A clinic in Virginia took a pro-active stance against the anti-choicers preaching and sermonizing outside: they tried to drown them out with a recording over a loudspeaker. I don’t actually approve of that tactic — the first consideration ought to be welcoming patients, and compounding cacophony isn’t helpful. Interestingly, though, their choice of a recording was the audiobook of The Happy Atheist, as read by the resonant Aron Ra.
“We are apes and the descendants of apes,” the recording of Meyers’ book “The Happy Atheist” declared. “We’re the descendents of rat-like primates, who were the children of reptiles, who were the spawn of amphibians, who were the terrestrial progeny of fish, who came from worms, who were assembled from single-cell microorganisms, who were the products of chemistry.”
“Your daddy was a film of chemical slime on a Hadean rock and he didn’t care about you—he was only obeying the laws of thermodynamics,” it continued. “You aren’t here because of grand design, but because of chance, contingency and selection.”
Not only was Aron Ra given no credit, they also…misspelled my name. I guess I should learn to expect that. When I got married, I suggested that I adopt my wife’s name instead, but she squelched that. No one would ever misspell “Gjerness”, would they?
But actually, much as I appreciate the attention and the anger of Christians, don’t blare my words at women just looking for care. It’s not appropriate and is counterproductive.
Wonder what would happen if they tried bringing the protestors cups of tea, smiles, and offers of hugs. Keep it up all day, drown them in being nice. The anti-choicers don’t have any nice with which to fight back.
That’s a better solution. Or, even better, tea with free copies of my book, to read quietly.
Coincidentally, we brought some no-longer-wanted stuff over to our local Savers Thrift Store, which accepts items as charitable donations (and will receipt you for them, for tax purposes; if desired). Yet, on the street corner near the store (unrelated other than geographically) were several people holding posterboards emblazoned with anti-choice rhetoric.
Puzzled (though the protest was easily bypassed), this OP makes me ask if there was some significance to the date, 10/4? Roe v Wade anniversary? IDK, JA [J.ust A.sking]
To me, the date 10/4 is signif cuz it is also a phrase in the CB culture, related to my undergrad nickname of CB(even tho I’m not a CB owner nor participant in the culture). Also, marginally significant, 10/4 is Smoot Day, from my alma mater MIT
slithy tove@3, Ye Pfffft! Of All Knowledge doesn’t seem to list anything obvious for Oct 4th, other than in 1582 CE Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian calendar (making tomorrow then Oct 15). What has that got to do with anti-choice nutters? To someone attached to reality, nothing; To the nutters, it’s yet more evidence the flatworld at the centre of the Universe is heading for oblivion…
I suspect the ChristianNews article cherry-picked the audio. Highlighting the , implying that the reading was a veiled insult, while the protesters care about the women who turn to abortion out of desperation.
If not cherry-picked, but consistent portrayal of the “randomness” of Nature, maybe not a good thing to direct at the anti-choicers in earshot of participants. Backfire may happen, Enhancing guilt feelings, and such, resulting in “second guessing” their prior decision to terminate it.
Not an arms race that the neighborhood is looking forward to…
I do not agree with the tactics used, but people picketing abortion clinics are despicable enough for me to have somewhat ambiguous feelings about this.
@1:
If I may add to your excellent suggestion, tea in *china cups*.
#7: Yeah, but the priority of abortion clinics should be providing abortions to people who want them. Pissing off picketers may be a secondary goal, but it’s fully achieved by performing abortions anyway.
“Or, even better, tea with free copies of my book, to read quietly.”
Anything to make another sale, eh? :-)
When I see them say “minister to women” I read: annoy / bother / harass.
PZ,
Free books would be wasted on them. They’d probably just burn the books like the good little agents of ignorance and oppression they are. Doubt they’d drink the tea, they would believe it was poisoned, because, as good christians, it’s what they would do.
On second reading that is a bit harsher than I was going for at first, but it does sum up my frustrations with those goons.
Wow, that is so surprising because xians are usually so careful about their facts.
;-)
Well, we are apes, and they are not pro-life. They are very much anti-life.
I see that they have corrected the spelling of your name now.
My first wife’s parents, who were married in about 1946, both changed their names on marriage; he had informally started using a simple Anglo one because no one could spell or pronounce his parents’ last name, she made it formal for both, I think out of nascent feminism. I’m surprised that’s still relatively rare.
