Wrote a long post.
Cried.
Felt utterly ineffectual.
And scared. So, so scared, not only for the women of America (and anyone with a uterus, or anyone who loves a person with a uterus) but for the far-reaching ramifications that will ripple across the border into Canada. (I recognize this is a selfish thought today, but it is nonetheless true.)
Then I deleted the long post, realizing that I was just trying to justify my fear, justify my right to speak.
That’s how it works for women (and other minorities), that fear of speaking up, of wanting to play nice … because we’re retaliated against in some fashion when we dare speak our truths. Every. Single. Time.
So I smile.
Forty-eight years of fucking smiling as I try to stay calm, kind, and nonconfrontational, while I try to sneak my truths in behind those smiles and quick wit and fucking cupcakes.
So here is my soul-anchored, tear-riddled truth laid out as boldly and simply as I can write it:
Every person on this planet, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or country of origin should have the fundamental right to decide what is right for their body.
I hear you.
Beautifully stated, clear and unassailable.
Amen sister
I see you.
I cry with you! I just don’t understand the world any more.
Thank you for your post. *hugs* to you for speaking up. Completely, irrelevant, side note….if you’re 48 I need to know what magic you hold because you’re gorgeous and I swore you were 15 years younger.
I fear this is just the beginning…
As do I.
Thank you for your beautiful words. I am sorry angry right now. I fear what my daughter and granddaughter will face in the future.
It’s a sad day for women.
COMPLETELY AGREE!!
So agree. Nearly 70 and I have had to fight so hard all my life for things because I am female. I hate seeing all the women of my generation worked for just slipping away.
So true, so very, very true. Another sad day in history for sure.😢
Totally agree with you and fear what comes next for all the people who will become even more vulnerable now.
Thank you for your words. Terrifyingly times.
Beautiful words. We are all mourning and heartbroken today
I am 100% in agreement. I’m just so f’ing tired. That’s what they’re counting on, too. That we’ll roll over, go to marches for a few weeks and then have to go back to work, to our lives, to survival.
I don’t know how to effect change anymore.
So true! 😩
Crying with you….
First, it was the women and nothing changed.
Then, it was the gays and nothing changed.
Now, it’s American soul and the fascists have taken over.
And it all began with a corrupt, TV actor-wannabe who lied and, by doing so, exposed the hate and greed that robbed us of the
Light and Hope that was the American Dream.
Yes they do.
Absolutely!
I hate this feeling of powerlessness I feel. The fact that a government can control my decisions about my body is abhorrent to me.
Pissed! Off!
Yes.
I feel you and I agree.
I agree and I thank you for your truth, it is the truth for most of us. This is probably the spark that will ignite a revolution.
AMEN Sister!!!!!!!!!!!
1 million percent agree
❤️ This is a heart felt issue where I don’t believe we can meet in the middle or agree to disagree. “No shades of grey”. But if this one right can be stripped away, what next? There was no legal precedent, only political and religious beliefs which cannot be part of SCOTUS
Agreed! I cannot fathom how fast we are going backward! This hurts my heart, fear for all those who need services that have been removed is bubbling in my chest. And the next worry is on the horizon already, birth control and the rights of everyone to marry who they love.
Women know what must be done: vote like our lives and our daughters’ lives depend on it!
I’m right there with you. Floored.
It’s so hard to take in. And I can’t wrap my brain around it. 🙁
Love you
Right there with you. It is a sad day for America, and for women worldwide.
This really scared me once I heard the news today. May God help us all. It seems like we are going back in time where women have no rights. No rights to self!! 💔💔💔
I don’t understand their mindset. I only know that soon they will come for anyone else who isn’t male, white, republican and straight.
Agree and worry about what’s next. 💞
I really didn’t expect this to happen. I truly thought the justices would keep personal beliefs out of their ruling. I’m naive I guess. Now I’m scared. I’m scared for our right to birth control, I’m scared for my LGBT+ family and friends. So many other fundamental rights under attack now. I’m crying with you.
Thank you. For speaking your truth and for recognizing how this impacts all of us.
Honesty, I feel like this is a bad dream, ….another bad dream. After the series of events in the last few years,…this is just the cherry on top. How can this even be real? Yes, it is selfish. More extreme things are happening on the planet but, it feels like we are stepping backwards in history. Women in other countries lookup to us in North America for inspiration, courage, etc., how can we justify to them, to our daughters what is going on now? I am horrified, scared, discouraged, confused. What’s next?
Frightening… another step toward “The Handmaids Tale” (Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel of a right wing religious takeover of the USA that subjugates women).
I couldn’t watch the tv series after the first couple of episodes because it seemed all too likely to happen given the political climate in the US….
So so true no one should be able to tell you what to do with your body especially a man!!! I cannot believe this is happening in the land of the free – what comes next worries me
The long reaching effects of this decision are truly terrifying.
I have been ranting about the stupidity south of the border ever since the leaked document. My husband has shared my feelings so has let me rant with just the odd comment thrown in to get me going again. I honestly cannot believe this has happened. I am afraid that the next move will be further restrictions on voting rights. Some states have already made it so difficult for poor people to get to vote, how far are they going to take it.
I rarely repost to Facebook (or other sites) but felt compelled to share your thoughts. Thanks for the heartfelt thoughts and support!
Damn right.
Thank you for your thoughts. This has put us back to the 50’s and 60″, to back alleys and coat hangers. I personally feel I don’t have a right to tell anyone what to do with their body and definitely the government doesn’t.
As a 78 year old American that used to have a uterus, I know the reality of what went before. I had friends that took Caster Oil to try and induce an abortion, girls I knew had their boyfriends repeatedly punch them in the stomach, for the same reason. We all had heard of some woman who could help.
My sister 16 year old sister had to guit school because she was pregnant. There were no Continuation Schools. I was married but when I became pregnant in 1964 and started to show a baby bump I had to quit my job! The Pregnancy Discrimination Act wasn’t passed until 1978!!
The Equal Rights Ammendment to guarantee equality regardless of sex was proposed in 1972, but not all states have ratified it and Republicans are STILL fillibustering it!!
I couldn’t legally get a credit card in my own name until 1974, a year after Roe was decided!!
We CANNOT go back to that!!
Thank you for sharing!!!
AMEN sister!
Thank you for your thoughts and words. My heart aches for not only my 3 children (2 daughters), but all young people whose rights are being trampled on. I know this mostly affects women, but I fear more is to come. Not very “Land of the Free” is it
Hear hear! We’ve taken a step back into the dark ages.
Yes!! ❤️