WE PAUSE THIS BLOGCAST FOR A MESSAGE FROM A DISGRUNTLED READER
GUESS WHAT I GOT IN MY INBOX THIS MORNING?
COURTESY OF M.STUTZMAN
"Not sure when I happened on your blog. I adopted my son this Feb after a 3 year paper chase/journey. So somewhere in that mix I must have enjoyed your site, and tabbed it.
I know full well what I have to say and feel will not change your mind any more than your will change mine. But after the uneducated brewhaha I keep reading on a blog that I assume was intended on being"family" oriented or for your children, I have to ask, or rather say.... What are you thinking? I am so glad abortion is illegal in the country in which you and I adopted from! Sad your an avid promoter for a candidate whom has no problems with killing unborn children while promoting the opposite by adopting a child. I don't get it. Adopt or let them be aborted, what's your call?
Deleting my tab for your "children's adoption journal" that has become a politic bashing site supporting a candidate for aborting children. It states Adoption and love blog on the top of your page, but all I read is hostility and anger.
I'll be praying for you and the loss of children per your vote.
I know full well what I have to say and feel will not change your mind any more than your will change mine. But after the uneducated brewhaha I keep reading on a blog that I assume was intended on being"family" oriented or for your children, I have to ask, or rather say.... What are you thinking? I am so glad abortion is illegal in the country in which you and I adopted from! Sad your an avid promoter for a candidate whom has no problems with killing unborn children while promoting the opposite by adopting a child. I don't get it. Adopt or let them be aborted, what's your call?
Deleting my tab for your "children's adoption journal" that has become a politic bashing site supporting a candidate for aborting children. It states Adoption and love blog on the top of your page, but all I read is hostility and anger.
I'll be praying for you and the loss of children per your vote.
UNSIGNED
BUT FROM THIS EMAIL ADDRESS: m.stutzman@insightbb.com
MY RESPONSE
a.k.a. "Jane you ignorant slut"
First of all, abortion is not illegal in China. It is, in fact, state-sponsored. Did you know that if a woman is found to be pregnant without a birth permit, the government will sometimes forcibly abort her baby? Even late in the pregnancy, when the baby could live outside the womb. On the other hand, having an ultrasound to determine the gender of your unborn child *is* illegal in China, and the whole reason it is illegal is because so many women choose to have abortions when they find out they are carrying girls.
Second, neither Barack Obama nor I have "no problems with killing unborn children." The forced abortions China performs are deplorable, as are the sex-selective abortions so many women choose there. My personal opinion on abortion is this: I would only choose it if I were in a desperate situation, and even then, it would be a devastating choice and most likely the worst experience of my life. I believe this is true of the vast majority of women who have abortions in our country. Only a very few, the pathological, have abortions without struggling over the decision and feeling the emotional pain it brings. I can't imagine many situations in my own life where I would choose to have an abortion, and I don't want to. They're all terrible. Abortion is a terrible choice to have to make for women in awful situations where there usually are no good choices. I have heard Obama say very much the same thing; I know he shares my opinion on abortion.
The difference between me & Obama and you is that we don't expect the rest of the world to live according to our beliefs. We respect your right to choose NOT to have an abortion. Why can't you respect other women's choices?
Last but not least, if you don't like my blog, don't visit. But don't call what I say "uneducated brewhaha" (I'll educate you a little, actually: it's "brouhaha"). I am an intelligent, educated, and open-minded woman. I wish for peace in our world, education for all children, affordable & high-quality health care for every man woman and child, enough food on all tables, and warm beds under solid roofs for all of mankind. I also respect the educated and thoughtful opinions of those who disagree with me. I do not, however, respect the ignorant parroting of lies and half-truths spouted by people who don't respect me or my right to make choices about my own life.
