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Monday, April 01, 2013

Becoming political

Let's start this off by saying:  I don't broadcast my political views in any way.  I don't share poitical memes on Facebook or hang posters in my room.  With that being said, here goes.

I bought my first political bumper sticker two weeks ago.  Suffice it to say, it's really an important issue to me.

I'm not a crazy feminist, who shuns all men and wants women to stand alone at the top.  No.  Not like that.  I'm just a regular old run-of-the-mill feminist, who believes that the government should trust that a woman knows what's right for her own body.  I don't believe in any way that the government should dictate what we should or should not be allowed to do to ourselves.  Who's with me??

This is not just about abortion, but all reproductive rights, like this (doctors withholding information from pregnant patients), and this (forcing women to undergo an unnecessary and traumatizing transvaginal ultrasound) - and you can't forget the abortion law North Dakota adopted last week that bans all abortions once a hearbeat can be detected in a fetus, which is as early as six weeks!  I mean, really?  Some women don't even know they're pregnant by then! Right now it's legal to have an abortion up to week 20-24, depending on which state you're in.  (this ND bill is scheduled to go into effect on August 1st, so hopefully it gets knocked down by protestors before then)

I'm not trying to preach anything here, I just want to illustrate how outlandish these ideas are, so you're as informed as possible.


I found this in a small little clothing botique downtown, among other odds and ends on display, and even though I knew this was an important issue to me, and I wanted others to be aware of it, I still found myself standing there.  Hesitating.  Wondering if I really wanted to put this on my car and broadcast my views on such a touchy subject.  Wondering what others would think of me if I did.

Then I realized, I'm letting the potential opinions of others silence my desire to make them aware of an important topic?  Luckily I came to my senses about how dumb I was being and bought the sticker.  I went home and slapped it on my rear window.  

I still feel extremely vulnerable and self-concious driving around with this on my car, especially when my family and friends closest to me noticed it for the first time.  Hello, insecurities!  I mean, I was even trying to shield their view of it with my body because I was so afraid of what they would think of me, broadcasting my views like this.

Like I said: dumb!  

A few days after I bought the sticker, I saw this image on Facebook and couldn't believe how perfectly it applied to me.  I realized that what others may or may not think of me doesn't change my views on this topic, so why should I let them bother me?  Answer: I shouldn't.  Revelation accomplished!

Where do you stand with advertising your political standings?   xx

6 comments:

  1. Good for you! I'm not shy about my views at all, but I know many people aren't comfortable broadcasting their opinions. Taking a stance on controversial issues takes bravery, and I'm really glad you've found the strength to share this.

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  2. Good for you! I completely agree! I have many political opinions but tend to keep them to myself because a) they might be considered strange/on the conspiracy spectrum and b) right now I am not very good at putting my words in writing when it comes to certain topics.

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  3. Bravo to you! I think with social media it's so easy for people to broadcast their opinions, even without really informing themselves about what they're protesting. I wish I had this bumper sticker, since it's exactly what I think! I sometimes get discouraged about being really vocal in my beliefs but I don't want to be that way all the time.

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  4. That's an awesome sticker, and I'm glad you're comfortable enough to show it off. However, using the term "crazy feminist" perpetuates the trope of the straw feminist, which in turn, hurts all people who consider themselves to be feminist (such as yours truly) and women as a whole.

    The idea of the crazy feminist is not so much someone who is taking the standard views of feminism to the extreme, but someone who is ignoring the main principles of feminism (equality etc) and infusing the connotation with their own manic beliefs.

    and I totally don't mean for this to come off as mean or attacking in any way. As you can probably guess, I get really vocal about my political beliefs. And hey, if I saw you on the road, I'd probably smile and wave and stuff.

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  5. I love the last quote - it's sort of sad/scary but it's true!! Definitely a good one to keep in the back of my mind whenever I'm worrying about what people think of me. And thanks for stopping by yesterday!!!

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  6. My isn't that last sticker you saw fitting for all of us. Proud of you for not letting being uncomfortable stand in the way of taking a stand for what you believe in.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post! I appreciate it more than you know. xx