They won

[trinityvixen]

Terrorism works.

It has been a week and a few days since Dr. Tiller was murdered. In that time, the anti-choice freakshow has barely restrained itself from saying outright that they are glad Dr. Tiller is dead. (You can bleat all you want about "abhoring violence" but your violent and provocative bullshit says otherwise.) Even so, you had that guy from Operation Stomp On Anyone Who Doesn't Follow Our Precious God going, "Yeah, I'm not saying I'm happy that one of our fellow soldiers finally murdered a man in cold blood, but that's mostly because it will reflect badly on us. Not because he didn't have it coming."

Now they have what they have always wanted--what they would have achieved through terrorism of one stripe or another--be it the many fruitless, pointless abuses of the justice system to try and derail a women's health clinic (they do know that things other than abortion happen there, right?) or the murder of those who would dare to care for women in desperate need: the closing of the clinic.

How restrained won't they be now, do you suppose?

Comments

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I suspect the family's response is a "You win! Go away! Don't kill us too!" tactic, which I can't find it in myself to blame them for. They can fade into obscurity, donate money/facilities through an anonymous trust, and hopefully not live their lives in fear.

The cynic in me (who's horribly pessimistic and correct frightening often) says that this is going to spark a lot of copycat attacks, probably in the next few months. (They'll only get media attention if they succeed, mind you.) There are a lot of nutjobs out there with ideas like these, and it only takes one to prove that it's possible. Remember the rash of school shootings after Columbine?

That said, I liked the linked article where the guy was predicting Limbaugh and his ilk would want the murderer waterboarded. It makes for fantastic satire when you point out the obvious hypocrasy.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

I'd suspect the family's response is more of a "We don't have any doctors volunteering to do this" sort of thing. Can't run a medical practice without doctors. It probably will lead to copycat attacks.

I do note that I, and probably Limbaugh and the like, would want the murderer executed.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

If I thought he'd actually get executed within his natural lifetime, I'd agree with you. But we're talking about the legal system here, and we know that trying to give him the death penalty is just life in prison with more costs involved. Which makes the government-sponsored extra-legal "interrogations" seem like an almost appealing alternative that would actually punish the guy and possibly deter others.

Actually, no, that's wrong. Nothing will deter others. The cat's out of the bag.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I suspect that edgehopper is closer to the truth about why the family is shutting up the clinic. Lots of people talk a good game about bravery, but it's a dangerous job and the sort of person who'll put up with what Dr. Tiller did is rare.

As for the issue of more attacks, I hate to believe that you're right. The alleged murderer has professed that there will be copycat attacks, but it's unclear if he's guessing, has inside information, or is just nuts. (All of the above?)

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Whether he has any information or not about copycat attacks, the suggestion that there will be furthers his agenda, so he's smart to make it: Terrorism is about creating fear, after all.

[mithras03.livejournal.com]

Of course, if men got pregnant, this wouldn't even be an issue...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

If men were suddenly capable of giving birth, yes, this would be less of an issue. However, it's sort of a given that the sex that bears the burden of reproduction is going to be the less dominant one in human politics. If it had been that way from the outset, women wouldn't be any better. (They'd just be men, too.)

I agree though: if we suddenly made men physically responsible for the babies they help create, they'd change tunes in a hurry.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

Then presumably the majority of women who oppose late term abortion are suffering from some sort of false consciousness?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Misogyny is behind 90% (if not more) of the anti-abortion crowd's objections. "Protect teh bebbiez" is a cover for what they do. If they actually disliked abortion, they would be behind contraception and comprehensive sex education, which, notably, they (mostly) are not.

And yes, there are plenty of women who buy into that. They operate on this sad level of "If I prove that I'm better than those murdering sluts, men will like me!" Whether they know it or not, that thinking is there in the background.

Point is, there are plenty of female misogynists.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the ones who are arguing from a position of ignorance: I'm sure there are plenty of people who are vehemently against, say, third-trimester "abortions of convenience"...which are illegal, as third-trimester abortions must be medically indicated. There's a lot of misinformation out there about when "most" abortions happen--if you're getting all of your information from the anti-abortion crowd, you'd think that every aborted fetus is a full-developed and perfectly viable baby that the mother heartlessly "changed her mind about".

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

It seems scarily likely that this will be the most effective form of terrorism in 21st-century America: lone gunmen with a network of sympathizers who never completely cross the line into conspiracy, but are always ready to recruit, inflame, indoctrinate, praise, raise funds for legal fees, etc.

Abortion doctor killers, envirovandals, jihadi preachers, etc., all seem to follow this pattern. Frankly, I'm at a loss about what we can do about it all in the long run, except hope that there aren't too many people who are eager to die/spend forever in prison for "the Cause."

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Envirovandals haven't murdered anyone that I've heard of...

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

I was referring more to the mode of launching and supporting the attacks, not the targeting. In that sense, these guys are probably where the anti-abortion crazies were in about 1991 or so -- no fatalities, but lots of property damage and harassment.

[saturn-shumba.livejournal.com]

Did you hear that Operation Rescue (should be called Operation Fuck You) wants to buy Tiller's clinic?

What the hell.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It does not surprise me. It is a common anti-choice tactic to set up shop next to clinics providing abortion services in order to confuse women looking for genuine health care. They set up shops with similar names/facades to the clinic then drag in unsuspecting victims, pump them full of misinformation and send them on their way without really helping them at all. (Either that, or they sometimes just pray against the walls. I'm not joking. Want to be scared? Rent Jesus Camp.)

So taking over the Tiller clinic is just one more way of deceiving their way into controlling the lives of women. More, it seems like a really fucking gross bit of scalp collecting. They protest and protest about how they don't approve of the method by which the clinic was shut down, but they're ready to move in tomorrow and set up show. "Yes, violence got us here, but we don't approve of it!" Bullshit.

[saturn-shumba.livejournal.com]

I've actually avoided Jesus Camp because I know it will scare the SHIT out of me. I'm a wuss like that.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It's easily more terrifying than all the horror movies I've seen put together. I need to stop watching documentaries. :\