Do y'all remember how Trump declared during his 2016 campaign that women should be punished for having abortions and that potential fathers should have no culpability? How Trump stated that he would appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade? How voters, pro-choice activists and organizations, Planned Parenthood, and Democratic politicians like Hillary Clinton warned that the 2016 Presidential Election would impact reproductive rights in this country for decades to come? That Supreme Court vacancies were the most significant issue facing the county? But people decided that Hillary Clinton was somehow "just as bad as Trump" and took the gamble that Roe v. Wade couldn't possibly be overturned, that women would not actually face severe consequences because of a Trump presidency?
Last year, Texas devised S.B. 8, a de facto ban on all abortions, and despite the fact that it clearly violates Supreme Court precedent, Trump’s three nominees to the Court refused to strike down the law. In the wake of that ban, a woman in Texas was arrested on murder charges for allegedly inducing an abortion. While the charges were eventually dropped, the mistreatment she faced sends a message to all women in Texas. And it’s not just Texas. Across Republican-controlled legislatures, abortion bans are sweeping the nation. And today, the Republican Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, signed into law a de facto ban that criminalizes providing an abortion:
A person found guilty of providing an abortion would face up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $100,000.
Once the law goes into effect, anyone who provides an abortion will face a felony charge of up to ten years in prison and a fine up to $100,000. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
Republicans told everyone exactly what they would do if they took power. But for some reason, people chose not to take them at their word, they trivialized concerns about the Supreme Court, about reproductive rights, they bought into propaganda and misinformation, and here we are. Because Trump was able to stack the Court with three conservative justices (which are all lifelong appointments), he and the GOP have effectively killed Roe v. Wade, but it's innocent women across this country who will carry that burden.
That harm can't be undone, but we can still change course. I'm choosing to underscore the myopic discourse of 2016 not because I want to shame people who protested voting but to emphasize the fact that the future harm was so understated. No matter what people say about 2022 and 2024, about how Biden or any other Democrat is “just as bad as [literal fascist]," their claims will pale in comparison to the reality of Republicans taking power again. Queer rights, free speech rights to even just talk about race and racism, voting rights, freedom to protest and engage in political activism—all of these basic civil liberties are at risk if people choose to repeat the mistakes of 2016. If Trump's election proved anything, it's that no one can predict just how much devastation can be inflicted by choosing not to vote.
Midterm elections are coming up. If we want to codify Roe v. Wade and open the door for Biden to sign life-changing legislation into law, we need to reshape Congress and put progressive lawmakers into positions where they can remove the filibuster. We need to vote.
The Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature overrode Democratic Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of the state’s anti-abortion bill. Unlike the aforementioned Oklahoma abortion ban, which doesn’t become effective until Summer, the Kentucky ban is effective immediately. Advocates claim that Kentucky will be the first state forced to halt all abortion procedures, as the law is the most restrictive one to take effect. It has no exceptions for rape or incest.
The Republican Governor of Florida and presumptive 2024 Presidential Candidate, Ron DeSantis, just signed into law a de facto ban on all abortions. It has no exceptions for rape or incest. It goes into effect on July 1st, 2022.
Also, to my fellow cis gay men who often seem to ignore/overlook reproductive rights, this Supreme Court opinion suggests that fundamental gay rights are on the chopping block next:
“Respondents . . . rely on post-Casey decisions like Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges. These attempts to justify abortion through appeals to a broader right to autonomy and to define one’s ‘concept of existence’ prove too much. Those criteria, at a high level of generality, could license fundamental rights to illicit drug use, prostitution, and the like. None of these rights has any claim to being deeply rooted in history.”
For those who don’t know, Lawrence v. Texas was a landmark queer rights case because it struck down laws that criminalized homosexual intercourse. Obergefell v. Hodges is the landmark case that legalized same-gender marriage. And in this opinion, the Court implies that these freedoms are comparable to allowing drug use and prostitution, it explicitly says that these rationales have gone too far, and that these rights are not rooted in American history. The Court is showing its hand and how it views what it perceives to be Court-created rights (abortion, gay marriage, gay sexual intercourse, etc.). Basically, the Court seems to be overturning the framework of substantive due process rights, which is the doctrine that creates these basic rights. If abortion rights can be overturned on this logic, so will queer rights.
