International Women's Day

I could write a big, long, ranty post about so many important issues affecting women today.

Instead, I will be spending the whole day covered in dust and grime, sorting out baby equipment and helping social workers find what they need in order to support the poorest women in Los Angeles.

The poor in America are staggeringly poor (if you are in the UK, this is amazing and heartbreaking and awful. You should watch it with a LARGE glass of wine.) In it's essence, Baby 2 Baby is the living embodiment of International Women's Day. It's women, helping other women. Men are welcomed and encouraged but generally our donors, volunteers, social workers and clients are all women. 

Happy International Women's Day. Let's celebrate being kick-ass lady types.

A very feminist rant

Nothing has inspired more rage in me recently than this piece by the BBC. This is not necessarily going to be a particularly popular post, as most of my family and my oldest friends from home are anti-abortion, but this kind of thing makes me SO ANGRY.

Firstly, the fact that anyone thinks it is acceptable to question a stranger on their way in to a medical building is absolutely abhorrent to me. The picketing of abortion clinics is one of the most obnoxious things you can do. Whilst free speech is vital to a healthy democracy, the cost of that is taking responsibility for the impact your words have. Does anyone really think that harassing a woman outside the clinic is likely to change her mind? It is nothing other than bullying to cause shame and guilt, something that already abounds in the situation. It is not helpful, constructive or likely to result in anything other than anger. 

My main issue with the anti-abortion movement is the fact that the people who legislate against abortion also legislate against welfare and benefits. I do not think anyone can claim to be 'pro-life' who then actively attempts to prevent those deep in poverty from maintaining the most basic standard of living. To me, it would seem obvious that if you want a woman to become a mother rather than have a termination then ensuring financial stability would be the first step. Instead, the anti-abortion movement in the US asks woman to become a mother, and completely self-sufficient financially at the same time. Mississippi has a high unemployment rate (9.1% compared to the national average of 7.8% across the US.) In some of the counties, the unemployment rate sits as high as 18.4% (source) Finding employment whilst pregnant is near impossible.  

For a woman with no financial security, remaining pregnant with no welfare to fall back on is astonishingly difficult. I'm so lucky that I will never have to make these kinds of decisions, but people do, and legislating abortion clinics into oblivion is irresponsible in my opinion. Instead, terminations in Mississippi and the other states (North Dakota, South Dakota and Arkansas) with only one remaining abortion clinic are actively trying to prevent safe, legal abortions are doing a disservice to woman. The rich will be able to afford to travel out of state, the most vulnerable will be forced to look for illegal, unregulated and unsafe options, or to have children they cannot care for and do not want.. 

The fact that these laws continually hit the poorest in society reeks of elitism, exactly the type of government right-wing citizens complain loudly about. Essentially, the right-wing in Mississippi is dictating the options for the most disenfranchised. Those with money and mobility are exempt. Injustice makes me angry. Injustice perpetrated by those with a 'righteous' agenda and sense of moral superiority angers me the most. The fact this has essentially been undertaken by stealth angers me the most. There has been no referendum or outright vote on banning abortions, which would be unconstitutional under Roe vs Wade. Instead, small changes to operating legislation have made it near impossible for clinics to operate. This is dishonest, plain and simple.  

I'm going to go and have a coffee to calm down, and be thankful I don't have to make these kind of decisions. I'd love to know what you think...

Politics as the personal...

Back in the olden days, when I was a politics student, I became obsessed with the American partisan politics. I came to university off the back of Bush winning the electoral college and Gore winning the popular vote. We were living in policy dictated by September 11th. It was an incredibly interesting time to watch the US. It was all too easy to lambast Bush for having the diplomacy skills of a warthog, to call the Right-Wing 'crazy' and generally feel a bit smug. 

I wrote my dissertation on the American Right. I'd spent a lot of time in Texas in a house that ran Fox News in the background constantly. It was fascinating. It was also more than a little scary to listen to the views of people I otherwise liked and respected, especially when it came to those less fortunate than themselves. I was horrified by the casual way they referred to the death penalty, the uninsured and the vulnerable.

Now I live here, it is safe to say I am hardcore liberal. I find it hilarious that we have a bumper-sticker on our car supporting a man who sits CONSIDERABLY right of the Tories, but here I am. I even made a (very small) contribution to the Democratic Party. The majority of my friends (throughout the world) think just like me. We are people who believe in high taxation, strong government and equality at all costs. Some of my friends are the complete opposite. One of the biggest issues America now faces is trying to repair the damage extremely partisan  (and long. Good God has it been long) campaigning has done. After being so vicious during the race, how on earth do you sit down and compromise on big decisions? With a mixed house, senate and president, compromise is essential for tackling big issues that are rapidly approaching.

I heard a bit of last week's 'This American Life' whilst in the car, and they were discussing a family ripped apart by politics- two sisters who could no longer speak to each other. The conservative sister said something that shocked me: "I think liberals are selfish, because they don't want to bother themselves to help anyone, they just want the government to do it." You could have knocked me over with a feather. I never would have thought someone thought that about us. I realised I thought the complete opposite. I have always viewed conservatives as selfish- unwilling to lose a penny of their own money to help other people, thinking that poverty, violence, poor health and disadvantage are the problem of those who suffer them. I thought that they would only help people in a way that didn't inconvenience them more than they wanted. 

The pundit then challenged the woman, he said "Try presuming no-one is actually selfish." It challenged me too. It made me want to engage in better conversations with people with different views than mine. To understand without trying to persuade. This is perhaps the single biggest challenge facing the US right now. To understand, without trying to persuade. 

It's hard. I have 'unfollowed' someone on Twitter I know in real life during this election. Their views annoyed me, but beyond that their dialogue was personal and offensive (not to me specifically, just about liberals in general). Is that someone I could talk to without trying to change their mind? Maybe not about politics, but I hope I can change their mind about us liberal types...