Two protests, one bench

Cinammon said :

According to those anti-choice zealots who’ve been sending emails demanding that articles be taken down, opinions different than their own should be banished.

If you can prove that, you’d have a point. Do you know what was in those emails? I’m betting you don’t. But hey – don’t let speculation get in the way of having a go at me 🙂

Cinammon said :

Is there a chance we can find out how many religious freaks who want to make abortion illegal there are? Somehow I think they’d be vastly outnumbered by everyone else…

Why are they freaks just because they don’t have the same opinion as you? I don’t agree with their argument at all, but I’m hardly going to label them ‘freaks’ or anything else purely based on an opinion I don’t agree with. You really did miss the point of my post if you think that I was trying to insinuate that there was one pro-abortionist (or anti-anti-abortionist) against a bunch of anti-abortionists. Rather, I was pointing out that the people labelled as having ‘serious mental issues’ have the same voting right as anyone else. I’m glad I got the chance to clear up this very simple point, I thought it was clear enough but obviously not.

Cinammon said :

Thank goodness you’re here to show everyone else what rational and intelligent debate looks like! And there I was thinking that calling someone a tool is a bit of an indication that there’s nothing rational or intelligent in what they’re saying…

Ah yes, the “OMG LOLZ u used one1 word dat mkes ur hole post sillyz” excuse. I didn’t call anyone a tool, rather suggested that they appear to look like one. But if you’re willing to dismiss my entire post because I used the word ‘tool’, well perhaps that label is more fitting to someone such as yourself. I’d really like to hear which part of my post you thought was neither rational or intelligent, excusing the last paragraph (which really doesn’t add anything to my argument). I understand if it takes a while to find something.

shadow boxer said :

bryansworld said :

Henry82 said :

Who cares? – Just let the 2 old people protest. it gives them exercise and vitamin D

I care. Terminating a pregnancy is traumatic and emotional enough without some moronic bigots trying to impose their views on you and trying to make you feel guilty.

You should see the breast feeding zealots move in after after the birth, they make the anti-abortion people look like puppy dogs.

+1
Not to mention the “you must not sleep with your baby, you may roll over and kill it” scaremongers. Ahem – most babies in developing countries sleep with their mothers. Ahem – the only babies at risk of being smothered by their mothers in bed are the infants of out-of-it druggies.

qbngeek said :

shadow boxer said :

You should see the breast feeding zealots move in after after the birth, they make the anti-abortion people look like puppy dogs.

Bastards had my wife in tears because our second child went straight on the bottle. She can’t breast feed for certain reasons I won’t go into, but they never stopped to ask if there was a reason why she wasn’t, just told her she was doing the wrong thing for her baby.

Funnily enough the bottle fed qbngeekling had fewer health problems then the breast fed one. That was their main argument in the bin.

This is getting really off-topic, but I had bad experiences with them too. I used to call them the breastfeeding nazis.

FD10 said :

So people aren’t allowed to have their own opinion of something?

According to those anti-choice zealots who’ve been sending emails demanding that articles be taken down, opinions different than their own should be banished.

In the meantime, dwell on the fact that those people with ‘serious mental issues’ who are ‘attempting to enforce their medieval religious point of view on the rest of society’ have the same voting rights as you do. Your opinion isn’t worth any more than theirs. Because there are more of them than you.

Is there a chance we can find out how many religious freaks who want to make abortion illegal there are? Somehow I think they’d be vastly outnumbered by everyone else…

But hey – rational debate and intelligent comments aren’t really accepted on the internet, so perhaps just disregard everything I’ve said and continue to make yourself look like a tool. Have a good weekend 🙂

Thank goodness you’re here to show everyone else what rational and intelligent debate looks like! And there I was thinking that calling someone a tool is a bit of an indication that there’s nothing rational or intelligent in what they’re saying…

shadow boxer said :

You should see the breast feeding zealots move in after after the birth, they make the anti-abortion people look like puppy dogs.

Bastards had my wife in tears because our second child went straight on the bottle. She can’t breast feed for certain reasons I won’t go into, but they never stopped to ask if there was a reason why she wasn’t, just told her she was doing the wrong thing for her baby.

Funnily enough the bottle fed qbngeekling had fewer health problems then the breast fed one. That was their main argument in the bin.

The Secretary said :

Be thankful that we live in a country where it is legal to have an abortion AND to protest about the pros/cons of the issue.

Extra special thanks that no one has brought firearms into the equation…

Ahhh, firearms! One of my favourite subjects. I’m willing to talk ballistics with anyone. Trigger time is happy time!

Lemme see now…ohh..hang on…this is about abortion…bugger…

Mysteryman said :

creative_canberran said :

I would implore rioters to offer these statements to the anti-abortioni protestors politely if you happen to walk past:

“Abortion means the kid won’t need to worry about a Priest…”

“Prayer for all the people hurt by abortion? What about the crusades, the kiddie fiddlers and the knows best for aborigines policy?”

Or how about “Why is it that a rapist can gain absolution by holding some beads and hailing Mary but a woman who has a child resulting from that rape is the one forced to endure what follows?”

If you can work AIDS in Africa and Galileo into it, that’s good too.

This is great advice if you want to look like a total idiot, or an ignorant tool.

Care to elaborate?

How is it ignorant to highlight that an institution that is morally bankrupt itself should not be lecturing society anymore?

Come on, let’s hear it.
The examples I listed are just the modern ones. Go back a bit and you find Exodus 21:7
“When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do.”
You’re a sinner if you prevent life but you’re a-ok if you sell a life.

