I was young and ignorant once...

There was a point in my life when I tended to believe what the public majority told me. I guess you could say that I willingly (or rather ignorantly) drank the kool-aid. When I was told abortion was bad, I called it grape kool-aid and swallowed every bit of it. The horrible pro-life propaganda pictures, the lies about women's health, all of it. At the time, I was about 12 and it is understandable that I would drink the kool-aid. I mean isn't that what most 12 year-olds do? But then guess what? About the time I started questioning the Christian faith that everyone was trying to shove down my throat, I started questioning everything they told me was absolute. What started me questioning in the first place? Members of the Christian faith refusing to answer my questions. Now that I think about it, maybe they weren't refusing to answer my, but unable to. Maybe they didn't understand things themselves, or maybe they saw that at thirteen if I was questioning them now, I would see through all of the lies. But that is neither here nor there. My point is, around the same time I started questioning the Christian faith, I started questioning everything else. I looked at the abortion issue extensively and I started noticing a recurring theme within the pro-life movement. Many of those within the pro-life movement resort to theatrics (no matter how utterly absurd it is) rather than reason. There are a quite many that resort to outright lying (such as the claim that abortion causes breast cancer which in fact there is no direct link between the two as stated by the National Cancer Institute and other like organizations). There are also a good many that resort to name calling and outright harassment of abortion providers, obtainers, and seekers. Within this last group there are a few that even resort to violence and murder. How can one be pro-life but actively seek or support the murder of an individual based on the sole fact that s/he performs a service to women that is legal? I, at 13 years old, actively asked how these people could call themselves pro-life. They didn't seem to care about why a woman needed an abortion. They didn't seem to care that just because a woman goes to a clinic that provides abortions doesn't mean she is obtaining an abortion. And most importantly, they didn't seem to care that a woman's body is hers and hers alone and that she should not be told what to do with her own body. I had these thoughts at 13 years old. If I could see this at 13, then why are there still adults that can not see this? I saw straight through the pro-life propaganda, lies and theatrics. Today, I fight for the rights of the people around me. A woman should not be denied an abortion for any reason because it is her choice and her choice alone. If the pro-life movement would look at the larger picture (i.e. financial burden, physical burden, emotional burden, etc.) then I am sure they would see the need for abortions at this juncture in time. In fact, they don't care about the big picture. If they did, they would not support the countless "pro-life" bills out there that seek to make contraception, emergency contraception, and medically necessary abortions illegal. They would not support the bills that call for things such as the "uterus police" or the IRS audits of women's health. I have had many pro-life tell me that they don't support these bills, but I beg to differ with them. By continually voting for the men that push these bills you support them. So what is the real reason pro-life pushes its agenda? Control. They wish to enact control over the masses, and they aim to start with women's basic rights to her own body. I ask you this, pro-life, why can you not see the larger picture, when a thirteen year old girl could?

I don't think this was the answer he was looking for...

First and foremost, why is pro-life still using Terri Schiavo as a tool to further their agenda? And second, in using Terri Schiavo to further their “pro-life” agenda, do they even know the entire story?

Everyone (unless they have lived under a rock for the past ten years) involved in the pro-choice/pro-life debate (if you can even call it that most times) should know who Terri Schiavo is. If for nothing else than the fact that pro-life agitators used her to further their agenda, and apparently still do to this day. However, most people do not know the whole story. They only really get the “pro-life” side of the story instead. The fact that most of the nation gobbled up this “pro-life” spin on the story does not say a whole lot for the masses. That is beside the point, however.

February 25, 1990- Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home early that morning. She was in full cardiac arrest. She was taken to an area hospital where she was initially diagnosed with severe brain damage and about a year after her initial cardiac arrest was diagnosed with PVS, or Persistent Vegetative State. Look at that date, and keep that date in your mind.

