Psychological warfare: Students complain about “abortion plane”
I’ve been writing quite a bit about the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Midwest’s “abortion plane,” as Wonkette called it. I requested donations for this important pro-life work over the weekend. (Thanks to all who donated. Please give now if you haven’t.)
Received this email from Gregg Cunningham, head of CBR:
This is very much a psychological warfare tactic. The students are now complaining in large numbers that they can hear the plane inside their classrooms and it bothers them.
Planes fly over Notre Dame all the time and they have never before bothered these students. What is happening now is that when any plane flies over, it is suddenly audible at a new level. They fear that it is not just some plane, but THE plane.
Now instead of picturing a generic plane, they picture “that f***ing” plane, as so many messages call it. Now the sound of the engine forces them to see an aborted baby in their minds eye and it deeply stresses them. This is the first pro-life project from which they could not totally shield themselves. It reaches them wherever they try to hide….
This project isn’t just about teaching ND a lesson. It is about signaling to every other Catholic college that if you invite this serial killer to speak on your campus, you are going to be inviting an intolerable level of disruption. It is about signaling to the White House that if they try to pull this stunt again with any other Catholic college, we are going to be there to embarrass the president by relentlessly, remorselessly hammering the administration, faculty and student body at that school.
FYI, this is finals week. Everyone is in class. I’ve received word the plane will fly 6 hours instead of the usual 3 each of the next 2 days.
Feeling a tad sorry for them? Don’t. From the South Bend Tribune (click to enlarge)…
The only people that have a right to complain about the banner would be the people fighting for the lives of those children, because they DON’T believe in the killing of innocent unborn babies. Anyone who is Pro Choice has no right to say a word, because THAT is what they believe in.
I do feel kind of sorry for the pro-life students but all of the other students deserve it.
Jac, I don’t think it’s going to bother the pro-life students. I think they’ll get a lift from hearing that plane.
“opposition appears to be scant.”
Sadly this may be true. A lot of people don’t really know what’s involved in abortion. Maybe if people educated themselves on the horrific methods used to kill these innocent babies more minds would change to pro life. I remember back when the partial birth abortion debate was going on and we were told that these babies are delivered except for the head… then the “doctor” removes the brain and kills an innocent life. I found it hard to believe when I first heard it…. but learning about other abortion methods which are equally barbaric and horrible got me off the fence and 100% with other pro life people.
Now we have reached a stage where people are so hardened that they actually need to see the results of abortion….. innocent babies torn from their mother’s womb…. hands and feet torn from their tiny bodies.
Some hearts are so hard that even the reality of these pictures will not change their minds but it’s bound to have an impact for some people.
I do feel kind of sorry for the pro-life students but all of the other students deserve it.
OMG, possibly one of the most ignorantly-worded comments I’ve seen on this site, and that’s saying a lot!
Yes, instead of hoping that students who identify as pro-life may see the signs and be forced to really think about the position they support, lets just hope they are bothered by the noise! They deserve to be! And let’s hope they all fail their finals, too!!
My third paragraph should say “pro-choice,” not “pro-life.” I must have been laughing too hard at Joanne’s sentiments, sorry.
And by the way, I don’t believe that three fourths of the students support the invitation either. They are constantly trying to make it look like the majority support Obama to get the psychological edge. I have never known the press to manipulate in someone’s favor this badly. So, good for us to fight back!
Jill, I would have to strongly disagree. I am pro-life, and I would find this very distracting. This whole thing is intended to be distracting. It is a “disruption” as Cunningham has the nerve to call it.
There aren’t just students for and against this whole fiasco. There are those that are just trying to finish up their school year the best they possibly can, and have to deal with all of this on top of the stress of finals. To top it off, their commencement is going to be protested.
I am so ashamed of the movement right now it makes me sick..
Way to go CBR! The truth always provokes a strong reaction because pricks their conscience. I’m sure many have either had or paid for abortions, killing their own children. This is obviously an unpleasant reminder.
Have you noticed, judging by the intensity of the reaction, I believe this is the most effective weapon the ProLife Movement has right now.
I hope CBR raises enough funds to “dog Obama’s tracks” wherever he goes, a constant reminder of the genocide he promotes.