Second, neither Barack Obama nor I have "no problems with killing unborn children." The forced abortions China performs are deplorable, as are the sex-selective abortions so many women choose there. My personal opinion on abortion is this: I would only choose it if I were in a desperate situation, and even then, it would be a devastating choice and most likely the worst experience of my life. I believe this is true of the vast majority of women who have abortions in our country. Only a very few, the pathological, have abortions without struggling over the decision and feeling the emotional pain it brings. I can't imagine many situations in my own life where I would choose to have an abortion, and I don't want to. They're all terrible. Abortion is a terrible choice to have to make for women in awful situations where there usually are no good choices. I have heard Obama say very much the same thing; I know he shares my opinion on abortion.
The difference between me & Obama and you is that we don't expect the rest of the world to live according to our beliefs. We respect your right to choose NOT to have an abortion. Why can't you respect other women's choices?
Last but not least, if you don't like my blog, don't visit. But don't call what I say "uneducated brewhaha" (I'll educate you a little, actually: it's "brouhaha"). I am an intelligent, educated, and open-minded woman. I wish for peace in our world, education for all children, affordable & high-quality health care for every man woman and child, enough food on all tables, and warm beds under solid roofs for all of mankind. I also respect the educated and thoughtful opinions of those who disagree with me. I do not, however, respect the ignorant parroting of lies and half-truths spouted by people who don't respect me or my right to make choices about my own life.
Please don't bother praying for me. I am insulted that you would think my dearly-held beliefs place me in need of prayers from you to your god.
Let that be the last of it. Please consider that this is MY family journal, that I am raising MY children to believe in hope, truth, faith and love...and I answer to no one but MY God.
NOTE: SHOULD ANY CONTENT OF THIS BLOG MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM READING IT.
MY NAME IS HAYLEY AND I APPROVED THIS MESSAGE
UPDATE: She wrote back...and called my blog a family/political blaspheme blog...among other niceties...wow, that's some down home Christian loving! So Ms Shelly Stutzman of Sellersburg, Indiana, Bethany Christian Adoption Agency...push delete, and don't let my blog hit you in the arse on the way out.
36 comments:
one word:
BRAVO!!!!!!!!!
Oh my. Your response was kinder than mine might have been. It also hits close to home. I've watched my kind and loving mother, who pretty overwhelmingly supports Democratic ideals, become a single issue voter, and now a Republican because of this very issue. If I hear one more person on the news use the term "pro abortion" to describe those who are "pro choice," I'm going to scream.
I am VERY anti-abortion, but I am also pro-choice. I overwhelmingly believe that we should be doing whatever we can to make abortions less necessary.
Oh, on a lighter note, I bought Ellie the silky shirt I loved of Piper's (just in blue rather than brown, to be a little original), and she finally wore it yesterday. When I reminded her that Piper had a shirt like it, she insisted that I call her Piper for at least two hours. It was hilarious...
Go Hayley! Go Hayley! Go Hayley!
Hayley, she was upset you did not talk about ladybugs in your blog.
Great post.
Very eloquently said. It's a matter of respecting personal choice, not "promoting the killing of unborn children". It's also a matter of knowing that none of us can know the circumstances, beliefs and religions of everyone else on this planet, and that it's important to respect that diversity.
I'm afraid I simply can't see where this person finds it in him or herself to call you "uneducated", particularly when he or she clearly has very little grasp of the English language. Grammar and spelling are less than rudimentary in that email ("a candidate whom has...?" I don't even know where to begin with that sentence).
Might I just add that politics IS a family matter. It's a family matter because it concerns the shaping of the world in which our children will live out their lives. Is there any greater family concern than that?
That's so funny, because all I read in M. Stutzman's comment is hostility and anger ... and fear.
Well I for one LOVE your blog.
And the political commentary that comes along with it!
In agreement w/the previous poster - it IS a family matter. It's up to us to protect our rights for our children/grandchildrens futures.
Overturning Roe v Wade would set women back 30 years. What's next? The right to vote?
If one of my daughters wanted an abortion, I would do my best to talk her out of it; but - more important is that she have the RIGHT to make the choice. And that is something I will stand for until my dying breath.
(walks away dragging her soap box behind)
I've always wondered why people who will no longer read a blog take the time to tell the blogger that fact - as if an email from them would make the blogger change their life-beliefs?
Oh well, parting shots (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthian_shot) are just too good to be avoided, I suppose.
