Resist. Disrupt. Persist.
Some initial thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling on Roe v. Wade and the serious implications it has for other cases regarding the right to contraception and same-sex marriage.
In Justice Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion he said the Court "should reconsider" past SC cases that granted rights not explicit in the Constitution such as:
Griswold v. Connecticut (the right to contraception)
Obergefell v. Hodges (same sex marriage)
Lawrence v. Texas (consensual gay relationships)
Thomas said we have a duty to "correct the error" established in these precedents."
Let this sink in.
He boldly stated―in a Supreme Court opinion―that many of our most personal decisions should be dictated by the government.
I'd like to believe Justice Kavanaugh's statement that, "Overruling Roe does not mean the overruling of those precedents, and does not threaten or cast doubt on those precedents.”
I want to believe―really, really, really want to believe―Thomas’ view is an extreme scenario and we have constitutional safeguards against authoritarian extremism in this country.
Recent history tells me otherwise.
January 6 tells me otherwise.
The evidence presented in the January 6 Congressional hearings tells me otherwise.
The SCOTUS's sanctity for gun owners and utter dismissal of women tells me otherwise.
Texas AG's nonbinding legal opinion equating gender-affirming medical care with child abuse and Governor Abbott's directive for the Dept. of Family & Protective Services to launch criminal investigations tells me otherwise.
The Texas abortion ban that has NO provision for incest or rape tells me otherwise.
Sophisticated gerrymandering to suppress voters' rights tells me otherwise.
Banning books in schools tells me otherwise.
Death threats to my neighborhood elementary school librarian in Austin, TX tells me otherwise.
This has nothing to do with protecting life.
It's about power.
A power rooted in patriarchy and white superiority.
They are scared and desperate.
That makes them very dangerous.
Do I think me posting a bunch of words on the internet will make a difference?
Probaby not. That's why this is the least thing I will do.
Do I think words are powerful? (and that’s why "they" want us to be silenced into submission)
Absolutely.
As a reminder, a few times words changed the course of the world: Das Kapital. Luther’s 95 Theses. The Declaration of Independence. Nelson Mandela’s letters from prison. The Epistles of Paul. The Federalist Papers. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Magna Carta.
Resistance. Disruption. Persistence.