Greg, we are now doing legal abortions at 24 months,(and illegal ones afterwards) with the possibility of abortions being done until the time of delivery in the near future. What would you have the Pro Life movement do to stop this holocaust against innocent babies? If you have any suggestions to stop President Obama from this aggressive abortion agenda, please let us know. I believe everyone in the Pro Life movement would rather do something else if it will get results! Nothing seems to work with the pro abortion people because they are so hard hearted and so determined. What will wake them up?
Greg,
There are some of us that are not content with the status quo. We’ve been asleep for 36 years. Do you honestly think your prolife position is going to change anything?
It’s not. Someone has to step up and demand change.
The American Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is waking up and demanding that the killing of our innocent children stops now!
Pam what does that have to do with this story?? Are we going to stop abortions by showing up to protest the commencement? Or how about those throwing their money to keep this plane flying? You think the longer that plane is in the air, more women are going to choose to keep their babies?
Whatever happened to the money going to sidewalk counseling resources?
I have plenty of suggestions to end abortion. Just check out my blog periodically. Im trying to develop it as I balance it with classes.
But this whole ordeal has very little if anything to do with ending Obama’s horrendous policies. It’s all about making a scene, as Gregg points out.
My answer: use Ear plugs. We have a president has been stated as wanting to pass FOCA: Freedom of Choice Act that is one of the most hideous pro-abortion (all stages) bill to be passed. And your tax dollars will fund it here and abroad.
Real babies are dying and we quibble about some young adult not being able to concentrate during a test when the places have flown over their classes on a regular basis before? It seems like we are more concern with appeasing our conscience’s instead of acting of them.Planned Parentlesshood only cares about the bottom line: staying in business.
Ed are you implying that I’m content with the status quo?
Greg and the pro deathers are over dramatic?
We have Motorcycles this time of year and other noise. The noise junk is just lame. The average decibels in the earbuds kids wear between classes is much higher. It doesn’t effect my daughter maintaining a 4.00 grade point since beginning middle school.
J, what does Planned Parenthood have to do with this?
Can any of you stick to a single topic when making a point?? My goodness, it’s like we can’t even have a discussion without using every piece of rhetoric we’ve ever utilized as pro-lifers..
Greg, it has everything to do with the story. It is a way to let people know that not everyone believes in abortion. How many people drive by abortion clinics everyday? Most people don’t have a clue. By doing this it is drawing attention to the abortion issue and hopefully getting people to think. Most people that are pro choice have never seen the picture of an aborted baby, and have no clue about the procedures. You are talking to someone who had 3 abortions when she was younger, locked them down for 24 years, knew NOTHING about these issues, or that there was Post Abortion Trauma, and suffered in silence for all those years. I am hoping many things come out of this, along with women deciding not to have abortions and others that have had them seek help. By the way. I also pray at abortion clinics, support sidewalk counselors and CPC’s with my money, and recruit churches to get involved doing the same. I wish this had happened 10 years ago, maybe it would have got my attention and I wouldn’t of suffered so long.
I am an ND student and I am happy to hear the planes buzz by once in a while. The children have to bear the pain of dismemberment at the hands of Obama’s supporters, so we can put up with a few airplanes flying by.
I am really glad my fellow Americans are standing up against the barbarism this President and his contributors in the abortion industry are foisting upon us. We cannot sit silently by and let this happen to our children. That is what many did when the Jews were carted off on trains…they did not want to “offend” anyone so they let them get away with it. At another point in history, some were enslaving African Americans, and again, some sat silently. Others objected noisily and eventually turned things around and freed the slaves.
Today we are faced with barbaric statists who want to use the power of big government to confiscate our property and our liberty, while taking away the most basic God-given right…the right to LIFE…from our brothers and sisters.
Fellow ND students…make MORE noise and recruit more to protest the weekend of May 15-17.
xppc, I’m very happy for your daughter. She seems like a very focused and intelligent individual. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same studying habits and intellectual capacities as everyone else.
Yes Pam, it is a way to let people know of the terrible reality of abortion, and those who support it’s industry. I’m definitely not denying that. But is it the best way?
