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Personal Post: July 18 with a bit of Irony.

2010-07-18T10:54:00.001-07:00

This one is a personal post.

I find it incredibly ironic, that I post an abortion article, and find myself not long after that... yeah you guessed it, pregnant. I was pregnant for about four and a half months. I did consider abortion, but just as I decide not to do that and risk it... irony rears its ugly head and I lose the baby. Now that over a month has passed since this incident, I can look at it in that way. I heard a lot of "everything happens for a reason" speeches. I also heard the "he's with god now," or my personal favorite "god wanted him up there with him," I guess my son was so special that god wouldn't let me keep him. Which makes god an asshole.

According to the doctors there were no complications. All the doc could say was "it's just one of those things." Yeah... apparently it just is. I gave him a name: Andrik Elias. I got a copy of his hand and footprints. They let me hold him, he was a tiny little thing. I did not have a funeral, which a few people disagreed with me on that issue but they can shove it because I know what I can handle and I would not have been able to handle such a thing. I suffered a loss, but in my opinion, this child was not fully developed and funeral would have just been a cruel thing... to drag out the loss as long as possible. I am not that much of an attention whore. (If you found yourself in this situation and had a funeral, good for you. Its about what you want and think you should do. Don't cuss me out because I disagree... well go ahead and cuss me out but expect a response.)

My stance on abortion remains the same. I would still consider it an option for anyone who cannot, or does not want to, have a child if they find themselves with child. (Kind of a funny statement, pregnant = with child. Yeah for you maybe not but I find it hilarious.) I'd have to say that the loss was at a perfect time due to the fact that I got pregnant at a horrible time. I wasn't really sure I wanted it. And the irony of it is, that as soon as I am getting excited about it I lose it. (the lord sure does work in mysterious ways... prick.)

On another note, I happened to mention to someone that I do not believe in the bible or jesus. They asked. I wont lie about that. And so now this woman is praying for me every day trying to lead me to the path of the lord. I find that hilarious as well. Because that is a path I have been avoiding my whole life, if I happen to stumble across the path I know who to beat up. (Metaphorically, of course)

Enough kidding around, I know that my path is my own and no one can make me choose otherwise. It is just funny to me that someone will spend their prayers on me when they could be asking for things they are more likely to get, like winning the lottery.

Abortion: A Moral Dilemma

2010-01-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

Abortion is one of the most controversial issues that I have ever come across because it poses the very question of murder. Is it murder? Or is it justifiable? We search for the answers through political and religious perspectives, and then when that fails we turn to science to justify or discredit ones views. I think it is a necessary process in many cases, of which cases and reasons: I can not judge someone else on their decision. Who am I to tell someone that they should or should not have an abortion? To me it boils down to choice, as many other things so often do.
What pains me to the core, is that once a woman becomes pregnant, suddenly she is considered a "second class citizen", and her life is less important that the fetus. That, to me, is appalling. My opinion on the matter tends to collide with the opinions of everyone I know. I do not consider whether or not it is murder, while the child is still a fetus. Once past the first trimester I consider an abortion to be illogical and wrong. But within the first trimester, when it is so easy to miscarry, I find it perfectly reasonable to have an abortion. Not everyone shares my point of view, according to many, its murder from conception. But consider that a miscarriage is very likely during the first three months, due to all kinds of reasons. The answer I get is "well it wasn't meant to be." or the ever popular "It didn't fall into God's plan." So its perfectly fine for God to kill unborn children, as he did first born sons in the biblical times.
To me, its not a matter of religion, and I think it folly for anyone to turn to the bible for morale. If you ever actually read the bible, you would see it littered with tales of horror and unjust deaths and rapes, etc. etc.
Everyone has their opinion on abortion. And everyone is right to an extent. I think it all comes down to: Can you live with the decision you make? As long as you do not go around bombing abortion clinics with your idealistic self then I definitely respect your opinion.
Out of curiosity, I posted the question of abortion in my status update on Facebook. I received a lot of responses, of which I can understand their reasoning, even if I do not agree. I find that as long as its legal then I am ok with it, because it does not offend me or affect me at all if you have an abortion.
I have a four year old son, and due to the complications of his birth I am very wary of having another child. I almost died. For more than just the birth, perhaps the incompetence of the hospital I was in. I do not know for sure, so I am not pointing fingers. Let us just say that it was my body that seemed to not be willing to let me have the child. I suffered for more than a month after he was born, ended up in the emergency room, needed a transfusion, and had to be heavily medicated for a long time due to all these problems that arose. I will do what I can to prevent a pregnancy, but sometimes, although not often, pregnancy occurs despite of proactive measures. If that happens then abortion will definitely be considered, not only for my own safety (I am a human being and my life value does not drop just because I have a fetus in my womb) but also due to my own personal choices of not having any more children (which I have a right to make that decision as well).
My Facebook responses were as follows (which turned into somewhat of a debate, and the names are fake, the responses are real):

