Rachel’s Park Memorial vandalized
by Bethany Kerr
Rachel’s Park Memorial in Waco, TX, was dedicated in 2000 to help post-abortive families grieve their losses.
On February 1 or 2, Rachel’s Park Memorial was vandalized last Friday or Saturday.
Of the 4,000 crosses which stand in memorial to the same number of children aborted each day in the U.S., 200 to 300 were destroyed by a vehicle, most likely a Jeep or an SUV .
Park founder Rev. Rusty Thomas reported, “The crosses were planted into the ground with steel rebar,” so the vehicle doing the damage likely sustained its own damage.
Waco Police are investigating whether this was a hate crime or mischief.
See more photos of the damage on page 2.
[HT: Thomas]
Feb.06, 2008 8:27 am |
Political anti-life bias |
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I’m wondering…What kind of person would be driven to do this kind of vandalism/ hate crime?
Why would the sight of memorial crosses to the unborn provoke this?
*SIGH*.. very similar to the uprooting of the crosses at the Aurora PP a while back….
well, I agree that it was a criminal act, and unfortunate. As to “why would the sight of memorial crosses to the unborn provoke this?” If it was done because of the content of the memorial and not just some random jerkiness, I don’t think it’s a mystery what would provoke it. “memorial crosses to the unborn” make some people think that you want to give rights to the “unborn” and take away the right of women to terminate pregnancies. That makes some people very very angry.
SO, Hal…getting people “very angry” over a hotlly debated issue justifies this type of action? What happened to “tolerance”?
Right to Life is a God-given right and is guaranteed by the US Constituion.
Hal,
I suppose its like those people who vandalize Jewish syngogues and cemetaries. This is done because of the content of the synagogues and Jewish cemetaries and not random jerkiness. Its certainly no mystery what would provoke such intolerance and vandalism. The presence of synagogues and Jewish cemetaries makes some people think that we want to give rights to Jewish people and even suggests that Jewish people deserve the respect afforded any human being. This makes some people very, very angry.
It looks like random jerkiness.
Anyone out to make a statement would have destroyed more than 5% of the memorial, and probably left a message.
My guess would be a drunk 17-year-old and his a-hole friends, and when Mom sees what he did to her SUV she’ll provide more punishment than the law can.
I thought I was clear. This action is not justified. I condemn it. I hope the catch who did it and prosecute them. I think it was wrong. I was just responding to your puzzlement about why such a memorial would provoke such feelings.
As to “right to life,” I don’t see that in the U.S. Constitution. It’s in the Declaration of Independence, but I don’t think they were talking about the right to be born.
I suppose its like those people who vandalize Jewish syngogues and cemetaries. This is done because of the content of the synagogues and Jewish cemetaries and not random jerkiness. Its certainly no mystery what would provoke such intolerance and vandalism.
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Yeah, but hate crimes are usually better thought out, and usually a branded with a message; burnng crosses, nooses, swastikas, etc…
(Bet they freaked when they figured out the crosses had been enforced with rebar. That does the kind of damage that will take professional repair – EXPENSIVE PROFESSIONAL REPAIR. Someone will turn in those cretins…)
“…cretins…”
I forgot about that word! That’s a good word. We should use that word more.
Hal,
…and I was just explaining why a Jewish synagogue or cemetary might also provoke “such feelings”.
Also Hal, unless you conduct a seance, can you know for certain what our Founding Fathers were thinking? I’m sure they realized that without being born the right to life didn’t amount to much of anything.
Laura, okay, but based on your logic, you must also agree that abortion clinics which are vandalized are not always the actions of an anti-abortion activist. If there is no message left behind, then we must conclude it is probably just random jerkiness.
Yeah, but hate crimes are usually better thought out, and usually a branded with a message; burnng crosses, nooses, swastikas, etc…
(Bet they freaked when they figured out the crosses had been enforced with rebar. That does the kind of damage that will take professional repair – EXPENSIVE PROFESSIONAL REPAIR. Someone will turn in those cretins…)
You suuuuure know a lot about hate crimes Laura….
FF,
Like you I’m inclined to think this was some random act of vandalism that could easily be perpetrated by some high school kid. They may not have done more damage because they didn’t have time or a passing patrol car scared them off.
It like the time a plastic grenade was tied to the door of our local abortion clinic. You should have heard the howling against “right to lifers” though this was something any middle school student could have done. Also the person responsible was never caught. It was a prank, however sick.
Also, my intent was to turn Hal’s argument against him. I suppose we can “understand” people’s anger, but this is no way “explains” their criminal acts.
I suppose its like those people who vandalize Jewish syngogues and cemetaries. This is done because of the content of the synagogues and Jewish cemetaries and not random jerkiness. Its certainly no mystery what would provoke such intolerance and vandalism. The presence of synagogues and Jewish cemetaries makes some people think that we want to give rights to Jewish people and even suggests that Jewish people deserve the respect afforded any human being. This makes some people very, very angry.