Also, thank you for your witness.
happy, many students on your campus do not agree with you. We both know this. Is it right to throw them all into the pro-choice category just because they disagree with how the pro-lifers are going about this?
Greg, I am so ashamed of the liberal, statist, pro-abortion movement right now it makes me sick. But I am very proud of the students and others who are standing up for what is right at Notre Dame. I hope we can get several more airplanes with pro-life banners flying by. We have to break through the wall of self-deception, and force our colleagues to face the truth.
As Pope John Paul II reminded us constantly, “Be not afraid.” And he preached it to us, warning us how easy it is to be trapped in a “culture of death” even in our comfortable and luxurious country—”Be not afraid.”
Listen to the truths that lie within your hearts, and be not afraid to follow them wherever they may lead you.
Those three little words hold the power to transform individuals and change the world. They can supply the quiet resolve and unvoiced courage necessary to endure the inevitable intimidation.
In one sense, because of your prolife position, you’re obviously not content with the status quo. On the other hand, if you’re not willing to look at your strategy and tactics and change them if you’re not accomplishing your objectives, in that sense, you would be content.
My prolife position was forever sealed in my brain about 30 years ago when as a young teenager I saw the movie “Silent Scream” in a Catholic Church. These images are powerful and convict the human heart of this horific injustice. Satan would love nothing more than to keep what he’s doing in the darkness and shadows and out of the light of day.
Talking about John the Baptist’s message of repentance, Jesus said, “…the Kingdom of Heaven is forcibly treated, and forceful men seize it.” We need to boldly confront our society with the truth. It’s the only way.
Gotta run, I’ll look for your response later tonight.
“This is very much a psychological warfare tactic. The students are now complaining in large numbers that they can hear the plane inside their classrooms and it bothers them.”
Eventually there comes a time when we have to ask ourselves, Are we doing this for our own benefit or is what we’re doing actually hurting our efforts?
That students are complaining tells me, and should tell CBR, STOP. It is counterproductive to turn off the very audience you’re trying to reach. And if that is happening, you’re wasting the very limited monies of pro-lifers.
Greg, I have not heard of any pro-life students who “disagree with how the pro-lifers are going about this”. I know you would prefer to have us just shut up and sit down, but sorry, courage and leadership is required here, and we will not be cowed by criticism.
“Today, no one can honestly claim surprise at the venomous attacks against those who take positions that are contrary to the canon laid down by those who claim to shape opinions. Such attacks have been standard fare for some time. Complaining about this obvious state of affairs does not elevate one’s moral standing. And, it is hardly a substitute for the courage that we badly need.
If you trim your sails, you appease those who lack the honesty and decency to disagree on the merits, but prefer to engage in personal attacks. A good argument diluted to avoid criticism is not nearly as good as the undiluted argument, because we best arrive at truth through a process of honest and vigorous debate. Arguments should not sneak around in disguise, as if dissent were somehow sinister. One should not cowed by criticism.
In my humble opinion, those who come to engage in debates of consequence, and who challenge accepted wisdom, should expect to be treated badly. Nonetheless, they must stand undaunted. That is required. And, that should be expected. For, it is bravery that is required to secure freedom.
On matters of consequence, reasons and arguments must be of consequence. Therefore, those who choose to engage in such debates must themselves be of consequence.”
Ed, my objectives are to help in any way I can to end abortion. To give women and families hope, and to do my part in bringing about the day when life is in fact respected from conception to natural death. I know that sounds fuzzy, but it is my objective. Right now in my life, I’m building myself as an individual, as an intellectual, and as a leader so that I will be better equipped in my future to achieve my objective.
There isn’t a status quo bone in my body. I’m not liberal nor conservative. I want to end abortion, and not just make it illegal. And I will never compromise my criticisms of public officials merely because their party sides with my ideas more than the other main party. These are all ideas being pushed and supported by so many within the PL movement. I will have none of it, because it is the status quo within the pro-life movement.
Thank you for your response.
Speaking of Popes and Cardinals… can anyone tell me anything specific from the Pope or top ranking US Cardinals regarding this obamaination taking place at ND… have they publically said anything at all about this one specific event? …meaning the presense of Obama speaking and getting an honorary doctorate. thanks.