Rock on, sista, Rock on!!!
I too will reiterate:
PRO-CHOICE does NOT mean PRO-ABORTION.
Wow. It never ceases to amaze me the nastiness people will spew on other people's blogs. I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets this kind of crap. I have gotten some downright cruel comments on mine latelt(although not about politics. Rather about my (in)ability to parent a child.
I(and my twin sister) was adopted domestically at birth. I am pro-choice. I wish I had a dollar for every time someont gasped when they heard this fact. Pro choice is not pro abortion. Period.
I don't have much to add, but have to say you answered completly and truthful. I also don't get why she felt the need to tell you she was no longer going to read, just go.
I am LOVING your blog and so glad I found it. I have lost readers too due to my believe that no one should push their beliefs on others and being an Obama supporter; honestly, I don't care. I only hope these people forget to vote or come down with a bout of 24 hour diarrhea on Nov. 4th.
You rock. End of story.
Perfectly stated - you rock, sista.
Oh.My.G-d. Where the hell does she get off? How dare she judge you for your views! It's so easy for these so called christians to sit and judge others but until you have walked in the shoes of someone who is pregnant and who is scared to death. Shove off. I know first hand how desperate someone must be to actually feel abortion is their only option. How? My sister had an abortion 30+years ago and I promised to keep her secret from my parent's. I am thankful she was able to seek medical care. If she did not have this option I hate to think what she may have done. She was just 16years old. A popular girl. Cheerlearder. Athlete. Honor student. She had here whole world before her. Needless to say she was devastated beyond belief. She was scared to death. I remember a feeling of sickness the day she had the procedure done. I was on pins and needles. I kept hoping it was a "false" alarm. She told my mom she was going shopping with a friend. ALL DAY. I thought about her all day. I was scared for her. We were two peas in a pod. Thick as thieves as my mother use to say. We would lie to protect one another. But, unless you have grown up in a home where there is physical abuse, judging or a parent who is anything but rational, you really have know idea the fear a young person may experience. My mother was a loaded cannon. We were afraid of her. Who knew what she would have done had she found out. It was afterall always about her. Still is to this day. (she has disowned me for my views and beliefs) So, as you sit on your oh so mighty high horse please consider what she and many other young girls are faced with every stinking day. If you think by willing it away that it won't happen then you clearly do look through rose colored glasses. No one grows up thinking "hey I think I would like to have an abortion someday". So, please do not judge something you know nothing about.
Too bad I can't vote for you tomorrow...
Great answer!
Wow...um well...It makes me feel really badly that she is giving people who have a personal relationship with God a bad name. boo hiss....
Steph <---who LOVES GOD and...Obama..Who used to ONLY vote Republican until NOW and who thinks that even though I am diametrically opposed to abortion for myself...isn't sure the govt has a right to say what a woman can and can't do...
I am a long time reader and lurker, But with this post I just had to come out of the closet to say....
YOU GO GIRL!!!!!
YOUR BLOG! YOUR WORDS! IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU READ JUST DON'T COME BACK!!!!
I am glad you posted this. This is your blog, or did she forget? See ya, honey! Go play with someone else.
How sad what effects strong women can have on the weak. That's all I got from that nasty message to you. I know your strong convictions will help mold your beautiful girls into strong women. Rock on sista
Leave it up to a "conservative" to vote on one issue. Let's see...the economy is in the toilet, we're fighting two wars (one of which was unnecessary), Dubya has doubled our debt, but hey...let's vote on a single issue which means nothing.
Abortion is not going to be outlawed. Even if McCain/Idiot got elected, and put a conservative jurist on the bench, Scailia has clearly stated that Roe vs. Wade is pretty settled as an issue (b/c of the underlying pinnings of Griswold vs. Conneticut, which established a "right to privacy" which has been used as the basis for many other Court rulings).
But say it is overturned. Then abortion is turned over to the states for them to decide seperately how they will treat this issue, just like capital punishment to draw a parallel issue. Some will outlaw, some will not, and some will find some middle ground. But outlawed everywhere in the U.S....not going to happen.