That November, her husband Michael Schiavo took her to San Fransisco, California, (a long way from their home in Florida) to the University of California for experimental nerve stimulation. This treatment took several months and was ultimately unsuccessful. In January of 1991 he took her back home to Florida and admitted her to Mediplex Rehabilitation Center in Bradenton, Florida. Now don’t think he just dropped her there and forgot about her. He claimed that he often took “her to parks and public places in hopes of sparking some recovery” during her time at the center. In July of 1991 she was moved to Sabal Palms Skilled Care Facility where she received neurological testing, and regular speech and occupational therapy until 1994. Let’s look at this. Feb. of 1990 Schiavo goes into cardiac arrest resulting in PVS. Her husband takes her across the country to try a treatment that he believes will help her, but it is ultimately unsuccessful, he then brings her home and tries himself to spark some recovery in her, then he moves her to a care facility where she receives neurological testing and therapy for 3 more years. Count them, 3 years!! She had lived in the same vegetative state for 4 years already and received therapy for 3 years all the while showing NO signs of recovery. Forgive me if I am wrong, but that sounds like he tried to get her the help she needed.

It was not until May of 1998 that Michael Schiavo petitioned the court to remove Terri’s feeding tube. That is 8 years after the cardiac arrest that caused her PVS. Count them again. 8. YEARS. IN. A. PERSISTENT. VEGETATIVE. STATE. No changes in her condition. Nothing. You would think that the right thing to do would be to let the poor woman die and meet her maker. I mean after all she could not do anything for herself, she showed no cognition and she was living with a feeding tube down her throat.

After an extensive court battle, her husband was finally able to remove the feeding tube and allow his wife to die in March of 2005. Granted she died a horrible death via starvation and dehydration, but it was really no better than the non-life she was living. 15 years of a life confined to a bed. 15 years of a life unable to do anything for herself. 15 years of a life with no cognition. 15 years of a life as a burden to all of those around her. 15 years of a life she had no recollection of. 15 years of a life that she did not know was going on.

When her autopsy was performed in April of 2005, it was determined that she would never have been able to swallow on her own. Her brain weighed a mere 615g. That is half the size of a normal brain for a woman her age and size.

Microscopic examination revealed extensive damage to nearly all brain regions, including the cerebral cortex, the thalami, the basal ganglia, the hippocampus, the cerebellum, and the midbrain. The neuropathologic changes in her brain were precisely of the type seen in patients who enter a PVS following cardiac arrest. Throughout the cerebral cortex, the large pyramidal neurons that comprise some 70% of cortical cells – critical to the functioning of the cortex – were completely lost. The pattern of damage to the cortex, with injury tending to worsen from the front of the cortex to the back, is also typical. There was marked damage to important relay circuits deep in the brain (the thalami) – another common pathologic finding in cases of PVS. The damage was, in the words of Thogmartin, “irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons.”

With all that said, why do pro-lifers use Schiavo as a tool to further their argument? Are these people honestly going to tell me that they would want their families to keep them alive in a situation like this? And they have the nerve to call me selfish for being pro-choice? I would rather die, even if it means starvation and dehydration, than live a life the way that Schiavo was “living”. To all pro-lifers out there who continue to use Schiavo as a tool to further your argument, do not, and I repeat, DO NOT exploit her anymore to me. You are not going to like the answer I give you! My family is fully aware of my feelings on the matter. And remember in this case it is about QUALITY of life not QUANTITY!

You are not alone!

No I am not trying to quote the lame 90's Michael Jackson song, although it does have some valid messages in it. I was on Tumblr yesterday and one of the people I follow reblogged the following screen capture:



Now the name of the person who received the message has been blocked out because they did not want to receive any "publicity" (sorry I could not think of a better word to use)because of the matter. Now, I reblogged it on Tumblr and said what I thought at the time was my peace, but this horrendous message was all I could think about last night. There is more that needs to be addressed on this matter.