Leadership and Courage, I am in fact a pro-life student that disagrees with how this is being done, if that means anything.
With regards to the rest of your email, which appears to be a quote… I really have little to say. I’m just making a statement about why I think this is a bad idea.
I have to agree with efficacy here..
Greg: I was very pleased by what you said- to end abortion and not just make it illegal. That really must be the ultimate goal of the pro-life movement, even more sought after than a Constitutional ammendment. Hooray!
Greg, there is a philosophical mistake that lurks behind your argument that you “want to end abortion, and not just make it illegal.”
“Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless”.
– Dr. Martin Luther King
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal”.
~Martin Luther King, in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
So Greg, of course we all want to end abortion, that is why we work on education, and supporting abortion-alternative centers for women. But, I don’t agree with you that we should just sit quietly while Obama pretends the Catholic church supports his radically pro-abortion philosophy.
In fact, I think your presence here could be considered a disruption. Why don’t you take your own advice and stop posting here, because it might bother someone?
The pro-life position is that all members of the human community, including the unborn, have inestimable and equal worth and dignity and thus are entitled to the fundamental protection of the laws.
Imagine if someone told you in 19th century America that he was not interested in protesting to give slaves full citizenship, but just talking and someday “ending slavery, not just making it illegal”. But suppose another person told you that he too wanted to end slavery, but proposed to do it by granting them the full citizenship to which they are entitled as a matter of natural justice, and by protesting loudly in the public square? Would you tell him to shut up, too?
Which of the two is really “against slavery” in a full-orbed principled sense?
The first speaks of wanting to “end slavery, not just make it illegal”, but only while keeping quiet and retaining a regime of law that treats an entire class of human beings as subhuman property. The second believes that the juridical infrastructure should reflect the moral truth about enslaved people, namely, that they are in fact human beings made in the image of their Maker who by being held in bondage are denied their fundamental rights.
Just as calling for “ending slavery” is not the same as working and protesting to make sure that slaves are full members of the moral community and are entitled to protection by the state, calling for “ending abortion” is not the same as calling for the state to reflect in its laws and policies the true inclusiveness of the human family, that it consists of all those who share the same nature regardless of size, level of development, environment or dependency.
When some were buying and selling black slaves, others tried to protest and speak out in public. They were told by the Greg’s of the world, “I agree with you but I don’t like your tactics, let’s just go slow and get along, don’t make a fuss.” Many more were enslaved, killed, families separated. We should have flown many planes with signs across the capitol building and around Notre Dame and every other school, maybe we could have gotten results faster. Some anti-slavery people might have complained, “these pro-freedom planes are noisy, I am trying to study!”, but it still would have been the right thing to do, in spite of them.
Jews were rounded up and put in concentration camps, starved and thrown into ovens. We should have protested loudly and shamed the German people who lived next door to Auschwitz into DOING something about it. But many German people, like Greg, did not want to make a fuss. They preferred to sit in silence with their private thoughts that they would like to “end the holocaust, and not just make it illegal.”
But we should have protested anyway, even though this people were philosophically on our side. We both want the same thing, we are just not willing to sit around silently while Obama disgraces our university and our country.
Rick, 50+ bishops and a few cardinals have spoken out. http://www.notredamescandal.com/WhatTheyAreSaying/tabid/461/Default.aspx
The university is under the authority of its board of trustees and is not directly under the control of the Church. FWIW, ten of Fr Jenkins’ brothers in his order have also responded.
http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2009/04/08/Viewpoint/Work-To.Maintain.Catholic.Tradtions-3701485.shtml
Philosophical Mistake, did you read Jill’s post?? I’m making accusations of disruption using Cunningham’s own words!!!!
And you really shouldn’t judge where I was coming from with what I stated in a previous comment.
I said “I want to end abortion, and not just make it illegal.”
How does this in any way mean I believe we should “just sit quietly while Obama pretends the Catholic church supports his radically pro-abortion philosophy.”????
I never even implied that. What I was referring to was the pandering most pro-lifers do to elected officials who claim to be pro-life and yet do nothing except throw out a few legislative “bones” to keep their pro-life constituency in line.
