I just received the following email from one Craig Weber (cw6192007@yahoo.com) in response to my piece about choice, which I wrote earlier this year:
I know this is a little late…. just found this article today….and I must say… you are PATHETIC……you use the word “ideal” several times in describing parenting and having a child……since when or where is it written that anyone has a right to an “ideal” situation???? for fuck sakes….. you dont want a pregnancy….close your damn legs….simple…….a life is a life….. it deserves a chance regardless of whether or not it fits your perfect little “ideal” outlook on life…… I only wish that the right to abortion you defend so staunchly would have been exercised on you….. would have been one less moron on the face of the earth……have a nice day.
Maybe he’s simply distraught that the bigot Jessie Helms met his maker today and decided to take things out on me. Or maybe he’s feeling small because he can’t celebrate the Fourth by drinking 40oz Budweisers on the beach anymore like back in the good ‘ole days. Or maybe—maybe—he’s got a serious case of God complex. Who knows? One thing’s for sure: He’s got a frightful addiction to ellipses.
I do like how he says I should have been aborted but then exhibits proper toilet training by thoughtfully wishing me a nice day at the close. He’s creative in his eloquence and I suppose he does have a point: It really is always the woman’s fault.
15 responses so far ↓
1 Cheri@Blog This Mom! // Jul 4, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I, for one, am glad the Gaydi Project went through with the whole deal. Have a great holiday. Love you.
2 S // Jul 4, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I took the point to be, it really is the woman’s choice. Thankfully so.
S
3 san // Jul 4, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Only a guy can say that…
4 Jenn @ Juggling Life // Jul 4, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I’m glad you got the comment–I hadn’t read the original, excellent, well-reasoned post before!
5 stacy // Jul 5, 2008 at 6:11 am
You know, it’s actually pretty gratifying when someone who hates you is so clearly a total moron. Lets you know you’re on the right track.
6 Anna // Jul 5, 2008 at 10:48 am
this guy could be related to Dubya judging from the way he expresses himself
7 Scott // Jul 5, 2008 at 11:21 am
Yet another example of someone with a defensible point of view shooting off all ten of his own toes in a bid to put a bullet in another person’s point of view.
There was an opportunity for genuine dialogue here. But this gentleman chose grenades instead of ideas. Consequently, his message gets dismissed out of hand (and justifiably so). It’s unfortunate because each side stands to learn something from the other
Just out of curiosity, I rewrote his note to see if I could retain all the substance while removing the personal attacks and the bitterness that drips from every word. The result is telling. If we all tried to communicate in a more thoughtful manner, the gaps in our respective value systems might be a little less daunting.
“I just stumbled upon this article today. I respectfully disagree with you. You use the word “ideal” several times in describing parenting and having a child. Where is it written that any of us have a right to an “ideal” situation? If you don’t want to risk pregnancy and the need for abortion, I submit that abstinence is the way to go. Life, I believe, is sacred from the moment of conception and should be defended even if pregnant mothers must undertake some measure of sacrifice. Remember, we are all here due to the quiet grace of the mothers who chose to bring us into this world. We should be so kind as to return the favor to the unborn that enter our own lives. Please consider this. God bless you and have a good day.”
Full disclosure: I’m pro-choice, if quietly and apolitically so. Also, I’ve been involved in two situations similar to Aaryn’s in which I supported the same decision that Aaryn made. My hands are not clean where this matter is concerned.
8 bonzize // Jul 5, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Aaryn,
I still *heart* Scott. Wish he had a blog.
xoxo
9 Jamie // Jul 5, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Speechless here. Yuugghh. What a wanker.
10 aaryn b. // Jul 6, 2008 at 9:04 am
Who is that masked man, anyway?!? Scott, my hero. You almost convinced me to move to the dark side with your beautiful rebuttal. And by the way, that is the second request by one of my readers for a blog from you. Are you going to jump into the fray? We’re waiting……
11 Mrs. G. // Jul 6, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I’m glad to know that I am not the only one in my blogging circle who gets hate mail-I wonder if this guy is from Texas.
12 Scott // Jul 6, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I do run a kinda-sorta photoblog thingy. But I shouldn’t call even call it that because I’m too undisciplined to post on any sort of schedule. It’s more of a working photo anthology. Yeah, let’s call it that.
Dashing off the random comment here and there doesn’t make one a candidate to run an actual blog. Blogging seems like hard work, which is something I make a point to avoid.
13 Tammy // Jul 7, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Wow. I appreciate that Scott is able to see the other side of the debate, and make a clear and rational argument against abortion. But Craig’s comment made me so upset I have to speak up.
I am married with two children, and I can say with absolute certainty that if I found myself pregnant again, I would have an abortion. And it’s not because I don’t want any more children. My youngest is still a baby, but no longer a newborn. And every time she grows and changes, my heart aches because I will never be the parent of a child so young and small again.
But I have a pregnancy condition that is literally life threatening. If my birth control failed, I am not comfortable carrying another pregnancy to term. I won’t risk leaving my children without a mother.
If abortion was illegal and I couldn’t make that choice myself, who should choose for me? My doctor? My priest? The Abortion Police? How could anyone but me know what level of risk is OK? And Scott, in playing devil’s advocate, says that women should undertake some level of sacrifice. But how much sacrifice? And, again, who decides? If pregnancy does kill me, it’s my children who unnecessarily suffer. It’s not always the pregnant mother who makes the sacrifice.
And abstinence? Really? Even the conservative Catholic Church pushes sex in their pre-marital counseling. I can only imagine what the abstinence method of birth control would do to a marriage. Probably push any healthy couple right to divorce court. How’s that for Family Values?
14 Scott // Jul 7, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I should point out that I wasn’t playing devil’s advocate. I was merely conducting an experiment to see how Craig Weber’s e-mail might read if you removed the invective and profanity. Granted, the point was a bit far afield; I’m just disheartened by the lack of civil discourse in this country on issues like abortion, guns, welfare, etc.
Sorry for the confusion. I hope no one was offended by my little experiment.
15 Tammy // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:29 am
Sorry, Scott. Didn’t quite know how to say it other than saying “devil’s advocate.” Couldn’t debate with Craig, since he is crazy. You at least made Craig’s points rational so that I could counter them.
Wasn’t offended at all, and in fact loved that you could put your own feelings aside for the sake of a rational discussion.
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