First and foremost, I would like to point out that saying, "If you lived in my town, I would kill you. I would find you at school and beat you to death." is crime number one. A felony in most states. Again, it is a felony in most states to threaten someone with death. F-E-L-O-N-Y! Guess what that means? Yup, you guessed it. Jail time! And don't think that just because you are a coward and post behind an "anonymous" or a fake moniker, that no one can find out who you are. A prime example of this? Here in Georgia, a man was awarded a $404,000 judgement against a woman who posted that he was a drug addict, criminal, and pedophile, amongst other things. The woman posted under several different "names", at times even posting to herself using different names, to make the story more believable. Granted, the website that the posts were made on (Topix.com) was willing to give up the name of the individual, but they still found out who she was. I am sure if the person who received the above message was willing to press charges, that Tumblr would more than be willing to provide "Anonymous's" IP address. After all, it would look really bad on the company if they didn't and what company wants to look bad in a situation like this?

Now this brings me to cyber-bullying. This message is a prime example of cyber-bullying. Now I might be taking this message out of context, but I could give a flying rat's ass if I am. There is nothing that the person who received this message could have said to warrant such a message. Not only is "Anonymous" castigating her, but he is going out of his way to make her feel like she is somehow less human because of who she may or may not love. Homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender ism, and the like are NOTHING to be ashamed of. "Anonymous" would have you think different. He also posts, "That just makes you a whore and a sinning bitch." which leads me to believe that he is either Christian, or follows one of the main Abrahamic religions since these are the only religions that I know of that speak of "sinning" and homosexuality in the same sentence. If I am correct in my assumption, then "Anonymous" is not a very good Christian. The post is full of sin and in God's eyes ALL sins are created equal. So just remember that before you post some atrocity like this.

Keep in mind that when you post something on the internet, it is ALWAYS there. Just like in real life. Once you say something, you cannot un-say it. I do not care what your opinion on the LGBTQ community is, no person, gay, straight, transgendered, or Martian, should EVER receive a message like this. If someone is a member of the LGBTQ community and you don't agree with it, guess what? A little closer..... IT IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! You cannot tell someone who they can or cannot love! And I will be damned if I sit by and let you or anyone for that matter, belittle someone just because they happen to love someone of the same gender! I will ALWAYS stand up for someone I see being treated like this. It does not matter if I know them or not. It does not matter if I agree with their choices. Because guess what? Those choices are theirs to make and no one else's. As long as those choices do not break the law, then no one has the right to do anything about it.

That brings me to an important question, that no one can seem to answer for me. Why in the hell does it matter who someone loves? It doesn't affect you in any way shape or form if, Bob and Joe are in a committed relationship and want to get married. So why? Why speak out against it? Why send messages like the one above? Why beat the living dog-shit out of someone over it? Are you that insecure with who you are as a person that you would have to belittle someone so badly? That is all I see when I look at this message. "Anonymous" is just an insecure little person who thinks that the only way to make himself feel better is to post hateful things to someone based on their sexuality. He is so insecure with himself that he resorts to committing a felony just so he can feel better about who he is. Well I got news for you, "Anonymous", you should feel insecure. If you don't understand that who a person loves is none of your business, then you should feel insecure. If you don't understand that hiding behind an anonymous tag instead of owning up to what you have said, is just being a coward, then you should feel insecure. If you don't understand that belittling someone in the way you just have is not only horrendous and ignorant, but one of the worst forms of bigotry in the world, then guess what sir, you should feel insecure.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
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Now before I leave you all to think about this and what we can do, I want to say something to all the teens that are either Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, or Questioning. You are not alone. Many members of the LGBTQ community have been right where you are. We have have been in similar situations. We want to be here for you. We are here for you! The Trevor Project is a great resource! They have a 24/7 hotline (866-4-U-TREVOR) that you can call, guess what? That's right 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Suicide is never the way to go. If you are thinking about suicide then please, please, I beg you, seek out help. I am also going to take this one step further. ANY person who just needs someone to talk to about the tough things, and you feel you have no one to turn to, message me. You can message me here, you can message me on Twitter (@MsTashers), and you can find me on Tumblr (also MsTashers). Do not hesitate to message me! I will be here for you. I will listen. If warranted, I will give you advice. Do not listen to people like "Anonymous". They are not worth your time or effort.