In no way am I saying that restrictive legislation, protecting the unborn, should not be used at all, or that it is in any way secondary. What I am saying is that it shouldn’t be the only focus, and that making abortion illegal is not necessarily the same as ending abortion.
and I comment on Jill’s site occasionally because she is seen by many outside the movement as a leader, and I want folks to know that the pro-life movement is diverse and has a variety of opinion while still maintaining the view that life is precious and should be respected at all stages. A diverse movement is a healthy movement. That is why I post on here. It is no where near an analogy to the protests and “disruptions” that are being thrown upon some of the students at ND.
oops, anon @6:28pm was moi.
‘They were told by the Greg’s of the world, “I agree with you but I don’t like your tactics, let’s just go slow and get along, don’t make a fuss.”‘
When did I ever say to get along and not make a fuss??
I can only take so much of the craziness here at once. Everyone loves making little quirky nuggets of wisdom based on what they think they know about me, and they’re not getting close. I’ll have to end my comments. But yall can look for a general response to all this mayhem in my blog in the next few days.
Peace out,
Greg
self-evident truths
I can’t get a picture out of my head – it’s stuck in there, and I need to share it with others, because it’s all too possible when people refuse to stop outrageous behavior, they encourage more outrageous behavior that moves to a new level.
In Cambodia, during the terror of the Khmer Rouge, witnesses tell of pregnant women pulled aside, their wombs sliced open and the live babies ripped out. If she didn’t feint, she got to watch as the young teenage killers impaled her baby on sharpened palm tree limbs turned into spikes, then viciously ripped down.
Other witnesses talked about babies being used for clubs, where the killers would smash the skulls of the mothers with their children’s heads. Babies would be thrown into the air, laughing until the machetes would slice them in two.
What does this have to do with abortion?
People are outraged at such violence and inhumanity, but they ignore the fact there is little difference in the final result. Did the mother die? Yes – brutally. But so did the babies. Women die inside when they kill their own children. If you came upon a scene and saw the results of a D&X and the results of the Khmer Rouge would you be able to say one is okay and the other isn’t?
Abortion kills – it is inhumane. It calls for a righteous defense of life.
Some post-abortive mothers become numb zombies who desire compassion and healing, while others harden their hearts, then incite others to do the same. Such hardening is incredibly dangerous for the nation.
Gregg Cunningham knows that.
CBR is not the enemy – the idea abortion is humane and acceptable is the enemy.
Abortion won’t stop until the humanity of the unborn is exposed, and the inhumanity of abortion is exposed as well.
That’s why the plane flies over ND.
Greg, before you go let me ask you a question.
What do you think would be an appropriate response to this situation. If you were running a protest, what would you do?
This isn’t a trap, I’m just honestly curious what you think a better alternative would be.
Greg, you asked “When did I ever say to get along and not make a fuss??” and “How does this in any way mean I believe we should “just sit quietly while Obama pretends the Catholic church supports his radically pro-abortion philosophy.”????”
When you called the student protesters and their protest airplane “distracting” and a disruption” and a “fiasco”. Then you said you were “ashamed of the movement” for fighting abortion in this way.
So, you were trying to shame and silence the protesters and their attempt to get the message out with airplanes and other means.
Greg, I think we are all on the same side. We both want to end abortion and make it illegal. Please stop the name calling of others in the movement and posting that you are so embarrassed that it makes you sick.
It took many kinds of people to stop Hitler and the Nazi from killing Jews. Some fought on the front lines and shot Nazis, others wrote persuasive articles and books, others taught, many preached, many protested loudly and engaged in civil disobedience. Others just discussed their disapproval quietly with their friends.
But we didn’t need the quiet talkers or laid back writers to speak out against the loud protesters. We were all on the same side.
The loud protesters and the soldiers did not listen to the silent, meek conversationalists anyway. They did what they had to do, and won. They had nothing against the meek talkers, but they did not let them stand in the way of victory.
I could see where the noise could drive people crazy, but seeing as there have been much more obnoxious protests on college campuses in years past, I’m not seeing where this is so awful beyond awful.
