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Erin Ferguson
Richmond, VA
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Erin signed the petition | -
Erin signed the petition | -
Erin commented on the article |Hallow,
Again, you are creating fallacies. I actually like your response to my last reply and I appreciate the acknowledgement that you missed something. But here you are replacing one (fairly realistic) hypothetical situation with another, and dismissing the first by exaggerating it.
Most rape is by someone the person knows. In the case that it is not (usually a violent form of rape) it is usually a case of surprise or being knocked unconscious (or beaten nearly to death; I've seen the results). I'm a martial artist, and while I don't carry a gun, I do have other means of protecting myself, and even then the chances of being overwhelmed by someone larger than me are substantial. So until you have spent years trying to ensure that you have the best defenses possible (even if you couldn't reach any weapon that you are trained and licenced to carry) so that some other person cannot force their body parts inside of you, and STILL live with the fear of possibly being overtaken, please stop making fun of reality.
And Becky's point is that while she chose life, as I'm inclined towards, she had the CHOICE. I would like to think that even if the worst of the worst case scenarios happened, that I would be physically, emotionally and spiritually capable of giving the life growing inside of me a chance. But I have never been in that situation, and I simply don't know that fear. Nor do I know the fear of chronic poverty, nor of extreme social pressure (as would be likely be the case of your hypothetical rich girl). The truth is, I have a pretty good life, so I don't pretend to be able to make the choices of others because I think I can figure it out.
Becky is pro-life in action, pro-choice in principle. I applaud that. Because life--even hypothetical life--is rarely so black and white as many make it out to be.
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Erin commented on the article |
Patrick,
First of all, you're right in that we (the commentors) have neglected the original argument. The idea of the status of person-hood being denied to make a lack of rights arguable has merit. My problem with that analogy however is that the slaves were cognitively functioning people, so I still have to disagree with his analogy as a whole. Thanks for bringing the debate back to its source, though.
Second, I really appreciate your mini-lecture on debate style. Too often, people forget to be reasoning adults because we can't see each other's faces.
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Erin commented on the article |
It is not hate speech to play the "what if" game of history. Many people have wondered how different the world would be if Churchill were never born (and some take it as the very argument against abortion; we never know which life may bring great changes) But the truth is that Glenn's continuous hate speech is having an unfortunately large impact on our society. These comments (especially your snide ones, Phillip) are proof enough of that.
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Erin commented on the article |
Hallow,
Your virus argument is flawed. The author of the article isn't saying that the fetus isn't alive. She is saying that it isn't yet a PERSON. Person-hood is defined by certain cognitive abilities (that definition of person-hood is the same reason we have legal means of caring for cognitively impaired adults, or a softer system of punishment in the courts based on cognitive function). To say a virus has the same rights as a human would equate to banning Purell because it KILLS other little beings. Our bodies handle viruses. Likewise, there are times that our bodies (a woman's, that is) handles a pregnancy by miscarriage.
Aside from that, it is called a fetus, because that is the term for that stage of development; just as a toddler is a certain aged human, and same with an adolescent. Likewise, before it is a fetus it is a zygote (the little mass of cells after fertilization and before it takes the shape of a fetus). These are BASIC biological terms. Maybe you should spend your time reading a fifth grade science book to brush up on some basic facts instead of Glenn. To say that it is a person because it is a pre-person, is to say that "every sperm is sacred" (a sperm, by the way, is a gamete) because it has the potential to be a person.
The fact is, our bodies are not set up to keep every life that is made, and sometimes a conscious decision is made to the same effect for external reasons as well.
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Erin signed the petition | -
Erin commented on the article |That is a really good example! And I'm not sure, really. I'm still trying to argue from both sides and figure out the middle. Right now i feel as though the context may make a difference. Stupid 16 year olds will make mistakes, and usually punishment is meant to teach them how stupid it is. But if its vandalism in an area already highly vandalized, and may be a result of peer pressure to create damage, perhaps not. But if its against a minority in a particular area (say it happened to a white family in an affluet mostly black neighborhood) then there may more factors for a judge or jury to consider.
I'm not even sure if i agree with the harsher punishment factor unless this is clearly shown (without a doubt, as all charges are supposed to be proven) that this was meant to coerce. I feel as though it should be used mostly to track where public opinion lies in terms of hatred so we, as a society, may be able to better ourselves through public education or social entrepreneurship. But these things can become slippery, which is always where the danger lies. -
Erin commented on the article |
My point was that you were not speaking your mind in an adult fashion. Name calling is childish, and has no room in an adult's debate. And any logical discussion of ideas is a debate. You have your right to say childish things. Just don't expect the rest of us to pay any attention when you stop making sense. I hope this simpler grammar structure is easier for you to understand.
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Erin commented on the article |
The idea is not that a crime against one person is different when committed against another. It makes a difference when that crime (lets say vandalism of a particular type) is specifically intended to "coerce" others of that type to leave or stay quiet (thereby curtailing their own rights of speech or choice). When a cross is burned in front of the house of the only black family in a neighborhood, it is generally accepted as message to leave; they're not welcome. That is coercion. When a gay person is targeted because they act gay, it is generally taken as a signal from others to hide what they are; just stay in the closet and you'll be fine. It is coercion meant to curtail their right to express themselves.
It is not just that a crime against a person in one of these groups if suddenly worse than against someone else, but that it is motivated by that person's being in that group, and meant to send a message (or coerce).
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