Mary, awesome.
Laura, okay, but based on your logic, you must also agree that abortion clinics which are vandalized are not always the actions of an anti-abortion activist. If there is no message left behind, then we must conclude it is probably just random jerkiness.
Posted by: Bethany at February 6, 2008 10:25 AM
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That’s very true.
Once our local clinic tried to have two teenagers prosecuted under hate crimes statutes for breaking property at the facility. It was pretty stupid considering that the same kids vandalized every business in that particular strip mall.
The request was denied.
Same thing happened when a teen changed the “Chanukkah Party” sign at a local temple to read “Chaka Khan Party.” The offended party wanted to try it as a hate crime, but the judge would have none of it.
The guy who torched those clinics in New Mexico wasn’t commiting a hate crime, the guy was trying to stop his ex-girlfriend from having an abortion. He should be tried for arson, but not neccessarity hate crimes or terrorism.
Could be some drunk kid running off the road, too. I would lean towards random act of jerkiness if anything, because the damage looks not well thought out as if they decided to do it on a whim (or they were drunk and ran off the road). If it had been planned they would have tried to convey some kind of message (spray painting something foul, hate speech or swastikas) or done more complete damage.
When my sister and her friends were playfully vandalizing their rival’s football field they had a clear idea what they were going to do, they made signs, gathered supplies (toilet paper, plastic forks, etc), and planned how they would go about doing it in a timely fashion.
Laura, I am very happy to say that I agree with your 10:43 post. :-)
“As to “right to life,” I don’t see that in the U.S. Constitution. It’s in the Declaration of Independence, but I don’t think they were talking about the right to be born.
Posted by: Hal
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My mistake on the Constitution/ Declaration source..
What else could “right to life” mean, Hal?
If there’s no life, the other rights (liberty, pursuit of happiness..etc) would be meaningless…
JKeller 10:47:
Random act of jerkiness is my opinion too. What do you do with the plastic forks?
Well who vandalizes any graveyard? I know it’s always sad to see a broken gravestone. Whenever I’m in a graveyard I always make time to say a few little prayers, pick up any liter and maybe put a wildflower next to a grave. It’s nice you know? Anyway I’m sorry these gravestones were ruined, the people should be able to grieve however they want. Maybe next time they’ll just put the gravestones someplace quiet though, they’ll probably be easier to take care of.
Why aren’t there names on the crosses? I don’t see any names.
” Maybe next time they’ll just put the gravestones someplace quiet though, they’ll probably be easier to take care of.”
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What’s more quiet than the open lawn area of a Church?
It’s not the location, it’s the message that this vandal hates. And according to the Waco officer at the site…it looks “intentional” not a random act of jerkiness.
Of course it was intentional, even a random act of jerkiness is intentional. I’m saying it might be easier for parents to morn in private. Like most graveyards are set away from houses and buildings in general. So people can morn in peace.
Or if they wanted it close to them they could put it in their own yard, so they can see it every time they want.
“When my sister and her friends were playfully vandalizing their rival’s football field they had a clear idea what they were going to do, they made signs, gathered supplies (toilet paper, plastic forks, etc), and planned how they would go about doing it in a timely fashion.”
Ahh, brings back memories. Except we used cat food and maxi pads (with wings!).
Rachel’s Park Memorial in Waco, TX, was dedicated in 2000 to help post-abortive families grieve their losses.
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How on earth does this help them? If anything, I think it would make them feel worse. Was the park created to remind people how many abortions take place on a daily basis, or a place for post-abortive families to go to mourn? Like Jess said, there are no names on the crosses. Do post-abortive families actually go here to mourn, and if so, which cross represents their unborn child? I’m just a bit confused.
Either way, the vandilism is terrible. Probably would have been much worse if weren’t for the rebar.
Janet:
The forks are for “forking” a yard. Basically you take a bunch of forks and shove them into the ground. You can spell out things too, so the owner of the yard gets a big surprise the next morning.
JKeller,
Fork knives, lets spoon.
hahahaha!!
The article above says the 4000 crosses stand in memory of the babies killed by abortion EACH DAY in the U.S.A. Most aborted babies have no name, no grave. Nothing.
The parents should put up graves if they want, not you. It’s not like the aborted fetus is standing around all upset because s/he doesn’t have a grave. And I think we went over it here that there are not in fact 4,000 abortions a day.
Jess,
There was a similar display of crosses at the Planned Parenthood in Aurora, IL. They are NOT actually graves. The purpose of the display was to bring attention to the fact that babies are being killed inside these so-called clinics. (It’s easy for people to forget.)
Planned Parenthood Aurora (opened Sept. 2007) snuck into town by using a different name. It is in a nice strip mall right next to a Blockbuster Video and a Dominick’s Grocery Store. Just across the street condo owners can sit out on their patios in plain view of the building. There are huge sports facilities that kids from all over the area come to just down the street. A mile east is a major mall surrounded by strip malls. There are about 5 or 6 high schools (maybe more) within about 10 miles of the place.