This is the reason that I can absolutely never see myself identifying as pro-life. Stunts like this make me think less and less of the movement in general and the opinions of the more radical of the group in specific.
Wow. I’m impressed with all of the incisive commentary.
It sounds like we’re ready to take this war to the next level.
Greg, I totally empathize with your perspective. I applaud your work as a student and appreciate your dismay at these events which will certainly make this commencement unique.
And that’s what has been the essence of this thread. Is it right for the ProLife Movement to become so aggressive in its message so as to offend the sensibilities of “neutral parties”? What about the “collateral damage” of turning someone’s college graduation ceremony into a controversial spectacle regarding abortion?
In reality, this type of aggressive protest is long overdue. I’m not sure if you’re a Notre Dame student and while some graduates may fear that this controversy could ruin “their day”, I think quite the opposite is true. They’ll be able to look back and tell their kids as they study their history books, “Yup, I was there, that was my graduation. That was the turning point in the war to end abortion in America.”
No more holding ground or retreating. Attack, attack, attack.
Abortion is genocide.
The killing stops now.
(I don’t know, would a ND grad. say “Yup”?)
Um, HA, one is pro-life when one believes that the killing of unborn children is never justified.
One does not become pro-life in order to self-identify with others of the movement. Either one has the conviction that the unborn should not be slaughtered, or one does not.
So, if the behavior of another person is enough to drive you away from protecting the innocents, I don’t think we really want you on our side.
Heaven forbid anyone should actually USE that right of free speech and look like a “radical.”
Greg,
Don’t take all of the strong pushback personally. It’s just that a lot of us have been on the losing side of this war for decades and we’re all about launching a full scale attack when we feel we have an advantage.
It just so happens that fate chose ND as the scene for this great battle.
I looked for your blog, Googled self-evident truth and didn’t find it. I’d love to read you sometime if you could provide your coordinates.
Peace out,
Ed
There is something odd about referring to abortion as a war, isn’t there? It is certainly a fight, but is it necessarily a war?
I mean this sincerely- would you consider this a war? Or would you consider this a collapse of the humanity in desperate need of repair? Just curious about your opinions on this topic. :).
I thought about those complacent ND students and that “Greg” dude, who wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by protesting the celebration of president Obortion.
That inspired me to put out a little gas money for the “abortion plane”.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Hey Vannah,
I totally hear where you’re coming from. These moms have to make some very difficult choices. Carrying a child to full term is no small sacrifice. There are significant physical and social ramifications and profound emotional challenges as well. The abortion option sounds so easy. Little do they know…
So when you consider the personal and social impacts of an unwanted pregnancy and the physical and emotional trauma of the abortion procedure which can last for years, these moms are certainly in need of our love and support. So where does the militant theme fit here? Who are we warring against?
The abortion business generated $1.8 Billion in revenue in 2008. I like to think of the abortion industry as a mob of serial killers together with their support staff and vendors preying on vulnerable young women in a difficult circumstance with a seemingly viable solution. In reality, this abortion option is a huge deception that murders their baby causing untold physical and emotional damage as mentioned above.
In addition to the abortion industry proper, you have the feminists who spew their distorted, selfish propoganda promoting social acceptance and applying leverage for political and judicial support for what amounts to genocide of unparalleled proportions.
And being a Christian, I believe that Satan is at work, behind the scenes, endeavoring to kill as many babies he can. Unfortunately, I believe he does this because he derives great pleasure from it.
So when we talk about the abortion war, we’re talking about contending with the forces of the abortion industry and the feminist pro-choice ideology. And on a spiritual level, the forces of Darkness.
That’s my take on it Vannah. I hope it helps.
Ed
Just a quick word of clarification. I’m all for women’s rights. Frankly, I believe if men in general treated the women in their lives like they should, most women wouldn’t feel a need to fight for “equality” in many of these other issues. (We all know women are actually superior anyway, right?)
That said, I believe a woman’s right to choose end’s when she becomes a parent (unless her health is at risk of course). When she becomes pregnant, then she and the father have a responsibility to nurture and care for that child. Adoption is always another option as well.
Good night.
Greg said, “[My presence on this website] is no where near an analogy to the protests and ‘disruptions’ that are being thrown upon some of the students at ND.”
