Sometimes, I’m almost tempted to believe there’s a special, special place in hell for people like US Republican State Delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas who says:
Disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.
Yes, I’ll play that again.
Disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.
Whatever happened to the “gift from God” inspirational-crip rhetoric?
And he didn’t shut up there. There’s more.
The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.
He and others at the meeting suggest that Planned Parenthood should be renamed “Planned Barrenhood” or “Klan Parenthood”.
I do believe we have a perfect trifecta of menacing misogyny, violent disability hate, and misappropriating the civil rights movement for your bigoted cause. With a side serve of colossal, irredeemable scientific ignorance. And fail sauce.
He’s also insulting women who had miscarriages.
(And now I know why I’m messed up – mom miscarried a couple years before she had me!)
Anti-choice people can’t make up their minds.
Babies are gifts from God, don’t kill the precious baby!
vs.
You had sex, now live with the consequences. Slut.*
But this is special assholery. You think they can’t top each other, but they just keep digging that hole with hate!
*Of course, they won’t help you if you do keep the baby.
And I thought we were only “gifts from God” when we were inspiring, otherwise we’re burdens and…
Did he say those words exactly? I heard the audio here: http://www.newsleader.com/assets/mp3/AA152371222.MP3
I think he did intend those words, but I don’t think they were a direct quote. But I could be wrong about that.
LOL! What will Sarah Palin, Patron Saint of the special innocents say?
Incidentally, he already offered a fauxpology, guess what, his abortion remark was “misconstrued”.
Of course we just didn’t get it.
*groan*
.-= Kowalski´s last blog ..Check Your Privilege =-.
And yet, watch “progressives” ooze ableism even when condemning this guy. Easy for “progressives” to mock this nonsense. Not so easy for many of them to recognize the ableism in their own assumptions that being congenitally disabled or having a disabled child is a Terrible Tragedy.
This is rank nonsense, but not necessarily any more ableist than many responses I’ve seen from some “progressives” in various places. Different language, same underlying attitudes about disabled children as burdens.
Kowalski – it was satire!
I commented over at Hoyden About Town, but I wanted to put it here too. My spouse, an elected Democrat, shares several thousand constituents with Del. Marshall, and has sent out a press release:
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stevens Miller (D-Dulles), 703-405-6882, steve@millerhousehold.com
Supervisor Stevens Miller’s Response to Bob Marshall’s Insults to Women and Their Children with Special Needs
Loudoun, VA USA – February 23, 2010
I condemn and reject as inhumane, inaccurate, and inappropriate the remarks attributed in the press recently to Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13). According to NBC , Marshall said this:
“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.”
“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”
The cruelty to parents of children with special needs—as well as to those children themselves—of such remarks is shocking. Further, it suggests a dangerous willingness to use legislative power to enact Mr. Marshall’s personal views of the meaning of the Christian Bible. That’s because he made his outrageous remarks at a press conference opposing state funding for Planned Parenthood, which Marshall falsely states receives half-a-million dollars from Virginia. The actual amount, in the form of Medicaid reimbursements, is $35,000.
All of this arises now because the legislature is considering allocating voluntarily paid monies used to purchase license tags that will say, “Trust Women, Respect Choice,” to support Planned Parenthood’s health-care mission. Virginia already allocates the voluntarily paid money for “Choose Life” license plates to anti-choice advocates, so this would only balance the options for Virginians to express themselves and support their own positions.
I support the right of every Virginian to practice religion or not, as they each see fit. I also support the right of every woman to make her own choices about reproduction, health-care, and her own body. I will never support any elected official in an attempt to use the power of legislation to enact religious law. This is an alarming trend in the Commonwealth, and must be confronted as what it is: an unconstitutional effort to make selected divine scriptures into Virginia state law.
I will have more to say on this issue soon. Because Del. Marshall and I share several thousand constituents, however, I wanted to make my feelings and views known, so that our citizens will know that not all of their elected officials believe God is punishing them for acting on their rights.”
Kaitlyn, huh?
You mean the fauxpology?
Oh wait, you mean Lauredhel’s sentence I quoted?
Yes I knew that she was joking, I think it’s hilarious.
.-= Kowalski´s last blog ..Check Your Privilege =-.
Kowalski – no, I meant that Sarah Palin could defend Marshall because “it’s satire!” That’s what she said when asked why she didn’t call out Rush Limbaugh as well as Rahm Emmanuel for “r#tarded.”
Bad attempt at a joke, my apologies.
@ Kaitlyn,
Ha! Oops, I didn’t get that the “It’s satire” is what would Sarah Palin would say, (heh!) I thought you meant me. (slippery Poe’s Law corner)
@Sarah,
Le sigh, yes. I just had an argument this morning about another rightwing “incident” that received a Liberal Armchair Diagnosis (everything the fundies do is “crazy”)
.-= Kowalski´s last blog ..Transcript: Spread the Word to End the Word =-.
Kowalski – no problems, I wasn’t clear. (But clarity would sacrifice the brevity of wit!)
I think it would be interesting to look at progressives vs. conservatives (in USA politics). For some reason, I get the feeling that a progressive stereotype may be more open to discussing ableism in society than say Limbaugh. (Or even Palin – I don’t think she would care about the language if she didn’t have Trig.)
I think the progressive thought is also more helpful to PWD or just disadvantaged people in general, I made the mistake of reading 2 articles about the economy yesterday (before class, oh what’s the point she sez, I’m dooooooooomed!) and one woman stopped taking her meds and turned to prayer, because prayer is free.
That made me so sad. We shouldn’t have to rely on the church for food, rent money, life. Maybe they’ll give us all bootstraps?
Universal health care is tied to progressives in my head, and that seems to be something that PWD that aren’t Disabled “enough” need. (ok, I need it so I can like plan my life beyond college. It’s all about me.)
I’m not saying there aren’t problems in the progressive movement – democrats are like cats, waste some time herding them. (If they have principles. Harold Ford go away!) But I do think progressives will be the people to bring ableism to the forefront, or be forced to by progressive PWDs. 😉