So after nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade was struck down this June, by an overtly Dominionist Christian Supreme Court that has been at least 45 years in the making.
Roe was the glacial shelf holding back a deluge of conservative wet dreams: overturning gay marriage and gay rights, the right to privacy (especially in health, contraception, and sexuality), desegregation, voting rights, environmental oversight, and Social Security and Medicare.
Roe stood as an unlikely counter to a militantly fascist Christian America, with no room for other views, a natural ally of the dictatorships in Hungary, Russia, and China.
I was reared Republican and became an Independent voter in the early 2000s, when I had confirmed my long suspicions of where my party was going. I’m a cynic: I saw this coming in 1986, with the rise of the so-called ‘Moral Majority’.
I lay equal blame with the Democrats, who could have codified a stronger version of Roe into law numerous times.
Roe as it stood was deeply flawed, almost undefended, and curtailed by decades of conservatively-driven, hypocritical exceptions.
My progressive US readers, we deserve better.
Time to vote, to organize, to strike, to force hundreds of gerrymandered legislative districts back into sane representation. Three months into this ruling, I’m largely pleased that it is wreaking havoc with Dominionist plans. The backlash has been strong; more importantly, progressives have figured out they need to hammer conservatives with it. This ruling hangs around the necks of every Republican voter, judge, and lawmaker.
In addition to registering, voting, and making a peaceful life difficult for our fascist adversaries, progressives are making art that refreshes our souls and our wills.
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This piece of fiber art is Talisman Scarf. It’s also a book: the pages are the embroidered tags that hang down from the web of frayed, beaded linen.
Yes, the prettied-up coat hanger is there for another reason than just holding up the piece for display. If you know anything about the history of back-alley abortion in the US & elsewhere, you’ll know why.
The text reads: Endure. Serve. Learn. Enhance. Support. Explore. Rebuild. Create. Verify. Teach. Improve. Thrive. Vote. Resist. Excise.
All but one are generally positive concepts, hopeful and outwardly harmless (though Dominionists hate all of them.)
The one that really scares them is Excise.
It’s what we do to tumors, before they can kill us.
