Just be consistent

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

You never know from whence inspiration will come. There’s this guy who has been sending me hate mail and attacking the people I work with pretty much since the day we started this newspaper. He called last week and questioned the line I wrote in the editorial last week: “Good riddance to all those woman-hating Neanderthals who got their asses handed to them.” He wanted a list. I simply pulled up Facebook: “OK, Bill, how about Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, State Rep. Roger Rivard, Rep. Joe Walsh, candidate Tom Smith, candidate John Kostera and V.P. candidate Paul Ryan.”

“Well,” he said, elmerfuddedly, “just because they’re against abortion doesn’t mean they hate women.” “No,” I said, “and just because they’re pro-rapist doesn’t mean they’re pro-rape.”

“What you don’t understand, is that pro-abortion people think that a fetus is just protoplasm, but people who believe it’s a human being believe it should have human rights, and if you kill it, it’s murder.”

“Actually, Bill, I do get that. The problem is that many people who feel that way are also for the death penalty, they are also for wars against countries that have predominately different religious views than they do, they’re also against using my tax dollar to feed hungry people. In fact, if you want to talk about the sanctity of human life, I don’t see it. Show me. What you’re saying is that the fetus that is not demonstrably human has more rights the woman carrying it who is.”

Consistent people have my respect—especially anti-abortion people. Quakers I have known, for example, have shown a consistent respect for what they view as the sanctity of life. But the people who enjoy the benefits of scientific progress but still see women as chattel who can and should be managed—l truly believe they’re missing some essential part of their humanity.