If you think the Court is going to just stop with reproductive rights, that cis queer men are going to be spared, with all due respect, you’re a fucking moron. You need to be concerned about this too, even if you don’t have a uterus. You should be as outraged about this as you are with the Don’t Say Gay law.
And indirectly aims to supersede all court precedents, making all civil rights they have ever decided on at risk.
I don’t care what party you claim to be. You need to ask yourself do you believe in democracy or plutocracy? Do you believe in majority rule or authoritarianism? 
This is a link to the list of US 2022 Congressional Primary Dates: https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2022pdates.pdf
This is a US Primary Elections Calendar: https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/VAO/PrimaryElectionsCalendar.pdf
Voting in Texas was in *MARCH*!!! Please check these calendars and make sure you aren’t missing primary elections in your state!
Many states have primary elections in MAY, including Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, West Virginia, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia.
June primary elections include: California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, Maine, North Dakota, South Carolina, D.C., Virginia, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, and Utah.
“Umm Roe getting overturned won’t make abortion illegal everywhere in America, it’ll just go down to the states, don’t exaggerate, blah blah….”
The most basic right of bodily autonomy shouldn’t be dependent on what fucking state you happen to live in, you crusty nail fungus of a human being.
Nearly a solid half of the states would ban abortion in overturning Roe. The fact that ANY state would make it so anyone with a functioning uterus has less rights than a corpse is horrifying in and of itself, but since it wouldn’t be completely banned in all 50 states it’s not worth fucking worrying to you?! Choke.
Like, just fuck all of us that live in red states (especially the ones with trigger laws), huh?
In some states it takes hours, even days worth of travel to leave. The cost of that on top of an abortion itself, plus recuperation, makes it that much more difficult.
all the right-wing judges besides clarence thomas were picked by bush and trump, meaning the decision to overturn roe v wade was made by two presidents who never won the popular vote
As soon as Roe is struck down, abortion becomes illegal.
There is a listed exception for cases where the health of the pregnant person is significantly at risk… but this is also the state where lawmakers have argued that ectopic pregnancies do have a chance at being harmless and viable.
The state where lawmakers have called for bans on birth control, have called IUDs abortifacients, have shown time and time again that they don’t give a flip about science or the wellbeing of people who can get pregnant.
This will kill people. This will break people. This will ruin lives.
I haven’t been active on this blog in a while. Too much life stuff happened (I went back to school, had a death in the family, am currently working two jobs) and when I did have time to be online I just wanted to do fun fandom bullshit.
Have been for my whole life, just have no sense of physical coordination. I trip constantly, have bad balance, was bad at sports, the whole thing.
Despite this, a couple months ago I decided to try one of those rentable electric scooters. It was the end of a long day, I was tired, and my shoes were uncomfortable. It was going to get dark and I don’t have a car, so I thought it made sense to get back to my apartment more quickly.
Shocking no one, it did not go super well and I ended up falling. I sprained my ankle in three places, bad enough to chip the bone, it swelled up instantly, and I needed to go to the ER. I’ve spent the last couple months in a series of casts and wraps and PT, and my ankle may never be totally the same.
Not once at any of my appointments did a doctor say “you know an injury was a potential consequence, so you have to deal with it.” Not once did they say “consent to a scooter is consent to a busted ankle, there’s nothing we can do.” Not once did they say “if you’d kept your legs on the ground you wouldn’t be in this mess, it’s your own fault for being reckless, you have to live with it.”
The fact that a decision I made was the cause of my situation had no bearing on whether I was allowed to get help for it. I was even allowed to choose therapy options that caused the least disruption to the plans I’d made for my life. I wasn’t called mean names or prevented from accessing care.
Saying that consent to sex is also consent to pregnancy is the mindset of a rapist.
Consent to oral sex isn't consent to penetration. Consent to protected sex isn't consent to unprotected sex. Consent to vaginal sex isn't consent to anal sex.
