Random Reflections

1.The "Life begins at holding hands" crowd was protesting in front my place of work a few days ago. They descended on the street corners surrounding one of the biggest intersections in town and started setting up signs.

About fifty signs. All bearing the most digusting pictures of abortion aftermath ever photographed. Huge signs too - 4 by 5, or thereabouts. Mixed in amongst the broken, dismembered corpse photos were apparently stock photographs of something resembling a fish in a bubble, floating in a rainbow. Given the whole theme of the shindig, I'm guessing this was probably a picture of a fetus, designed to inspire some feeling of awe, beauty, or protection. I guess I'm a heathen, it looked like a fish.

Weaving in amongst the cars were the proprietors themselves, thrusting literature into car windows, which predictably open because of the high temperatures. The black and white, massive block appearances of these missives appeared to match with the signs the more literate of the crew were holding in front of the pizza parlor across the way, specifically "What is worse, a nation who's ruler kills his citizens, or a nation that kills its children?" Took me a couple of minutes to figure out they were protesting the Invasion Of Iraq AND abortion all at the same time. Multitaskers.

Ahem.

Before you think me a callous individual, uncaring as to the fate of the our littlest citizesn, let me assure you that I am already more or less in their camp. Abortion when performed after the development of brainwaves is taking a life. Plain and simple. There is no magical line of division between three seconds before "Out" and "Out" where a fetus becomes A Human. Sorry, there just isn't. It follows therefore, that ending a life should only be done under the most extenuating of circumstances, specifically a clear and present danger to the life of the mother, if she so chooses. Any doctor who concludes that fear of belly scars or rolls of excess skin constitutes a threat to the mother's health (as has been done in the past) should be stripped of his license. It is my opinion that anyone who uses abortion as a form of contraception should be "fixed" like a stray dog. Sorry, you blew it. On the other hand, the federal government's powers and money spending abilities are specifically enumerated in Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution and defining life and when it is taken is nowhere found within. This is a state and local matter.

I am, by nature, a very political person. It's ok to believe strongly in something. Really, it is. But when your entire argument consists of nothing but emotional appeals, you don't have an argument. You have an opinion. When the only way you can convey your message is to disgust early morning shoppers with graphic footage, I don't respect you, no matter how firmly I'm in your court. At that point, you deserve NO ONE'S respect.

I could make arguments about the final destination of gun control by showing pictures of naked Jews marching into the showers, or hacked of Rwandans, or women being raped in Darfur. I don't. I make my points with logic, with reason, with something other than hysterical screaming. This is called intelligence. It's called courtesy. Potentially scaring small children with dismembered bodies is not a way to get your point across. The saying "You will catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" has some merit.

What kind of sicko takes the time to find 20 photos of dismembered babies, put them together on a disk, take them to Kinkos and say "4 by 5s of the regular dismemberment, and three 5 by 6s of the ones with the face gouged out"? Do they really think they grossing people out is going to win them converts? Or are they frantically massaging their egos, in the hope that they can pat themselves on the back at the end of the day and say "We did it" and then go to bed and sleep the sleep of the saved.

On a related note, all these protestors seemed to be of a type. The majority were overweight middle-aged women in dresses, each with about fifteen kids in tow. And none of them had come within a country mile of basic body/appearance maintenence. Maybe it's a religious thing.

2.A friend of mine is friends with the former sheriff of Manitowoc. This sheriff put a (now) killer named Steven Avery behind bars for 18 years. When Avery got out in 2004, the Sheriff started stashing guns around his house. His wife asked him "what for?" He replied "in case Steven ever sets foot on our property." His wife asked him "Would you shoot him?" He replied, without any hesitation, or appearance of nervousness or grandstanding "Twice in the chest and once in the head" (this is called the Mozambique Drill). Not "I'd think about it" or "I'd call the police" or "Yes." Steven Avery and his nephen Brenden Dassey tortured a photographer to death in 2005.

3.A man wearing nothing but a black ski mask and running shoes has been flashing women in my area. He's done this 40 times. Apparently he stalks them, waits until they're home along, then disrobes and sets up a chair in front of their living room window. If he doesn't get the desired effect (screaming, running from the room, other signs of shock) he breaks into their house and does things he should not do. I would like to see him break into that sheriff's house. Or for funnier effect, I'd like to see him chased down the street in just his mask and shoes by an irate, screaming husband, brandishing a massive pair of garden shears.

4.When Best Buy repairs a notebook computer, it should not shut off when you lift it.

5.Shoplifiting is an afront to God.

6.During apparthied, it was mandated by law that blacks be paid a higher minimum wage than whites. I find this humorous, given that Chicago just upped their minimum wage to $10 per hour.