Thank you, Sarah, for your thoughtful and respectful coverage of this topic. The rhetoric from both sides can at times, be unsavory. However, I do find it ironic when members of the pro-choice side show their inconsistency on the “choice” front. It seems like some are only pro-choice if someone makes the “right” choice according to them. I don’t think I could stand to read the comments on this article, but I do hope there was some reasonable pushback.
I didn't see much, I'm afraid. I was the one who posted a comment about the inconsistency that I saw. About five people liked my comment, so there's that. But several people (including Mehmet) stated that they weren't being inconsistent because no one was advocating for legally forcing her to have an abortion. In their view, shaming and insulting her was acceptable as long as they weren't forcing her to abort (how generous of them).
So I'm afraid there really wasn't much pushback that I saw. I didn't read all the comments, though. I only read about half of them, and that was when the article first came out. There are probably more comments now. Maybe more people did push back, and I just didn't see it.
When I shared a note about this, however, about 35 people liked it, and several pro-choice people said that he shouldn't have judged her choice. So some pro-choicers did acknowledge it- but not so much on the original article.
It's sad. And no, I don't suggest reading the comments. They made me very, very disappointed with my fellow atheists. I really wish more atheists were open minded about this issue.
I think a lot of atheists have had bad run-ins with Christians (as have I) and been hurt by them. That's a common thing. And I think the opportunity to attack a Christian they thought was behaving foolishly was just too tempting to pass up.
I too have been shamed, attacked, and emotionally hurt by Christians (I've gotten some really intense hate-mail from so-called Christians, and often told I'm going to hell (and desrve it) and even had Christians tell me, on occasion, that I should be publicly executed for being LGBT.) if I posted some of that hate mail, I'm sure it would appall you.
There are a lot of Christians who behave very badly, and atheists (and ESPECIALLY LGBT atheists like me) get a lot of hate from them. Really bad stuff. So even I can be swept away by the tempation to attack back-- I've posted some pretty strident anti-Christian stuff in the past out of anger. I'm working on it and policing myself. But I can understand that when someones been mistreated, they want to treat OTHERS badly, even others who aren't the ones who hurt them, but in their mind, REPRESENT those that hurt them. So it can be pretty hostile. I try to remind myself that there are so many good Christians too, including some of my close friends, and reign in my own anger, which does exist and surface at times. I really think that was what was going on here.
That makes a lot of sense, Sarah. Thank you for sharing. I’m really sorry for the terribly hateful comments you have received from Christians! Certainly very un-Jesus-like behavior from my point of view, and these kinds of experiences definitely shed some light on why there may be so much hostility. Good to keep in mind. Thank you!
It doesn't matter if it shows that people have liked or read your words! MANY people are reading it! That's the important part. Because the logical and rational direction of your words is what is very powerful. You are probably going to see many more like you come forward in the future as society realizes what abortion really is, so have a positive confidence.
Wow! Very good points Sarah, you write well. The confused can spin the story any way they want but many of us know the truth and you are doing amazing work to point that out. I appreciate your simple way of returning to the facts, the underlining facts that say abortion is murdering our own children and there's no sugarcoating it, no justifying it. You are needed in this world for those who can't advocate for themselves. The unborn
Thank you, Sarah, for your thoughtful and respectful coverage of this topic. The rhetoric from both sides can at times, be unsavory. However, I do find it ironic when members of the pro-choice side show their inconsistency on the “choice” front. It seems like some are only pro-choice if someone makes the “right” choice according to them. I don’t think I could stand to read the comments on this article, but I do hope there was some reasonable pushback.
I didn't see much, I'm afraid. I was the one who posted a comment about the inconsistency that I saw. About five people liked my comment, so there's that. But several people (including Mehmet) stated that they weren't being inconsistent because no one was advocating for legally forcing her to have an abortion. In their view, shaming and insulting her was acceptable as long as they weren't forcing her to abort (how generous of them).
So I'm afraid there really wasn't much pushback that I saw. I didn't read all the comments, though. I only read about half of them, and that was when the article first came out. There are probably more comments now. Maybe more people did push back, and I just didn't see it.
When I shared a note about this, however, about 35 people liked it, and several pro-choice people said that he shouldn't have judged her choice. So some pro-choicers did acknowledge it- but not so much on the original article.
It's sad. And no, I don't suggest reading the comments. They made me very, very disappointed with my fellow atheists. I really wish more atheists were open minded about this issue.
I think a lot of atheists have had bad run-ins with Christians (as have I) and been hurt by them. That's a common thing. And I think the opportunity to attack a Christian they thought was behaving foolishly was just too tempting to pass up.
I too have been shamed, attacked, and emotionally hurt by Christians (I've gotten some really intense hate-mail from so-called Christians, and often told I'm going to hell (and desrve it) and even had Christians tell me, on occasion, that I should be publicly executed for being LGBT.) if I posted some of that hate mail, I'm sure it would appall you.
There are a lot of Christians who behave very badly, and atheists (and ESPECIALLY LGBT atheists like me) get a lot of hate from them. Really bad stuff. So even I can be swept away by the tempation to attack back-- I've posted some pretty strident anti-Christian stuff in the past out of anger. I'm working on it and policing myself. But I can understand that when someones been mistreated, they want to treat OTHERS badly, even others who aren't the ones who hurt them, but in their mind, REPRESENT those that hurt them. So it can be pretty hostile. I try to remind myself that there are so many good Christians too, including some of my close friends, and reign in my own anger, which does exist and surface at times. I really think that was what was going on here.
That makes a lot of sense, Sarah. Thank you for sharing. I’m really sorry for the terribly hateful comments you have received from Christians! Certainly very un-Jesus-like behavior from my point of view, and these kinds of experiences definitely shed some light on why there may be so much hostility. Good to keep in mind. Thank you!
It doesn't matter if it shows that people have liked or read your words! MANY people are reading it! That's the important part. Because the logical and rational direction of your words is what is very powerful. You are probably going to see many more like you come forward in the future as society realizes what abortion really is, so have a positive confidence.
thank you
Wow! Very good points Sarah, you write well. The confused can spin the story any way they want but many of us know the truth and you are doing amazing work to point that out. I appreciate your simple way of returning to the facts, the underlining facts that say abortion is murdering our own children and there's no sugarcoating it, no justifying it. You are needed in this world for those who can't advocate for themselves. The unborn
thank you so much for your kind words, and thanks for reading.