With the announcement that Osama bin laden was killed by us Navy seals this morning, US troops have eliminated the man behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Pundits and news outlets will begin the cycle of analysis; what does this mean for Obama’s re-election, Iraq, and Afghanistan, our relations with Pakistani intelligence. I will take this time to thank those involved from the intelligence community to the operators on the ground we will probably never know your names but we thank you all the same.
Fanny pack comeback?
So I have been on a mini hiatus. I’ve been spending much of my time sleeping off hangovers, playing video games, hanging with family, basically enjoying civilian life. So it’s time to get back to work. So the other day I am in the grocery store and I come across a fashion faux pas of the worst variety. An image that brings back nightmares of Disney world vacations and old photographs of my mom and a neon green fanny pack. For those of you who aren’t old enough to remember the 1991 fashion blunder count yourselves lucky and revolt against any attempt to bring it back. My name is Orlando Proctor if you’re hearing this then you are the resistance.
Part 3
This is the third and final installment of this series. Rifling through hours of interview recordings, the one thing that became clear is few voices really matter in the debate. I mean everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But really the debate is other people deciding whether or not our morality supersedes a woman’s right to choose and where does life begin. I am just going to let one of the voices of those making those choices speak.
Me: How do you feel about the abortion issue?
K: I am very pro-choice.
Me: How do you feel Mississippi will vote?
K: They will make it illegal… because they sway that way
Me: Where do you think the discrepancy come from as far as Mississippi being a family values state and the high teen pregnancy rate?
K: Parents tend to see the best in their children it’s a blinded approach to life… if I close my eyes it didn’t happen. We go to church as a social networking more than for a connection to god.
Me: What was your response to the dead fetus signs?
K: I think it’s for shock value…if you’ve made up your mind to do something nothing can sway you…however those people who have to choose that option those images tend to remind them of the hardest decision they ever made. Not fair on either side.
Me: If someone came to you for advice in making that tough decision what would you tell them?
K: Had this happen recently…I was a YOUNG mom and it’s not easy. I am still in school in my 30’s. I would tell them to follow their Heart. Babies are hard…kids are hard…alone with them is horrible… But abortion is a decision you can’t change. It will impact you daily. Heath effects are common and judgment is an issue here. If they choose to abort… I’d tell them to seal it in their heart and keep quiet
Me: Is that because you feel someone who had an abortion here in Mississippi would face a backlash and ostracism?
K: Absolutely. We live in the Bible belt I’ll add in some insight as long as my name isn’t used. I had an abortion in 1994 at 15…my parents signed against my choice Small town…they were embarrassed…easier to hide than admit but southern parents tend to not address sex…still a dirty topic…most kids find out their information from peers
Me: Do you think there is a technological barrier between kids and parents?
K: Some was yes…they have way too many answers available without the reasons for them. Morally I don’t want her to have sex because it complicates things Just that abortion is a life changing thing…I have had other kids but there is always something missing. I have several health was my only option. Parents need to wise up and help prevent pregnancy. Condoms and birth control aren’t cuss words. Have them available for your kids.
Me: Thank you for sharing your story.
K: You’re welcome.
Now I have been asked many times during interviews where I stand on abortion. I have said repeatedly I am not a part of the story and side stepped the question again and again. I guess I can give you an answer. It doesn’t matter what I think It doesn’t matter unless it’s my baby. That’s my opinion those couples have the right to choose. If you think it’s right or wrong it’s not your choice. If you hold up signs with dead fetuses along the highway that’s your right. I have the right to call you an idiot with too much time on your hands.
The Neighbors you Know, and the Strangers you Live With.