I find it disheartening that Conservatism has come to this. It used to be that Conservatives believed in limited government, both in the free market and in the manner in which they intruded into one's private life. However, since the Reagan 80's and the rise of the Christian coalition, gov't has been used as a blugeoun to dictate what one can or cannot do in their private lives. (Just look at how pissed off the right wing was when the Supreme Court ruled against Texas' sodomy law).
Abortion is a private decision between one's doctor and one's self. Nothing more. I can see the argument for parental notification (not consent), but one should not compel a person to act in a manner which they choose not to. Would the poster deny a rape victim emergency contraception? Just how far do they feel comfortable in intruding into another person's live to control their actions?
Shorter response: F*&^ her
Great Response, Hayley!
Why do people only focus on the aborted babies and not the millions of people who die because they have no access to health care.
Hayles one of the best things about you (and there are many) is your amazing political beliefs. You, like every Dem I personally know, are educated, compassionate, kind, aware of the world, giving, open minded and not naive enough to think "that could never happen to me".
What I wish people knew is that a significant number (majority) of women who have abortions are the products of domestic abuse & violence, sexual slavery and intense poverty due to medical bills, minimum wage etc. I wonder what we as Christians should be doing to stop abortions? How about focus on those four issues? Stop the terrible abuse against women from husbands, fathers and partners, stop sexual slavery, provide free health care for all and stop giving tax breaks to the high income earners and instead focus on the lower income workers - which party is going to do that, most definitely the Christian/humanity agenda the Dems seek. No one who isn't for free health care truly wants to stop abortions!!
ROCK ON!
Surround yourself with good people, those who support people's rights with compassion not condemnation - like you, I find it harder and harder to be around those people who don't get that compassion is what Christ taught.
Like it's anyone elses business what you do on YOUR blog?????
Gonna miss her???????? ;-D
Doreen in Montreal single Mom to Faith-Jiangxi & Mia-Sichuan
AMEN! See ya, sistah! Way to go, Hayley! I can't stand people who call themselves "Christians" and then behave that way! You were much nicer than I would've been.
You go girl...
why gee...I guess I'm not the anti-Christ after all.
feel the love...vote Obama!
got hate? try McCain/Palin
I', chiming in late here because I've been on the road, but I must say: Well said!
As Maia said, it is about respecting others' choices and it's also about keeping the government out of our bedrooms and away from our bodies.
yeah...the Republicans hate the idea of BIG government, but honestly, this would be BIIIIIG government dont you think?
Yes.This.Would.Be.Big.Government. Hypocrites! Help us...
Holy crappola... No, wait, that's a religious slight and someone might get offended.
Hayley, cut the cord and let em slide quietly into the night.
This election is dividing your country instead of uniting it, and we stand as outsiders wondering how this happens in a developed country.
You are informed on the issues, and you needn't defend your views to anyone.
As for Ms S praying for you, she has so many of us to pray for and she'll be on her knees for a while!
Keep her off line.
We stand behind you.
Geesh, if you don't like it, don't read it and keep your big mouth shut!!!! Way to stand your ground!!
Although I may not agree with all of your opinions (although I do agree on this particular issue) I do feel that it is your blog and you should write about whatever the heck you want to.
Boy, I went away for a few days and missed all this. Loved your response. It was thoughtful, and eloquent without being overly angry or self-righteous (which is exactly what hers was!)
what a flippin' WHACKADODDLE!!!!
Hayley, while I miss your posts about your girls, you feel very strongly about Obama and its YOUR BLOG. You put whatever you want to on it. I just figure when Obama wins in a few weeks you'll be one happy mama and get back to your ordinary life.
Oh, and for the record, I started out a McCain fan, not overzealous though, and have started moving to the Obama camp. But I still read you while I was pro-McCain!
That poor woman is terribly bored. At least she has a lot to pray about. People like that baffle me, but what's even stranger is the need to keep coming back to your blog. I guess she thinks she can save you. Those who believe in this saving tend to be so full of fear.
Where have you been all of my blogging reading life? You are my blogging/Obama supporting hero!!!
Post a Comment