Consent to drinking with someone isn't consent for them to drug you. Consent to making out isn't consent to sexual touching. Consent to mutual masturbation isn't consent to having sex.
And consent to any kind of sex whatsoever isn't consent to pregnancy.
The whole idea that consent to "X" is actually consent to "W, X, Y, and Z" only defends rapists. You know, people who force others into sexual acts they didn't consent to.
Consent to one thing is consent to that one thing ONLY. Nothing else in inherently involved in consenting to one thing.
And when you consent to sex, you don't inherently consent to pregnancy.
I found this really good trick for my fellow females:
keep your legs closed and you will not get pregnant, if you consent to sex, you consent to its consequences.
That’s not how consent works. If you consent to sex, you’re consenting to sex. Nothing more, nothing less. Some people consent to sex AND consent to impregnation (i.e. they’re “trying”), but that doesn’t mean consent to sex is consent to pregnancy.
Pregnancy, childbirth, and children shouldn’t be used to punish certain people* for having sex. Just because someone can get pregnant doesn’t mean they should have to have kids.
Oh, and you can “keep your legs closed” and still get pregnant. Not only because you can (shocker) have sex with your legs closed, but also because you can get pregnant without having sex.
But, congratulations. If your goal was to sex-shame, mission accomplished! That’s about all you’ve done here.
*those certain people being anyone who can get pregnant.
@im-not-norm It might not be “how it works for you,” but (again) different people have sex for different reasons. You might solely have sex to procreate, but that doesn’t mean that’s why everyone else does.
Someone might understand sex can lead to pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean consent to sex is consent to pregnancy.
Also, if you light a match intending to light a candle, and without planning for it your kitchen catches fire… you’re still allowed to put out the fire, whether you chose to light the match or not
I’m tired of seeing all the arguments of “oh but this is what the Bible REALLY meant! It actually says to be a decent person, so despite literal millennia of cultural influence and interpretation of dogma, that means REAL Christians are tolerant ones! Those others are just FAKERS and Jesus would not actually like them very much!!”
It doesn’t matter
It just fucking doesn’t
The fact of the matter is that despite whatever scriptural gotcha you think you have, the way Christianity is practiced today by the overwhelming majority, and specifically the ways it has shaped so much of Western culture, it is not a tolerant, liberal religion in practice.
And no amount of “oh well they SHOULD interpret it this way and actually have to be decent people” changes the very real impact it continues to have.
Your “no true Scotsman” falls apart when you’re applying it to every single significant thing the church as a whole says or does.
I don’t care if you think Jesus would actually be cool with the gays, I don’t care if the disciples were actually a bunch of super cool bros. I resent both the overwhelming influence a single faith has had on the world I live in, and the hate spewed at me by people who believe just as strongly that they’re the ones actually interpreting things right.
If it’s a genuine source of peace or strength or whatever, fine, good for you, but clean your own fucking house before bragging about how you’re one of the few who ACTUALLY GETS IT and all those MEANIES just aren’t true Christians.
They believe they are just as true as you do, and the cruelty they inflict isn’t affected by whether they are cosmically in the wrong.
What is ABA and why is it harmful? Also to be a good ally, what SHOULD we do?
ABA stands for applied behavioral analysis. You can read a more in depth explanation here.
ABA is harmful for a number of reasons including:
teaches autistic kids to mistrust their own instincts and put obeying first which puts us at more risk of sexual and physical abuse
teaches us that we must contain natural and harmless behavior
takes up literally all our time with tiring and stressful exercises
teaches us to lie and agree to things we don’t want
I mean prolifeproliberty supports it that’s argument in enough in itself that it’s bad (I’m kidding but only kind of a LOT of horrible people support it and it was started by someone who did a lot of work on anti gay conversion therapy too)
To be a good ally here is what you can do:
not support ABA
not support autism speaks
instead, support organizations like the autism self advocacy network
boycott companies that “light it up blue” for april
When I was 15/16 I was in an accident that left me with chronic pain and internal damage that meant pregnancy was highly unlikely for me. I’ve never wanted children. The reality of me probably being unable to have children never bothered me. It’s bothered everyone else though. People have cried more over my inability to have children than I have. No matter what I say no one will believe that I’m happy in my body regardless of its ability to produce children. They mourn my body like it belongs to them. As though my ability to have children has any affect on their life.