The subject of the Pro-Life movement in Mississippi has proven to be a subject not to be tackled in one afternoon. This is part two of this three part series. There was a question I asked if nearly all the interviews” Why is there such a discrepancy between Mississippi being a family value state in the Bible belt and yet Mississippi having such high teen pregnancy rate”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/teen-pregnancy-rates-high_n_770881.html
A gentleman responded surprisingly to the question with this, “Well a lot of the churches here don’t have love in ‘em. They are about getting bigger, and some of these kids they say are trouble, when really they just aren’t getting any real love. I run a barbershop, and you know how many kids 12, 13, 14 years old I see in my shop but I never seen their parents. ” A young lady I had interviewed later echoed that sentiment.” Church is like Facebook or Twitter here in Mississippi. Only a couple of people are doing it for the reason it was meant for. For other people they don’t have much to do. So people jump in, because they feel left out if they don’t” When interviewing some of the parents in the area they for the most part believed they had an open dialogue with their kids about 4 out of 5 said they did. So I went back and I interviewed the teenagers. I got a different story. Some young ladies claimed either themselves or friends having oral sex as young as 10 or 11 years old. On the flip side, some claim virginity as old as 19 and 20. Regardless of when or if they began to have sex, 3 out of 5 teenagers I interviewed said that they had no or limited communication with their parents about sex. As one young lady said,” some parents don’t care. Others don’t care that they are getting lied to as long as you keep up the image. Some of the parents do the same thing. Run around one way all week and then are completely different in church on Sunday.” When I asked a young lady who was waiting for marriage she said ” I feel sorry for the ones who don’t feel like they can’t talk to their parents about sex I was fortunate that my parents brought me up were we talked about sex and love and what God wants for me I feel it’s sacred and I know friends who feel the same way some made a mistake but god still loves them and I still love them we all stumble but we have to pick each other up” Another said ” it was weird talking to my mom about sex but we did it and I thought was weird when she got a MySpace but now that I am older I am glad she tried.” Many agreed that there was a language barrier between parents and kids as well as a technological one with social media becoming such a large part of teenagers lives “My parents idea of talking about sex was like do u know where your kids are, my dad turns his he to me and say “better not get pregnant, or bring drugs in here.” Mississippi is even considering paying students not to get pregnant
http://carnalnation.com/content/46950/898/mississippi-house-oks-abstinence-plus-school-curriculum#
I have heard it said “To be a father you just have to make a baby. To be a dad you have to raise one.” Maybe the same can be said about churches and communities. Maybe sometimes a sense of moral authority is unjustified and counterproductive.
Mississippi: A Question of Values a Three Part Series
I set out to write a travel blog, but I never anticipated the story coming to me as it did. I envisioned writing this first entry more about the beginning of my journey. Sometimes you have to go with what you get. I didn’t think my commentaries on America would involve such devisive issues. Now it seems a little naive of me in retrospect.
Before coming here I had my notions of what Mississippi was: backwards, ignorant in the racist sort of way, overweight, bible thumping. So when I drove by the intersection of highway 20, and saw the scene of little kids and adults handing out flyers and holding posters of aborted fetuses, my first reaction is one of disgust and shock. Not that I didn’t expect it from Mississippi. I didn’t give it time to digest. A second later I am snapping a photo and posting on Twitter. My intentional posting was a condescending one. It took for me to turn the corner for me to I realize that this is what I’m doing. This is what my trip is about. Where is America right now? As much as the food, the people, the music, the landscape are America. So too are the issues that divide us. I am not delusional or looking for a kumbaya moment. I snapped some photos, locked in and began interviewing
I was surprised by some of the responses I received, one young man informed me he protested in front of the Jackson clinic a couple times, I asked him about the abortion photos on display and if he thought that was in good taste. “Sometimes people need to see it.” I followed by asking what if a woman was driving by who had an abortion. How do you think she’d feel? His answer was surprisingly callous. “She should be reminded of what she did”. As far children go he had this to say. “You don’t want them growing up killing their babies.” Now this wasn’t a normal response but I did get some support for his sentiment from another young man I interviewed. He had also protested in Jackson.
Not all of the pro life supporters were so extreme. I did find well spoken thought felt opinions on the subject, two come to mind. An elderly couple I interviewed dealt with the issue with such compassion. I felt no contempt, no malice. An objection purely of love and the faith they grew up with. “If I could talk to a young woman before she made a decision. It’s a decision you can never take back. That baby just wants love he or she deserves a chance to live. Please do not take its life away before he gets a breath the air, see the sun, feel warmth of touch. Please consider adoption. Let someone hug him, kiss him, give him the love he deserves. Plenty of people would want your baby.” If only they were the forefront of this pro-life movement maybe it wouldn’t have the black eye abortion terrorist give it. Those who hypocritically blow up clinics and shoot doctors to “protect life” only give the movement a black eye. Extremism serves little purpose except to be an image to point out that they are all crazy. That is clearly not the case but such a case can be made when all you see are the crazies. All it takes is a chance encounter and a few conversations to change your mind. Agree or disagree there are rational people on both sides of the issue.
As I write this story from Mississippi the landscape is changing. The debate continues. Other states are beginning to crack down on abortions. Kansas for one http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42362636/42364334, other states like New York face a crisis point. To the point that abortion the rate is nearly double the National average rising to nearly a whopping 40% http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/nyregion/07abortion.html?_r=1.To many in Mississippi this is a national moral dilemma and goes against the fabric of who they are. The prospect of using abortion as means of birth control has many up in arms.
Be on the lookout for part two: Tuesday April 5
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