What are those disruptions?
(1) Notre Dame, a purportedly Roman Catholic university, invites President Obama–also known as President Abortion–to speak at the graduation of its students. The purpose of the occasion should be to honour the graduating students (and the university), but Notre Dame apparently views it as a means to advance an evil political agenda.
(2) Notre Dame brazenly goes further than a mere invitation to speak; it offers to bestow an honorary degree on President Abortion. The virgin Mary symbolically blesses King Herod as he tries to kill her Child.
(3) The man who issues the invitations is ostensibly a Roman Catholic priest, “Father” Jenkins. What violence we do with words!
(4) The Roman Catholic university continues to ignore church teaching and explicit condemnation by over fifty high-ranking officers in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
(5) What we really have here is Satan trying to hijack a church for his own ends. Now I’m a Protestant, and I believe that the Roman Catholic Church was hijacked long ago, but I can identify with the struggles of devout Roman Catholics because I know of the same struggles against liberalism in Protestant churches. The mainline Protestant churches have rebelled against their Lord and Saviour. They do not keep His commandments. They preach a false gospel, likely the same kind of social gospel that Barack Obama preached in his days as a “community organizer.”
Greg said, “[My presence on this website] is no where near an analogy to the protests and ‘disruptions’ that are being thrown upon some of the students at ND.”
I remember well the disruption that the University of Western Ontario (in Canada) caused when it decided to ask Canada’s most notorious abortionist to speak for the Spring 2005 graduating class:
Many, including those ambivalent towards or supportive of Morgentaler’s philosophy, feel that the university is acting divisively and ought to reverse its decision for the sake of graduating students. Giving this honour at convocation means that graduands and their families are forced to either tacitly join in honouring Morgentaler and all that he exemplifies or, where conscience does not permit, students who have earned their degrees will not be able to participate in their own convocation. (“Notorious Canadian Abortionist’s Pending Honorary Doctorate Causing Uproar at University”)
Mr. Morgentaler, who is synonymous with abortion in Canada, went on to receive the Order of Canada in 2008. Membership in the order is supposedly accorded to those who exemplify the order’s Latin motto, taken from Hebrews 11:16, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning “They desire a better country,” i.e. they are heroes of faith.
The following was the profile of one protestor of the June 2005 UWO convocation. It was her own convocation:
Rebecca VanDoodewaard is a fourth year combined honours History and English student at Huron University College, UWO. A recipient of several academic awards, she serves the college as a Cultural Liaison Manager in the International Student programme. Despite the offer of a Graduate Research Scholarship and Teaching Assistanceship in Western’s MA History program, Rebecca will be declining the acceptance and pursuing her graduate studies elsewhere. “As an expectant mother looking forward to the delivery of my child, Western’s current stand means that I cannot take part in my own convocation, knowing it is associated with the honouring of Dr. Morgentaler, whose profession is to kill children in the womb.” Her husband, William, also a Western graduate (BA ’96), is about to begin a PhD in conjunction with the UHI Millenium Institute and the University of Aberdeen. He is a media and communications officer for Western Alumni Against Honouring Morgentaler.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Christians haven’t been salt and light in our culture. We need to repent of our own wickedness and then God will heal our land. Divorce, pornography, immodesty, foul language, etc….. are all rampant in the church. We need to get our act in order and be salt and light to those around us not just point out their sin. We need to REPENT of our own.
Vannah, when I consider the casualties–millions of babies murdered in the most brutal ways imaginable–it seems disrespectful to say that it is not a war, but only a fight.
When several thousand people die in a terrorist attack, we call it a war on terror.
When people are dying from illegal drugs they chose to buy and take, knowing it was against the law, we declare a war on drugs.
When people had trouble making ends meet and feeding their families, we declared war on poverty.
Fifty million children have been killed by poison, dismemberment, violent eviction, and stabbing. And we declare it a “right to choose.”
Thanks for your opinions, Ed and YCW; I was just curious to see how you felt. :).