A few months ago I missed two periods in a row and took a pregnancy test that turned out to be a false positive. I went to Planned Parenthood to get a professional opinion and with the full intention of getting an abortion if it turned out that I was pregnant against all odds. There was no fear beyond the usual nervousness you experience at the prospect of a medical procedure. There was no emotional turmoil over my decision. I know what I want and it isn’t kids. The choice was an easy one for me.
When I finally opened up about my pregnancy scare to a few friends, all of them “good” feminist women, they were almost offended over how easy the decision was for me. “If you had been pregnant that may have been your only shot at a biological child. How could you just give that up without more thought?” One asked me. “So many women in your position would kill to be able to get pregnant and you were going to just throw it away?” Another one said to me.
I am not an incubator for other women’s hopes and dreams. If I ever do get pregnant I will not stay that way just because other people in my position would be grateful to have a chance at experiencing pregnancy/birth. I’m not interested in that. I never will be. I don’t want children.
If your idea of “my body my choice” only extends to certain people it’s bullshit. If you think certain women should be grateful for unwanted pregnancies just because any pregnancy for them was unlikely you’re disrespecting their choice. Stop treating women with fertility/reproductive health issues like we’re broken or should feel sad over our health when we tell you we don’t. Stop thinking we owe you “miracle babies” even when we don’t want children.
“You can disagree with someone and still love them” means that you can have a different opinion on mint chocolate than a friend and still love them.
It means you might like Greek Mythology and your sister likes Roman Mythology.
It means you might think grassroots movements are most effective for change and your partner thinks petitioning existing systems still have a chance to work.
“You can disagree with someone and still love them” is not applicable if you think someone is a sinner for being gay or trans.
It’s not applicable if you think someone shouldn’t be afforded dignity or healthcare (whether that’s birth control, abortion, GCS, etc)
“I disagree with/won’t respect your gender or sexuality because of my religious beliefs” is a statement of hate and intolerance, no matter what the intention.
If your religion prevents you from learning, growth, respect, and compassion, you are harming others and potentially being harmed yourself.
This April, millions won’t be able to afford their bills even if they want to pay them. Like the pandemic, this is the inevitable consequence of a system that wasn’t designed to keep us safe in the first place.
On April 1st, while corporate retailers skip on payments and homeowners are allowed to wave mortgages, millions of renters will be expected
What Is A Rent Strike?
A rent strike is a collective refusal by tenants of a building, housing project, or dwelling to pay rent to their landlord. Often, groups of tenants have set demands that they want addressed, such as: unfair rents, unmade repairs, or an end to harassment by management.
Throughout history, rent strikes have been a tactic utilized by renters to combat slumlords, racism and attacks on civil rights, high rents, and also secure and defend housing for poor and working people in times of crisis, pandemic, and economic depression.
In recent years in the face of the growing housing crisis, rent strikes have grow in popularity in larger cities as a tactic utilized by renters to fight back against predatory landlords. Organizations such as the LA Tenants Union and Parkdale Organize have mobilized to back massive rent strikes which have resulted in key victories for tenants. Occupations of vacant housing, such as the recent occupation organized by Moms 4 Housing in Oakland, CA, have also resulted in victories.
Who Is Calling For The Strike?
There are a wide variety of autonomous groups, organizations, networks, and individuals who are pushing for the rent strike. This includes:
A network of autonomous anti-capitalist groups and organizations across the country.
The group Rent Strike 2020, which has been pushing petitions signed by tens of thousands of people.
Groups of renters, such as the anarchist housing collective, Station 40, located in the Mission District of San Francisco, who have publicly declared that they will go on rent strike starting April 1st.
Seasoned tenant organizations such as Parkdale Organize.
Hasn’t The Government Called Off Evictions?
In short, the government is some areas has placed a moratorium on evictions. This means simply that for a set amount of time, they agree to not evict anyone who can’t pay their rent, but they still expect you to pay it at a later date and in a timely manner. This means more debt and more payment of money you don’t have.