Jack:
"I'm pro-choice on abortion rights. It's a womans' body & men should stay the hell out of her decision. Until men can get pregnant, they should not force women to go through a pregnancy a woman doesn't want."

John:
"but what about the man's part of that child ? It takes two to make a child."

Jack :
"Well, making a woman have an abortion against her will is just as bad as making her carry the pregnancy. Most abortion clinics usually make sure the woman is not being coerced before they begin the procedure. It should be the woman's choice, totally. She is the one carrying the pregnancy not the man."

Me:

"I think that the father should not always be involved. If the man is a responsible adult, that uses logic as his reasoning, and is a good guy then yes he should be involved, but if the man is a dead beat then he has no say in the matter."

Jane:

"Neither. I would not recommend an abortion to anyone but I would not speak against it either. My opinion on this would be roughly as follows:
It's a personal choice and should be given good thinking before hand. Deciding to do so can become a weight on the soul, in some cases very traumatizing, and is known to be able to "pop-up" several times afterward - so it should be taken well into consideration whether the woman will be able to "handle it".
The father-to-be (or not) should never pressure a woman in any way to abort for one good reason and this is because they are on average unable to fully understand the psychological consequences of it. I do think the father should have a say in the case that the woman does want an abortion and the father does not, but since he does not go through pregnancy physically it's difficult to say that he should have the right to stop the abortion - though it seems that usually men have less of a problem with it than women.
If people are ready but chose abortion due to laziness, unwillingness to change and fear of the "complications" a baby brings - then I would call that silly, but it would still be their choice.
When girls are getting pregnant and aborting several times, by choice, then I do think they are playing with fire - the mess that is created in the body is probably no joke and by the time they really want a baby it might no longer be possible. Besides if they don't want a baby they should stop getting themselves knocked up, saves a lot of trouble :)
In the case of rape pregnancy it's a dilemma. It's not the unborn baby's fault but it is, of course, extremely traumatizing for the mother who in turn affects the child directly.
So basically: Your choice, your body - consider the positive sides of it but also consider the potential physical and emotional mess."

Judy:
"I agree. I am not pro life or pro choice. I think that there are options out there and they all need to be considered. But it is the woman's choice and I think that if the woman (not the father) should go to some sort of meeting, counselor, or doctor and talk to them and make sure that abortion is the right choice. I also agree again that if a woman has done it several times they (doctors or someone) needs to step in and do something to stop it from happening again. If we are going to have abortion in our country then I think there so be some guide lines.
I see ya'lls points on the father figure, it depends on the man. It depends on whether he wants to be in the picture or not. If so then they both need to sit down and seriously talk it out to make sure they make the right decision."

Joan:

"Well I honestly hope I don't offend anyone and I respect everyone's opinions, but my religion comes strongly in to play where my opinion is concerned, as well does my personal difficulty with trying to have a baby. As you can see by my pic I have a beautiful baby girl now but it was a long road to get here and that road may not even be an option anymore so the topic of abortion tends to be a touchy one with me, as I'm sure it is with most women who desperately want a child but either can't or have trouble so let me say this:
My Opinion:
I believe abortion is wrong in all cases. I believe that at the moment of conception it is indeed a life created by God and is precious and innocent and wonderful even in that early beginning. A life is not ours to do with as we please. God created us to procreate, not to do as we please or do away with as we please, whatever the case may be. I believe that an abortion does things to the body and the soul that can be traumatic and irreversible. Ok, yes there are circumstances where I can see why people would consider it, rape or medical reasons, but other than those two situations I don't think it should even become part of a woman's thought process. In the event of rape I know how hard that would be but, God has a purpose for every life despite the circumstances in which that life began. The bible says " Even in the womb I knew you." For medical reasons: If it were me I would simply let go and let God, in the end his will shall be done and I would leave it in his capable hands. He has plans for me I may not understand or want to except and those plans may not include my life continuing here, so it's not my choice. And in the end that's how I feel "It's not really my choice, It's his, and who am I to defy?" And let me just say this, I do not Judge or try to impose my views, beliefs, or opinions on others. As I said before, I respect all opinions despite whether or not they are in agreeance with mine. I have only been so open and honest because I know that Johanna will respect mine as well. So I apologize now if I have offended anyone and hope you all have a wonderful night"
Angela:
abortion, is a matter of choice, one can go for it under some kind of situation those are not controllable ,n some go for it as family planning reason. if its just the two reasons as above then its wrong, as baby inside also has a right to see this beautiful world, and ya if u cant raise that baby,due to any reason n want to go for an abortion, then think before conceiving,i think using protection is a better idea,why to let the situation arise to go for an abortion.get mentally prepared wen u want to have a baby,and then only go for having it.its not just an abortion there's life included too.

My response:
To me, its not a matter of when life begins in the womb, its more of the situation of the mother, because it seems like all the sudden the mother isn't important anymore when she is pregnant. I will say that I had MANY complications during my sons birth, and because of that I am very wary of ever having another child. If I were put into a situation to have an abortion I think I could, but of course you never know. Since it is legal for the first trimester I am for it. I am pro-choice, I always have been. I think the option should be available and its not my place to judge whether the woman's reasons justify it. I don't have any religion to tell me that I cant do it, I only go by what I feel is right, and I feel that it is a necessary process nowadays.

Not only in my status, I found a few responses in my inbox as well, so if you are wondering why adoption has not been brought up... I will say that I had a few women tell me that adoption is the better way. Those emails were a bit too personal for me to post here. But I must stress that if its physically possible, and if you think you are emotionally stable enough to handle such a thing, then adoption should definitely be considered. There is always a couple out there that can not have a baby and want to adopt. So that is definitely another route to take.

Youth Violence and Video Games: Statistics and Opinions

2010-01-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, violence towards women, and other violent criminal behavior. Critics of violent video games argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts.

Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may reduce violence by serving as a substitute for rough and tumble play and by providing a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings.

Everyone likes to point fingers at the most convenient thing they possibly can, because as people we feel the need to find reason within chaos. Why not blame the marketing of violence in video games and television when it so easily takes responsibility away from the individuals themselves?

The debate over violent video games can be traced back to 1976...

The controversy over violent video games resurfaced following the massacre of 13 people at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, CO on Apr. 20, 1999. The two teenage shooters were revealed to be avid players of weapon-based combat games Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Following the shooting, 176 newspaper articles across the country focused on the allegation that video games were the cause of the tragedy.

Within hours of the Virginia Tech shooting on Apr. 16, 2007, attorney and anti-game activist Jack Thompson appeared on Fox News to blame the tragedy on the violent game Counter-Strike. Other high-profile figures such as television host Dr. Phil McGraw and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney argued that video games were to blame for the shooting. However, it was later revealed by the Virginia Tech Review Panel that the shooter did not play video games.

Defenders of violent video games argue that the research has failed to show a causal link between video games and real-world violence. They argue that correlations between video games and violent behavior can be explained by youth predisposed to violence being attracted to violent entertainment. Additionally, if video games do cause youth to be violent, then one would expect juvenile violent crime to increase as more youth play violent video games.

Sales of video games have more than quadrupled from 1995-2008, while the arrest rate for juvenile murders fell 71.9% and the arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes declined 49.3% in this same period.

Worldwide sales of video games are predicted to reach $73.5 billion by 2013. As games get more sophisticated and realistic, the debate over whether or not children should be exposed to violent video games continues.

read the pros and cons here

I have always found that debate to be ridiculous. As I have always said things like that depend on the individual themselves. Of course, kids are easily influenced, but they do have a mind of their own. And I fail to see that a video game could be the cause of any crime in general. I would like to think that people do have a common sense and do know right from wrong.. and I would also like to think that today's youth understands the difference between fiction and reality. If so worried about the video games your kids are playing, why not have a talk with them? Why not be a good parent and make sure that your child understands right from wrong? Maybe ask them from time to time how school is going....