This is “The Telltale Heart” of abortion. I’m glad it makes people have to actually think about the pictures, because it’s always been so easy for them in the past to just ignore it, tune it out, and walk away. But now, they can’t walk away from their thoughts, and I hope it sticks with them for a good long while.
Pam what does that have to do with this story?? Are we going to stop abortions by showing up to protest the commencement? Or how about those throwing their money to keep this plane flying? You think the longer that plane is in the air, more women are going to choose to keep their babies?
Whatever happened to the money going to sidewalk counseling resources?
I have plenty of suggestions to end abortion. Just check out my blog periodically. Im trying to develop it as I balance it with classes.
But this whole ordeal has very little if anything to do with ending Obama’s horrendous policies. It’s all about making a scene, as Gregg points out.
Posted by: Greg at May 4, 2009 4:56 PM
1. No we are not going to stop abortions by protesting at the commencement. That is not the immediate purpose of the protest. A Catholic university should not be honoring a man who believes babies are a punishment and who voted against restricting partial birth abortion and who believes if a baby survives an abortion they should not be helped but murdered (known as infanticide).
If a few students are given cause to stop and reflect on abortion where they might not previously have done, all the better.
2. Sidewalk counselling does not stop abortions. It is really a last ditch attempt and usually has few successes in my experience. By the time a woman shows up at the PP clinic she’s pretty much done for.
3. What I find unfathomable is the length of disruption Fr. Jenkins is prepared to accept simply to have a pro-abortion, pro-infanticide US President honored simply because he’s the first black US pres. Talk about trying to serve two masters.
I hear the plane outside my window as I work. No problem. Glad to hear it, because it’s the sound of the Church in action.
ND is situated on the East/West flyway to Chicago, and the South Bend airport is not far away at all, so we hear lots of planes overhead as they descend just a few hundred feet over campus. This one is propellor-driven, so its buzz is constant.
The banner right now diplays the remains (limbs, torso) of a ten-week old victim. This kind of direct confrontation is necessary, and it also galvanizes defenders of the innocent into action and confidence.
Don’t like it? Tough.
Your welcome Vannah, you’re cool.
Xalisae, You nailed it bro. (I assume you’re a bro.)
So many great comments from everyone. It really sounds like the swords of our arguments are sharpened and we’re ready for battle. Let’s all use this opportunity (ND) to make our opinions known to our family, friends and co-workers. Direct them to http://www.abortionNO.org
This is a tremendous opportunity! Let’s maximize it!
Ed,
“Xalisae, You nailed it bro. (I assume you’re a bro.)”
Xalisae is a sis, and a hardcore anti-abortion sis at that!
Xalisae,
So nice to see you back!! Last time you were here your husband was coming home on leave. HOW ARE YOU!! :)
Xalisae,
My apologies Sis!
Hey, I rippped off your Tell-Tale heart idea and submitted it for consideration in the abortion plane banner contest. I told them we should get two books as it was a team effort. If they can only provide one, it’s yours.
Ed
Ed,
“Just a quick word of clarification. I’m all for women’s rights. Frankly, I believe if men in general treated the women in their lives like they should, most women wouldn’t feel a need to fight for “equality” in many of these other issues. (We all know women are actually superior anyway, right?)”
I like the way you think! :^)
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
(Does anyone know how to type the “up-side-down” question mark and exclamation point which are used in Spanish?)
Carder, you speak Spanish, right?
Obama announced it as cinco de quatro yesterday.
People need to be repulsed by these photos because abortion *is* repulsive. If you’ve always believed “the products of conception” are nothing but balls of tissue, these giant fly-by posters will prove to you otherwise. Abortion is infanticide and some people will never get their heads out of the sand until they’ve been sufficiently horrified by the truth. Semantics and rhetoric just aren’t that powerful when a photo of a mutilated dead baby is right in front of your face.
xppc,
How embarrassing. It should have been “cuatro de Mayo” since he was celebrating yesterday at the White House. Dios mio!
The tele-prompter must be out of service. :^{
I’ve been well-trained Janet.
My ex wishes I’d take her back but no can do.
I just donated some money for the CBR Plane flying.
Oh, and is anyone else giving to the Paul Stefan maternity home? I gave because they send a Happy Mother’s Day eCard to your mother after you donate.