Salute Your Shvarts?
Congratulations, Aliza Shvarts, the better angels of my nature have lost out to the demons that see fit to put your name on the internet one more time!
I had a sneaking suspicion that this was a hoax, but I’m glad it’s now confirmed loud and clear. Really, folks, if causing miscarriages were that easy, would Baby have had to risk losing her Daddy’s good opinion in order to help Johnny un-knock Penny up? I hope my (awesome) jokes are coming off as relieved rather than callous. The truth of the matter is that I spent much of the day completely floored by this.
My reaction to stumbling across the whole brouhaha was visceral and explicit. I was disgusted and saddened and absolutely livid. My first thought was actually a fervent prayer that a family member who recently went through a devastating miscarriage wouldn’t come across this at work today. My second thought was really more of a passion. I wanted to soundly excoriate Aliza Shvarts, in person, for making a complete mockery of the reproductive rights American women have to fight every day to preserve from the anti-choice hoards who have already gleefully begun using this ridiculous display as ammunition in their tireless crusade against women’s rights over their own bodies.
It may be her body, but it’s our cause. Aliza Shvarts had no right to wound it the way she did. It may be art, but it’s destructive and gross. More reactionary ill than progressive good will come of this. Nonetheless, people are talking, which is what she says she wanted all along…
3 responses so far
Is this one of those times when the thought is as equally reprehensible as the deed? And where McLuhan was indeed prescient?
You guys/gals are smart… and Garrett should enable comments all the time.
In terms of political fall-out, the thought is perhaps more reprehensible than the deed. The Conservative rationale can now be: “At this point, it would have been perfectly legal for this woman to do what she said she did. She didn’t, thank God, so how can we make it so that no one ever can?”
On its face though, it’s obviously better that the deed was never done. For the sake of Shvarts’ health, and because images of these “self-induced miscarriages” (which, um, is called abortion last time I checked…) will never hit YouTube, I am grateful that this stayed a thought only.
I think McLuhan definitely has a part to play in analysis of this kerfuffle. If the blogosphere is the medium… is the blogosphere the message? Trippy.
Also, thanks. You seem pretty smart yourself. I’ll see what I can do about the comments.
…’so that no one ever can’…
I don’t think her action will enter the overall debate… she had her Warholinan minutes and will quickly fade to black, I think.
I certainly agree that better it wasn’t done and for the reasons you give. But the idea of someone being smart enough to think up such a thing and not being smart enough to not do it… is depressing.
Blogosphere… medium/message. I think so. Trippy indeed.