Fear Mongering

2010-01-17T06:18:00.000-08:00

I am a member of a few online Pagan communities, I am not technically a Pagan myself, but these communities are a good source of information on subjects which I like to research. I usually do not get involved in the forums, I simply read, take note, and move on. But, recently I came across a discussion posted by a young Wiccan, who was a little distraught, if not confused by something he was handed one day by a witnessing Christian. Eventually he just laughed it off, but as I read this pamphlet, I became more and more appalled at the tactics these so called "righteous" people are resorting to. Not only was I disgusted, memories dredged up of my days living on the "bible belt" came swarming into my mind, and those of the pamphlets that forever floated around me, trying to bite my very soul, taint me with its lies and fear inducing tactics.

The pamphlet begins with this :
There is a renewed interest in witchcraft, demonism, fortune telling, astrology and every form of occultism. Sad to say, many people do not know what the Bible teaches on this important subject. Through this brief tract, we purpose to inform people of the great danger of this occult, in the light of God's Word.
God commanded Israel to put to death all those who practiced sorcery or witchcraft.
"Thou shall not suffer a witch to live." Exodus 22:18
These people, are handing out pamphlets that condone murder of those that do not believe as they do. Its a threat to the very existence of a free thinking individual.

The Bible teaches that those who seek to communicate with spirits or with the dead, become defiled and are unfit to appear before God to worship Him. "Regard not them that have familiar spirits (mediums), neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:31.
I would assume that it also pertains to watching a psychic on t.v., that which defiles the human soul, which wasn't good enough to begin with and must repent with every waking movement that the flesh happens to make.. including thoughts, apparently. And on top of that, not worthy to worship, so you are unfit for slavery.

God cuts off from among His people all who turn to mediums for help. "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits and after wizards, to go to whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." Leviticus 20:6.
According to this, a grieving mother who goes to a medium for some form of closure, is a whore(which that term doesn't even apply) who will been shunned by the community of these "righteous" people, because she wants to know that her child has moved on to a better place. God forbid.

Death by stoning was God's sentence on any man or woman who called up spirits. "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them." Leviticus 20:27
According to this, they have a right to clobber me to death with huge fucking rocks because I can "see" things that they cannot. I do not even need to add anything else...

Witchcraft, fortunetelling, crystal reading, necromancy, an palmistry are related to spiritism and are strongly condemned by God. "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee . . . For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners, but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do." Deuteromony 18:10-12, 14.
It makes me think of when God throws Adam and Eve out of Eden due to the fact that they eat the fruit, and become more like God(s). This is, as always, one of the fear tactics they use. God does not want you to be able to see these things for yourself, you should always seek his help and never be the leading light in your own life. It is, by far, one of the worst ways to keep sheep in line, by telling them that they will die a horrible death by stoning and then burn for eternity in hell for thinking for themselves, or seeking out the help of another individual. God should be number one in your life, above you, above your children and above anyone else that you come across in your life. It sounds like this God character, has some serious insecurities. Samuel's most effective way of impressing upon King Saul the enormity of his sin of disobedience was by likening it to witchcraft. "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft . . ." I Samuel 15:23.
Meaning you should be killed for thinking your own thoughts..
It is an insult to God to consult mediums when you can inquire of Him. "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this work, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:19, 20. Again, if a medium, who should be burned at the stake, tells you something that disagrees with the word, they are evil and are tainting you with their rebellious thinking.

I am utterly ashamed of these people. This very "self righteous" thinking, plagues the foundations of today's society, forcing us to believe that we are unclean and should be punished for not falling in line with what many believe to be the only way to live and think. It urks me to the core that I am judged by these pricks for thinking "unclean thoughts", I am a human being.. I am not a slave to anyone else's point of view.
To think, slavery is frowned upon, but somehow, these religious pamphlets are allowed to obtain rules and regulations for your every thought and breath, that condones murder of an individual who's morals don't fit with theirs... you have to believe that you are not good enough to run your own life, that you have to serve a master who is much wiser and better than you, if that is not slavery, then what is?