My department employs some very special people. We seem to cover the entire political spectrum, from myself who leans to the left, to one of the guys (Hereafter referred to as J) who leans to the right. Normally we avoid each other for whatever reason, but last week we got together to plan a “Whoohoo, you got promoted!” party for our supervisor. As is my fashion, I made several jokes picking at some of his more annoying beliefs (such as women shouldn’t be in positions of authority) and pushed him to the point of blowing up. We then engaged in a heated political debate.
Oddly enough – we agree on quite a few things.
What we spent the most time on, was of course, abortion. The scary “A” word that makes people cringe. I don’t cringe, and I brought it up the first chance I had.
Maybe its just me, but I don’t think people understand one of the major (IMO) points about abortion. Its not just the unborn baby’s life at stake, its the woman’s too! He had never considered the possibility that it IS possible to be pro-life AND pro-choice. I am pro-life in the belief that killing the baby is wrong. I do believe that. I am also pro-choice in the belief that the DECISION should be up to the woman and not the government. I do not want the government to tell me what I can and can’t do with my body.
That’s what people don’t seem to get – they don’t seem to understand that the issue is with who is making the decision and not the decision itself.
This further branched into me enlightening him to the fact that the abortion issue is just one of the more visible and talked about issues. It made me feel so great inside to see that look come across his face when I said that the issue was women being treated as humans as opposed to wombs or objects. That sort of stunned “I wasn’t expecting this” look that elicited me continuing to bring up some of the other problems: unequal pay, unequal health care, etc. “Unequal health care? You have the same plan I do…” was met with, “Yes, yes J, I do, but take a look at all of the tests and procedures – preventative or no – that you can get, but then look at what all I can’t have covered.”
I think I actually got through to him. Now, I’m sure it’ll take some time to get him to be OK with women in places of power, but at least now he sees a little of the problems we have even getting basic rights. Its a work in progress. He’s one of those type who believes that only fat, ugly, smelly, etc women are feminists – and that they are because they can’t get a man. Granted, I’m fat, yes, but I do believe that fat can be a feminist issue because what is one of the things feminists fight for? We fight for treatment based on something other than how we look. What is one of the goals of fat acceptance? To have people treat those of us in the movement that are fat like humans…based on the fact that we ARE humans, and not because we’re fat and therefore not worthy of human status.
Small victories.