As 5 Demands, an online rent strike hub, wrote:
Current moratoriums on evictions and utility shut offs protect you from immediate threat of losing your home or having your utilities shut off, as long as those moratoriums are in place. Your landlord can’t file for eviction for non-payment during the moratorium and the utility companies can’t turn off your water or electricity. You can use the money you’ve kept on the immediate things you need, like medicine and food. The moratoriums alone don’t prevent you from owing back-payment once they lifted, though. That’s why we are pushing for a rent and debt cancellation, so millions of people are not facing insurmountable debt on the other end of this crisis.
We also know that millions of people organized and united in refusing to pay will overwhelm court and eviction symptoms, which have a finite capacity.
Won’t A Rent Strike Hurt Landlords?
Simply put, for middle-class landlords who rent out extra property, there are simply more protections from foreclosure than there are for renters. Homeowners across the US are getting federal mortgage relief and HUD has also called for a halt on foreclosures. According to NPR, homeowners can also have their “mortgage payments reduced or suspended for up to 12 months.” In cities like New York, there is currently a moratorium on mortgages for 90 days, while in California, those paying a mortgage will be given a grace period.
Corporations like Subway, the Cheesecake Factory, and Adidas have already declared that they won’t pay rent in April. There's mortgage relief for the middle class, but none for renters. They want the poorest to foot the bill.
It should also be noted that many corporate retail stores are also not able to pay rent and are currently working with landlords to pay reduced or restructured rent – or in some cases even given grace periods.
For renters, these protections do not exist – our only way forward is through collective action. As Parkdale Organize wrote:
Landlords’ resources will allow them to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic better than most, while tenants are more and more concerned with our daily survival. The government has already announced financial support and mortgage suspensions for businesses and landlords. By keeping our rent we will have more money for groceries, medicine, disinfectant supplies, and other basic necessities. Our landlords will be fine without our rent. We may not be.
How Can I Plug Into The Rent Strike?
The best way to is link up with a group that already exists or one closest to you.
You can also call this hotline and talk to organizers who will help you find local initiatives and resources for your strike:
this wont work unless you get other people that your landlord rents to on board. talk to other people in your building or on your property about it. If only one person doesn’t pay rent, it’s not a strike. You’ll just get in trouble for not paying rent. If nobody pays rent, it is a strike.
Transcript: And now I find that some of my Republican colleagues are very distressed. They’re very upset that somebody who is making ten, twelve bucks an hour might end up with a paycheck—for four months!—more than they received last week. Oh my G-d! The universe is collapsing.
Imagine that. Somebody who’s making 12 bucks an hour, now like the rest of us, faces an unprecedented economic crisis, with the 600 bucks on top of their normal- their regular unemployment check- might be making a few bucks more for four months. Oh my WORD! Will the universe survive?
How absurd and wrong is that? What kind of value system is that? Meanwhile, these very same folks had no problem, a couple years ago, voting for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and large profitable corporations! Not a problem!
But when it comes to low-income workers in the midst of a terrible crisis, maybe some of them earning or having more money than they previously made- [tongue clicks] oh my word we gotta strip that out. Gotta- we gotta tell those poor people that no matter what-
By the way when this bill, when the McConnell bill first came up, unbelievably, and I know many Republicans objected to this, they were saying that well we wanna give a, whatever it was, a thousand or twelve hundred bucks, but poor people should get less.
You see, because poor people are down here, they don’t deserve- they don’t eat. They don’t pay rent. They don’t go to the doctor; they’re somehow inferior, because they’re poor we’re gonna give them less.
Well that was addressed. Now everybody is gonna get the 1200 dollars. But some of our Republican friends still have not given up of the need to punish the poor and working people.
You haven’t raised the minimum wage in ten years! Minimum wage should be at least fifteen bucks an hour, you haven’t done that!
You’ve cut program, after program, after program, and now horror of horrors, for four months, workers might be earning a few bucks more than they otherwise would. Well needless to say, this— (audio cuts off as video ends).
"An Abomination Who Shames the Name of God" @pissedandprochoice - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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