Not that quotes from the testament matter: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/17/138281522/how-bible-stories-evolved-over-the-centuries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RV46fsmx6E

creative_canberran said :

I would implore rioters to offer these statements to the anti-abortioni protestors politely if you happen to walk past:

“Abortion means the kid won’t need to worry about a Priest…”

“Prayer for all the people hurt by abortion? What about the crusades, the kiddie fiddlers and the knows best for aborigines policy?”

Or how about “Why is it that a rapist can gain absolution by holding some beads and hailing Mary but a woman who has a child resulting from that rape is the one forced to endure what follows?”

If you can work AIDS in Africa and Galileo into it, that’s good too.

This is great advice if you want to look like a total idiot, or an ignorant tool.

matt31221 said :

The rights of the fetus ey? What about the rights of sperm? By these ppl’s logic it would make most normal guys mass murderers when they rub one off in the shower and those million spermies end up swimming down the Molonglo!

Fairly big difference between a gamete and a foetus.

The rights of the fetus ey? What about the rights of sperm? By these ppl’s logic it would make most normal guys mass murderers when they rub one off in the shower and those million spermies end up swimming down the Molonglo!

“They sit there and pray for people affected by abortion.”

Which they could do at home or in their church, God has pretty good coverage, much like Telstra, and can pick up your signals from anywhere…. so they say.

“I’ve never seen them be loud or obnoxious to anyone around.”

Some people may find being prayed for obnoxious (I know I do) and under the circumstances of what may be a traumatic experience the religious group and their prayer vigil may increase this stress and trauma.

#40. “intentionally make anyone “uncomfortable” by our presence”

Hogwash! I think that sounds dubious and to me shows a lack of empathy for others.

chewy14 said :

Jim Jones said :

Mysteryman said :

I find protests like the ones pictured to be far less obnoxious and ignorant than the idiotic comments posted in threads like this.

I also find it ironic that the people bitching about “god botherers” trying to force their agenda are usually the loudest and most arrogant when it comes to pushing their own views on everyone else – as clearly evident in this thread.

Well done, everyone.

Couldn’t come up with a rational argument in support of pro-choice, so went the ad hominem, huh? How’s that working out for you?

Funnily enough, I don’t think a bunch of people arguing on the internet is more obnoxious than a group attempting to enforce their medieval religious point of view on the rest of society. Anyone who thinks that way, IMHO, has some pretty serious mental issues.

Jim,
other than your strawman descriptions of these religious people and their beliefs, can you explain how they people are trying to enforce their religious views on the rest of society?
They sit there and pray for people affected by abortion. I’ve never seen them be loud or obnoxious to anyone around. If anything, the pro-choice people have brought more attention to them and their protest.
Abortion is a moral issue and there are legitimate arguments as to where life begins and whether we should allow abortions. I personally would fall just on the side of allowing choice but to denigrate these people because they have a different belief than you is childish.

+1. Having a small group of oldies saying a quiet prayer is hardly the stereotypical crusader.

Wow, that really is pro-life campaigning Canberra-style. Things like these just enforce the view that Canberra has no soul, if even the pro-life campaigners don’t seem to show any real passion!

“We have available for anyone to take, reliable informative literature concerning the adverse health risks associated with abortion.”

Talk about someone downplaying their convictions.

I would implore rioters to offer these statements to the anti-abortioni protestors politely if you happen to walk past:

“Abortion means the kid won’t need to worry about a Priest…”

“Prayer for all the people hurt by abortion? What about the crusades, the kiddie fiddlers and the knows best for aborigines policy?”

Or how about “Why is it that a rapist can gain absolution by holding some beads and hailing Mary but a woman who has a child resulting from that rape is the one forced to endure what follows?”

If you can work AIDS in Africa and Galileo into it, that’s good too.

bryansworld said :

I care. Terminating a pregnancy is traumatic and emotional enough without some moronic bigots trying to impose their views on you and trying to make you feel guilty.

Do you honestly think 2 random people on the street is going to make you feel guilty? they don’t even know if you’ve terminated or not. And they’re hardly “imposing their views on you”. It’s two old guys, silently standing there, with a small A3 sign thats hard to read.. oh better call the riot police.

Skidbladnir said :

shadow boxer said :

“Religion” and “rational” are mutually exclusive,

I’m going to guess you’ve never tried to argue with a Jesuit. Seriously, its the possibly most fun you will ever have while debating.

debating en masse, i assume you mean?

Veritity said :

For those who have read the message of ‘professorpitts’ on 12th August when advertising the pro-choice rally but have not witnessed the prayer vigil that appears to be the object of this rally, I would like to correct the untruthful assertions made therein.
As one who has been associated with this prayer vigil of at least ten years, I can truthfully state that we do not hand out “anti-abortion propaganda”, in fact we do not hand out anything. We have available for anyone to take, reliable informative literature concerning the adverse health risks associated with abortion. We do not spread “religious paraphernalia around the entrance to the Health Building”. We do display some religious images and some small placards around the Health Building signage that is some distance from the entrance. We do not ” heckle passers-by” or intentionally make anyone “uncomfortable” by our presence. We do not approach anyone, but will talk to anyone who wishes to engage in a rational discussion.
Our presence over the years has been tolerated by both the Police and the Building Management. We have been directed not to impede pedestrian traffic not impinge upon the building footprint. These directions we accept and respect.
We respect the right of anyone to publicaly express their views but we do object to falsehoods being spread about how we express our views.

Thanks for the reasonable comment on your protest. Perhaps some other commenters here should re-read their own comments in this thread and then take a leaf out of your book.