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DemocracyMouse

(2,275 posts)
Mon Feb 11, 2019, 11:52 PM Feb 2019

Please stop calling it "pro life"...

Language and imagery have more sway than most folks realize. If we were a nation who understood this we would treat the arts and entertainment more seriously, pay the creative community the same rate as lawyers to transform ghettos and strip malls into beautiful places, and we wouldn't let companies like Spotify and Ticketmaster screw musicians.

That said, if you want to stop Republicans from stealing your rights, start thinking like a Bob Dylan, a Kurt Cobain or NWA.

To wit:

"Pro life" is out.
"Forced maternal labor" is in (and just as bad as it sounds).

"Rich and poor" is out.
"Overpaid and underpaid" is in (and the solution to the problem is now embedded in the terms!)

"Socialism vs capitalism" is out.
"Infrastructure for a civic economy" is in.

"Left vs Right" is out.
"Rational vs irrational" is in.

...and if you're ready to push forward into a new Renaissance:

"God and goddess" are out.
"O Magnum Mysterium" is in!

16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Please stop calling it "pro life"... (Original Post) DemocracyMouse Feb 2019 OP
I call them pro birth. They couldn't care less about the babies after delivery. mobeau69 Feb 2019 #1
I call them forced birthers Major Nikon Feb 2019 #4
Yes. This. They don't care about life after birth. GoCubsGo Feb 2019 #16
Expanding on your observation... alwaysinasnit Feb 2019 #8
words matter. TeamPooka Feb 2019 #2
I don't think I ever have. Iggo Feb 2019 #3
They are "pro-life" in the sense that Communists used to say they were in favor of "peace"... First Speaker Feb 2019 #5
What they call "pro life" is really "anti choice" FakeNoose Feb 2019 #6
Technically, Everyone is Pro Life dlk Feb 2019 #7
Call it women's self determination deniers. lunatica Feb 2019 #9
Everyone I know is pro life - mahigan Feb 2019 #10
"Semantic warfare" is a great term! DemocracyMouse Feb 2019 #13
Misogynistic Fetus Fetishists. eggplant Feb 2019 #11
Pro-life is a myth. keithbvadu2 Feb 2019 #12
Hey guys.... any thoughts about the other alternative phrases? DemocracyMouse Feb 2019 #14
"Forced maternal labor" has tested pretty well! DemocracyMouse Feb 2019 #15

Major Nikon

(36,818 posts)
4. I call them forced birthers
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 12:57 AM
Feb 2019

They don't care about life before delivery either. If they did they would be campaigning for improved prenatal care in areas that have infant mortality rates that rival the 3rd world.

All they really care about is forcing women to give birth as they see that as the best way to control their sexuality.

GoCubsGo

(32,075 posts)
16. Yes. This. They don't care about life after birth.
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 10:55 AM
Feb 2019

Large swaths of them are also just fine with killing people via execution, war, or just for the sole fact that they are gay, black, of a different religion, etc.

First Speaker

(4,858 posts)
5. They are "pro-life" in the sense that Communists used to say they were in favor of "peace"...
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 01:00 AM
Feb 2019

...the use of totalitarian language to mean what they point to when they say the words...

FakeNoose

(32,594 posts)
6. What they call "pro life" is really "anti choice"
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 01:10 AM
Feb 2019

The right-wingers really aren't pro life anyway, they just want to take away everyone else's right to choose parenthood.

If they were really "pro life" then why do they favor indiscriminate proliferation of firearms? Why do they favor capital punishment? Why do they support police who gun down citizens in the street? Why do they want poverty-line American citizens to die by denying them access to affordable healthcare? When they call themselves "pro life" the right-wingers are only talking about about fetuses being carried to term, and nothing else. The quality of life of that child after it has been born is of no concern to them.

lunatica

(53,410 posts)
9. Call it women's self determination deniers.
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 01:57 AM
Feb 2019

Or for short just self-determination deniers. Because the issue is not just about abortion. It’s about self-determination in everything regarding one’s own body. You know, just like men already have.

mahigan

(85 posts)
10. Everyone I know is pro life -
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 02:00 AM
Feb 2019

Fortunately, I don't think I know anyone who is not pro choice.

This is symptomatic of a larger problem for those of us in the reality based community. We have been careless about allowing the right easy victories in semantic warfare. Whether it is "pro choice", turning "liberal'" into a dirty word or "fake news" being used to describe anyone other than Fox News". "Pro choice" is a misnomer that has caused us a lot of problems over the years along with far too many others. We need to take the power of words much more seriously.

keithbvadu2

(36,667 posts)
12. Pro-life is a myth.
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 02:43 AM
Feb 2019

Pro-life is a myth.

The supposed pro-lifers cared naught when the state of Texas (republican gov, republican Prez) deliberately killed living baby Sun Hudson against the mother's wishes because he was an inconvenience to the state.

It is not a matter of life to the supposed pro-lifers.

It is a matter of control.

DemocracyMouse

(2,275 posts)
15. "Forced maternal labor" has tested pretty well!
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 10:50 AM
Feb 2019

(And is just as bad as it sounds).

Any thumbs up/down/meh for the following?

"Rich and poor" is out.
"Overpaid and underpaid" is in (and the solution to the problem is now embedded in the terms!)

"Socialism vs capitalism" is out.
"Infrastructure for a civic economy" is in.

"Left vs Right" is out.
"Rational vs irrational" is in.

...and if you're ready to push forward into a new Renaissance:

"God and goddess" are out.
"O Magnum Mysterium" is in!

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