4 Little Girls + Dr. Tiller: 2 Murderous Acts At Churches

Last week I was having a conversation with someone about Katrina and how despite our having a Black President many people are still unable to return to New Orleans. The Obama administration has plans to offer mobile homes to some of those still displaced that are to be sans the chemicals that have made many sick. The person I was speaking with mentioned how much they enjoyed the Spike Lee documentary on Katrina. I thought it was some of his best work as well. I actually prefer when he sticks to historical events instead of feature films because he does not know how to write female characters. That got me thinking about his earlier documentary on the 16th Street church bombing that claimed the lives of 4 Little Girls. I believe we must continue to say their names so we don't forget they were human beings worthy of protection. Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson.

The use of violence at houses of worship by fundamentalists (or what I'd rather call racist/sexists hell-bent on dominating by terror and violence) is nothing new. It was a desperate exercise in maintaining white privilege that led some men to decide to kill African-Americans where they worshipped. It's a sacred place for some and tends to be a place of refuge for many. As if killing them on the streets and in their homes hadn't sufficed. Thankfully the public outrage was such that it gave others pause that there were some lines you don't cross. Unfortunately today there is no such decorum. As we examine the aftermath of the cold-blooded execution of Dr. George Tiller I cannot help but think how these scenarios are tied.

Here's an excerpt from an interview by Denene Millner with Maxine McNair from 1997:

MAXINE McNAIR: All bad things should be talked about, so that they won't be repeated. Otherwise one day the world is going to suddenly cease to be. We're letting hate take over - look at what happened in Oklahoma City. We're too busy listening to gossip while our lives are going to hell in a handbasket.....Maybe this movie will help people understand that it was something that didn't need to be. Violence just doesn't solve anything.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Yet I'm not necessarily getting the sense that many others are seeing the similarities. Not in who was harmed, but why. As well as the mentality behind those that are willing to carry out such acts of violence and violation. White supremacy is like a virus that mutates and like HIV it can't be cured. Any treatments used on it are swallowed up as it takes on another form to continue its decimation of the host body. The only thing you can do is take a certain medical cocktail that keeps it at bay but it requires daily diligence. Otherwise that's it!

Again, this isn't about arguing about whether abortion is "okay". If it doesn't involve you personally you just need to mind your own business. Dr. Tiller's clinic, Women's Health Care Services Inc. will now permanently close. All the women he serviced - including the ones who did carry their pregnancies to term - now have to seek another health care provider. If it was me I'd be so angry...and scared. Wealthy women and those with connections will ALWAYS be able to get the care they need. It's the working class, poor and women and girls of color who will get the short end of the stick.

Now is NOT the time to stand on the sidelines watching. It's psychological warfare, but I'd also dare to hope that it will result in a shift in consciousness as well as policy. Like combating HIV. People were forced to adapt new behaviors in order to prevent the epidemic from wiping out the majority population. We may not ever be able to get humans to stop trying to kill each other or derive pleasure from oppressing others, but we can certainly lessen the payoff for them to do so.

Abortion: Why Not Talking About It Lets the Terrorists Win

You know I give out a weekly "Award of Shame" and it's serious but I try to present it while being tongue-in-cheek. Yesterday's went to "White Men Howling At the Moon". Apparently some of them feel their death grip on power slipping and they must maintain control - or else. Historically we've seen what those with power will do to maintain order and exert control over others. We saw the emergence of the Klu Klux Klan after the period of forced enslavement ended. We see the continued rage-a-thon by the Republicans against the current Democratic President that is being supported by corporate media.

Now we have the murder of Dr. George Tiller, an OB/GYN in Witchita who was shot to death while at church. Let's chew on that one for a minute. The man was at church and murdered by another (white) man who didn't like the fact that amongst all of the services he provided, one of them was pregnancy termination.  Abortions are a controversial subject to be sure. I do believe that if men could get pregnant all the fighting over reproductive choices would not be an issue. Let's get to nitty gritty, shall we? Personal feelings and religious dogma aside this has always been about control over what a woman (or girl) can and can NOT do with her own body. 

From having sex to engaging in sex work, laws and religion interpreted by men from a male perspective for the benefit of men have usually ruled the day. Women who were independent thinkers have been branded witches. The role of women who were early followers of Christ have been downplayed by those interpreting the Bible. The Inquisition focused on courtesans. The Pope wanted Queen Elizabeth I assassinated.  Women don't get pregnant by themselves but they bear the burden of living with whatever consequences occur. 

In a perfect world there'd be no need for abortions. Women wouldn't be raped, molested or abused either. Governments - esp the United States would actually put their money where they claim their values are and provide top-notch (free or low cost) health care, child care and paid time off for both parents. Housing wouldn't cost some people 2/3s of their income. We wouldn't have to work 50+ hours just to try to make ends meat. Now I'm certain in this capitalistic, material-possession obsessed country living below one's means has a profound effect on the self-esteem of many. Yet why allow companies to keep putting out new shiny unaffordable objects every six months?

The President made a statement about how "acts of violence" don't resolve the "difficult issue of abortion", but this is about domestic terrorism! Health care providers should never have to be forced to decide whether to assist others when their own personal safety is at stake be it from a war-torn area, to a lower-income neighborhood to gender-based services. Obama needs to make it clear these acts will not be tolerated in this country anymore. 

Dr. Tiller had been under constant threat, his clinic bombed and he'd been previously shot! Operation Rescue - which should be classified a terrorist organization - posted Dr. Tiller's home address and church. Yet he still provided care. Please tell me why law enforcement doesn't take it up a notch or three when such an act of violence occurs? It may be about a medical facility today but will be about a power plant tomorrow if they don't learn to respond to these attacks appropriately. 

Where's a woman to go if providers refuse services out of fear of retribution and violence? Or refuse them for "religious" purposes? It isn't going to stop the need for such services. I realize many are opposed to abortion - even those that have them - but this is not the time to stay in your protective bubble. Just like the rise of degradation in music that has specifically denigrated Black women, the tide will keep rising until it reaches your door. Living your life of quiet dignity does nothing to help those exposed to the harshness of reality or a less sheltered and protected existence. When we allow bad things to go unchecked we are in fact contributing towards the demise of the greater society as a whole. 

Again personal beliefs and religion aside we have the (concept of) separation of church and state for a reason. We who have been marginalized in some way must take special heed to not turn on others lest we wind up in an even worse predicament than before. Those of us who know better must not shut our doors and stick fingers in our ears until "it all goes away". That's about recognizing how the actions of militant groups, to television commentators making up controversies, to how the "entertainment" industry reinforces a gutter mentality is a threat to our greater society as a whole. That's not focusing on negativity - it's a reality check. We have to see these actions as another battle in a very long war being waged in this country. If successful it will spread to other things that some of us hold dear. By then it will be too late. We'll have no one else to blame but ourselves if we stood by watching passively as the world crashed around our feet.