Personally I would have had a musak version of ‘quando, quando, quando.’ played non-stop. I honestly don’t think being nice to them would help, they’ve got their god telling them to be mean. And then there’s all the nice protesters who sea-lion everyone trying to get into the clinic.
gijoel @16
You are an evil, depraved person!
“Here, have some tea. Lots & lots of tea. No, of course you can’t use our restroom!”
Oh lookey, you are on Rawstory!. Very supportive comments over there. Looks like they spelled your name correctly as well.
What the fuck are you talking about? If they didn’t play it all the women would hear is “You slut!!!”, “Whore!!!”, “Baby Killer!!!”, “Burn in Hell!!!”, etc… They aren’t making it any worse by drowning that out. This was a great choice because it gives the woman the science based version of the fact she is killing an embryo of an organism that evolved from one cell; not something made in the image of God as the protestors are screaming.
The least you could do is recommend something else like “Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged” and “Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone”, “All Of You Judgmental Christian Protestors Will Face God’s Wrath On Judgement Day”, “May God Have Mercy On Your Souls For Judging These Women” . That’s what they should be playing if you can get in contact with them.
I get a lot of people mispronouncing my last name. It is strange: I sometimes wonder if maybe my family has it wrong. I can sympathize with your frustration at spelling.
@Gregory in Seattle
I’m convinced that people are determined to misspell and mispronounce names regardless. I didn’t change my last name when I married, even though spouse has a very common (easy in my opinion name) because mine is quite rare. If I run into someone with the same last name, chances are we are close cousins. However, even when I do business for spouse with their name people don’t get it. I can’t even fathom the creative ways they come up with to not spell it correctly. So either way, I’d say stick to the name you like best, because no one else cares to pronounce it correctly anyways.
EigenSprocketUK @ # 1: … what would happen if they tried bringing the protestors cups of tea, smiles, and offers of hugs. Keep it up all day, drown them in being nice.
Something besides your name tells me you haven’t had much face-to-face with USAstani clinic harassers.
I know a clinic manager who tried that, all of that and more – even after the first arson at her facility. The second arson, a few months later, totaled the place.
The reason you’re seeing extra special protests is because we are in the middle of 40 Days for Life, a twice-yearly event where all the casual clinic harassers come out to join the regulars in trying to fight the evil Satanic forces of women’s healthcare.
The Spring session coincides with Lent, I believe, but I’m not aware of any special significance to the Fall session (except that it’s over before it gets too cold.)
I was thinking that “counterproductive” was probably they purpose of most of their visits to the clinic. :) (Not sarcasm, just a play on words.)
I live in Virginia. I can assure you that you aren’t going to get anywhere with these people by being nice to them. You’re evil and they’re doing god’s work. No compromise. Give them tea and cookies and you’re just larding the assholes up for the next round of abuse.
Speaking of abuse, there’s a law on the books in Virginia about public “curse and abuse.” Technically, if you call someone a motherf—ing pig f-cker in public and a cop hears it you can be cited. But it never seems to apply to these protesters. The cops turn a blind eye because they’re on the side of the anti-choicers. But if you’re a young black guy and you dis a white person they’ll come down on you without mercy (okay, way off topic).
Ask the protesters to sign your petition to help protect pregnancies by criminalizing all tobacco use within 500 feet of a pregnant woman. If they refuse, they’re hypocrites and pawns of Big Tobacco.
PZ:
Good point about the cacophony. On top of that I also think that specific choice of literature was unfortunate. Not to say it’s not a clever book, and of course I love you, Dr. Myers. But I believe a medical facility like the one described should try to be religiously neutral in matters of faith and atheism. I understand that perhaps someone in there was frustrated with the protestors and wanted to annoy them. But if there is a chance that some christian lady who needed the services of the clinic, was scared to go in and finally turned away because of the atheist propaganda, that would be a terrible result.
I couldn’t agree more about the cacophony. As an escort, we’ve been told that it’s not our job to engage with the protesters or attempt to counter protest because our focus should be on the patients and being the smiling, not screaming, not preaching alternative to the jackasses trying to stop them.
…on the other hand, if they were going to counter the preaching, they couldn’t have picked a better thing to use.