If you’ve never prayed at an abortion clinic you might want to sometime. It is a profound experience that you’ll never forget.
“The parents should put up graves if they want, not you. It’s not like the aborted fetus is standing around all upset because s/he doesn’t have a grave. And I think we went over it here that there are not in fact 4,000 abortions a day.”
Posted by: Jess at 2:02 PM
Again, these are not graves, we bury them out of respect.
Bethany 10:37am
Thank you.
If you’ve never prayed at an abortion clinic you might want to sometime. It is a profound experience that you’ll never forget.
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Your deity can’t hear you when you pray at home?
Do you only broadcast short-range prayers?
For me, I wanted a place to go, to grieve my babies. I put a stone in my backyard that I can see out my kitchen window. It has all of their names on the back. When you miscarry or abort and regret it, there is no “place” to go….
Rachel’s Park Memorial in Waco, TX, was dedicated in 2000 to help post-abortive families grieve their losses.
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How does erecting crosses help another person grieve? Are the crosses taken down when the ‘post abortive families’ are done grieving?
Sounds more like a complete lack of concern for women that have aborted and a strange and sick need to assign guilt to complete strangers. No one is naive enough to believe that one single one of these crosses were actually requested by a family or anyone else. It’s advertising an agenda. And as FF says, someone’s mom is going to be pissed when she finds her SUV full of cross splinters.
Again, these are not graves, we bury them out of respect.
Posted by: Janet at February 6, 2008 2:38 PM
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Actually, you lack respect. You are burying nothing, You represent no one beyond yourself.
You shame yourself Sally. Really.
Actually Carla, in Sally’s crude way of making a point, I do agree with her. These crosses, from at least what I presume, are not a memorial for individual aborted babies, but a reminder to all of how many babies are being aborted each day. They are a “message of numbers”, not a memorial, per se.
Now, that being said, I had to post this because I was thinking that wouldn’t it be wonderful if the folks at Silent No More can actually have a physical memorial place, like the one in the article, containing crosses or what have you, that are actually dedicated by post-abortive mothers to their babies that would have their babies names inscribed in them? I don’t know if such a place exists, but I think it would send much more of message to actually see memorials for babies from post-abortive parents that actually regret their abortions. The babies are given names and maybe an inscription by his/her parent and would represent the individual baby instead of a mass of “unknowns” that represent a number.
I don’t know, just a thought.
You shame yourself Sally. Really.
Posted by: Carla at February 6, 2008 8:10 PM
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Of course I don’t. That is your gig. Lacking respect for the lives and experiences of others of course.
Sunshine,
On the Operation Outcry website
http://www.operationoutcry.org there is something
called Cry Without a Voice. It’s in the left sidebar.
Very powerful.
There are several memorials across the nation. Too tired to find them. Must get sleeeeeeeep.
You don’t need sleep Carla, sleep is the drug of the weak.
Thanks, Carla! I’ll check it out!
Good night, & sweet dreams!
Sally, : with all due respect, I’m not following your posts.
“Again, these are not graves, we bury them out of respect.”
A bad choice of words on my part. I/we are NOT burying anyone.
How am I being disrespectful? Aren’t we free to grieve for anyone?
Sunshine: I see it as a memorial too. That’s only my opinion.
FF: I go out to the site to pray for each and every woman who is walking through those doors, that she will change her mind before it is too late. I pray for the conversion of the hearts of the doctors and workers. I pray for the garbage man who has to come by because it’s his job, etc….It’s better to do it there than at home where there are many distractions. And God says, “where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am also.”
Carla, 7:32,
I can appreciate how you feel. God bless you.
Jess,
Good Morning!!!
Call me weak. :) I feel like a new person!!
Sally,
I try to see things from your point of view. It just makes me so sad. You find something negative in everything. I do hope that you have beauty and joy and happiness in your life. I will keep praying for you.
Janet,
God Bless You too!
As far as memorials go, who is to say what helps another grieve? Grief is such an intensely personal thing and public memorials can and do help. I will not presume that all “post abortive families” are finding healing there. I do not know. Maybe the church as a congregation decided to do this and so they did. They have their reasons. I am sorry that someone destroyed so many of the crosses.
Where I used to teach there was a church across the street with a little bench and a heart shaped statue. It was dedicated to mothers who mourn for their aborted babies. I, for one would sit there and appreciated so much that they acknowledged my grief.
Considering how little damage was done (for f***s sake just stick em back in the ground) it seems to be the act of hooligans rather than actual intentional vandalism.
Personally aslong as this thing isn’t near a rode I drive I couldn’t care less.
Carla: Must get sleeeeeeeep.
Here’s a pretty righteous-looking one:
Oh, you said, “sleep….”
Doug,
That’s baaaaaaaaaad. :)