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The Bush Administration and the Politics of "Punishment"
Question for you. I am an African-American female in my twenties. What would you guess is the leading cause of death for someone like me? A pretty morbid question I know, but one worth asking. When most of us think of someone dying young, we think of circumstances both unexpected and beyond our control--an accident or in rare cases an unforeseen and unavoidable illness.
But what if I told you that the leading cause of death among young black women is AIDS? If you were unaware of this troubling statistic you would not be alone. I remember watching the vice-presidential debate between candidates Cheney and Edwards in 2004 and listening as they both fumbled when confronted by moderator Gwen Ifill with a question about these numbers. I was reminded of this moment during the recent pseudo-controversy surrounding Sen. Barack Obama's comments regarding sexual education. During a town hall in Pennsylvania Sen. Obama said the following:
"When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include -- which should include abstinence education and teaching the children -- teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. You know, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."
Conservatives immediately pounced on the comment, focusing on Obama's use of the word "punished". While it's arguable that his word choice could have been more thoughtful (after all one woman's punishment is another woman's miracle) his overall message was right on target, but seemed to get lost in the ensuing brouhaha.
Conservative stalwart Michelle Malkin, well known for her gift for subtlety and understatement (and yes I am being sarcastic), weighed in with a blog titled "Obama and the punishment of unborn life". While this hysteria was not particularly surprising, it was still disappointing because yet again the political chattering classes (of which I must now confess to being a part of) chose to ignore the real issue at hand in favor of the juicier, more controversial--and yes sexier--story, even though in this case that story wasn't really there.
What is clear from Obama's full statement, which not all media outlets ran (surprise, surprise) is that he was discussing pregnancy prevention not abortion. This is not to say that Obama is in line with those who oppose abortion rights, but it is to say that while many of us may disagree on the issue of abortion, most of us can agree that the fewer women forced to make the choice to have one, the better. That means, in theory at least, we should be able to find some common ground on issues such as contraception.
Obama in particular has good reason to worry--and not just because of the AIDS rates that may face his daughters when they reach adulthood. According to the Centers for Disease Control 1 in 4 teen girls ages 14 to 19 has one STD. That's nearly 3 million teens. But among black girls the numbers are staggering. Nearly half of all black teen girls have at least one STD.
Proof that President Bush's abstinence only education solution has worked like a charm.
Perhaps Michelle Malkin and her conservative cohorts found Obama's comments so disturbing because they are worried that he won't be able to adequately fill the current president's oh-so impressive shoes on this issue. Because with soaring AIDS rates and STDs plaguing our nation's children, clearly the Bush administration has set the bar really high.
If we can agree on nothing else, we should be able to agree that our children deserve better. Haven't they been punished enough?
Follow Keli Goff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keligoff
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If you got to her blog you can see how mean and slanderous the right wingers are. There is s photo of John Kerry eating pizza that they make fun of and the bloggers make statements that liberals don't like children. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We can get a big picture of their same tired old strategy playing itself out in favor of an old warmonger with a penchant for blondes.
Obama is good at cutting through the BS. Not only is a 16 year old not ready to enjoy a baby, if she keeps the baby she and it are going to have a life long struggle. And if they get AIDS, that struggle will be shorter and more brutal. Teenagers think they are invincible and will not get STDs. They might as well have a realistic look at just how old and tired and broke they are going to feel if a baby comes along.
Let the Michelle Malkins of the country have their say because they appeal to no one other than the 28 percenters who still support Bush. Frankly, I would encourage people of her ilk to continue to bitch, moan, misrepresent, misconstrue, lie, detract from and obscure he facts because their time is rapidly coming to a close as the general populace begins to get a clue.
Michelle Malkin is a blowpoke. If her post on this topic is indicative of her other posts, she simply equivocates Barack's comments, then cuts and pastes two reaction-posts she stoked from somewhere in the internet.
So do you think the young Frat-Boy George W Bush didn't have the cash or the connections to finance the abortions of the girls he got pregnant during his youthful indiscretions?
I am certain he was never responsible enough to worry his little head about birth control.
Unless of course he is, as I suspect, a closeted gay. I think Gannon/Guckert was visiting GW at the White House sleep overs.
I'm still disturbed by the fact that the "conservative" groups who are anti-abortion are also anti-birth control, and anti-sex-ed!
Actually, it makes sense when you get down to it. There have been some awfully "juicy" sex scandals among conservatives. Perhaps if they didn't preach abstinence, anti birth control and anti sex-ed, they wouldn't be so damned freaky!!
Yeah, they're so repressed that they can't stand sex themselves, and they can't stand the thought of others enjoying something that's MEANT to be enjoyable!
And the states that have the most stringent restrictions on abortion are the very same ones that have the least in the way of social safety nets for the poor, single moms and kids.
Feminism gone wild
I completely agree with Obama's phrasing. Pregnancy is a punishment within the context on teenage pregnancy. Kids are ill prepared and girls are often left to fend for themselves. If we know that it can be prevented then why would we limit ourselves to one unsuccessful solution? Politics. The radical right have delivered for politicians in the past and therefore must be pandered to. I guess of all the promises that have been made, abstinence only sex "education" could actually be fulfilled. I suppose amending the Constitution to finally make gay marriage permanently illegal was a little harder than they thought.
They even have Baby Think It over dolls in schools. Maybe we should stop that program?
I don't see any of these so-called "pro-lifers" adopting these unwanted babies.....do you? Why don't they spend their fortune raising these kids that are born to teenagers who don't want them? They'd rather see them being thrown into a trash bin on some dark alley? Makes for good news I guess, but all these right-to-lifers should put their money where their mouths are. Sure they can say that Obama calls unwanted babies a "punishment". They're all rich, probably have one or no kids. I honestly think that they're only out there critisizing anyone who attempts to control unwanted pregnancies because it their bank accounts get fatter when they publish or appear on shows with their so-called "concerns".
Get real people. If you're so against young girls having unwanted babies, adopt them all and see how "great" it really is! Spend some of your fortune on these kids instead of on fancy restaurants and parties. When you're down and out and can't find any help, THEN you may critisize. Otherwise, keep your traps shut.
Yeah, they don't want it to be considered a punishment, and they don't want the baby aborted, but once it's born, they don't give a damn if the poor child is thrown on the garbage heap!
Well, you;ve got so many arguments against you there, Sophie! First of all, all these rich white Christians are not going to adopt black babies when they can wait 18 years to use them in some retroactive abortion in Iraq (we'll still be there) or Iran (we'll probably be there). They criticise the pro-lifers because they themselves can get taken care of oh-so quietly like they did before abortion was legalised. If they get Roe/Wade overturned, Buffy and Britney will still flying first class to Sweeden for a hush-hush abortion while Raven will be back to spending all her hard earned cash on an illegal procedure that might easily kill her. Pro-life is just another tool of racism to add to the biblical verses about Cain and Ham. Oh yeah, it's a handy tool for anti-feminism too.
I agree ....these are the same people that are against abortions but want kids to go to war.
Heaven forbid that any politician speak to us as if we are adults. They are so focused on the blessing of life but once it is born they will say "You are on your own now and you should have thought of how to raise it before you acted like a tramp..."
The number one reason for lifelong poverty is teenage pregnancy.
Very true...
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