freedom of and FROM religion. I was also hoping to encourage other atheists to come out and be heard. I'm one of maybe three atheists in this town that I currently know of. One of the others is afraid to come out of the (atheist) closet.
Though I've caused my classmates to hate me, I feel like I've done the right thing. Regardless of their thoughts on it, basically saying I am ruining their fun and their lives, I feel like I've helped someone out there. I didn't do this for me or just atheists, but anyone who doesn't believe in their god that prayer to Yahweh may affect.
Moral of the story: though the opposition may be great, majority doesn't necessarily mean right. Thank you for reading. Wish me luck at graduation.
EDIT: Well, it hit the fan a couple hours ago. They've already assembled a group of supporters at a local church and called in the newspaper. I've had to deactivate my Facebook account and I can't reason with any of them. They refuse to listen. The whole town hates me, aside from a few closet atheists that are silently supporting, which I don't blame them looking at what I've incited here. Thanks for the support though.
If anyone would like to offer support, the superintendent is who I emailed and the school's website is mpsb.us
Thanks for the support. It's really helping. This has just gotten sickening.
Edit: I've had requests for my Facebook info... I don't mind giving that out at all. Damon Fowler - Bastrop, LA. I could use all of the support I can get. Not sure if this link will work: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001146281052

The guy has serious courage to stand up to his entire class, knowing he's getting ostracized for it.  Of course, the local news paints things against him.

Mitzi Quinn has been on the staff at BHS for almost 25 years, much of that time as a senior advisor. In the past, Quinn said there have been students who were atheist, agnostic and other non-Christian religions who “had no problems” with the prayer.


“They respected the majority of their classmates and didn’t say anything,” Quinn said. “We’ve never had this come up before. Never.”

She sounds so shocked.  With an environment like the Bible belt and the way people there were and are treated for being atheist, being vocal about your rights is a dangerous, humiliating task.  I'm grateful that I've never had to live in a part of the nation where being atheist marks you as a second class citizen, and where speaking out would give you this kind of negative attention.  The worst part about Mitzi Quinn's response, though, was this:

“And what’s even more sad is this is a student who really hasn’t contributed anything to graduation or to their classmates,” Quinn said.

This woman is an educator (an english teacher according to the school's website) and she treats one of her own students in such a disparaging way.  This argument only serves to make the student feel bad and offers no real substance.  It is despicable.  I messaged Damon Fowler with some small words of encouragement, but I also e-mailed Mitzi Quinn.  I encourage you to also e-mail Ms. Quinn yourself (mquinn@mpsb.us) and let her know that this is absolutely inappropriate.  A school should be a welcoming environment for any student, no matter their faith.  Here's my e-mail to her.

______________________________

Ms. Quinn,

I'm writing to you regarding your comments on the Bastrop Enterprises website regarding Damon Fowler's demand that prayer be removed from commencement. (http://www.bastropenterprise.com/features/x2132687894/Student-challenges-prayer-at-Bastrop-graduation).  While I certainly respect your disagreement with the student in question, I find your treatment of the student to be entirely unprofessional and inappropriate.  To say that the student in question "really hasn’t contributed anything to graduation or to their classmates" is an inappropriate and hurtful statement directed to one of your students that is altogether questionable.  Whether you agree with his stance or not, there is no reason to ever throw ad hominems at the young students that you are supposed to be supporting.

Beyond that, he is in the right to protest.  If a school were to have a prayer to Allah, or to Vishnu, or to the Goddess of many Pagan faiths, you would feel any student would be within their rights to protest and rightly so, even if that student were the only non-muslim/hindu/pagan in the school.  The right of the students and parents to pray during graduation has not been impacted, only the official state endorsement of the prayer.  I trust you are a reasonable woman, and I ask that you listen to reason in this regard and offer a public apology for speaking rudely to one of your students, even as you strongly and passionately disagree with him.

Regards, 

David Merriam