Hannah Schneider is a junior communications major and creative writing minor and writes 'Schneid Comments' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Hannah at hmschneider@bsu.edu.
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Near the busiest intersection on campus, a large red fetus stared at me from a poster on the ground. I instantly thought to myself, “Oh, they’re here again…” I looked around at the children passing out fliers discussing the inherent immorality of abortion, and I continued on to class.
I’m lucky. I didn’t fall into complete panic at the sight—didn’t recall traumatic clinic visits or conversations and heart-wrenching past decisions. I had the luxury of moving on with my day, even though I was bothered by the exposure of only one side of the argument, which lacked respect for everyone, literally everyone, that scrambled through the scramble light.
Protest, signage, demonstration, public displays of a party’s urgent opinion—these are all good and useful things, as they are woven into the fabric of civil society. They are certainly not behaviors reserved for one specific side of an argument. Feminists, African Americans, conservatives, liberals, democrats, teachers, gay rights activists, animal rights activists, the Westboro Baptist Church—they all use, or misuse, protest and demonstration as a form of political discourse. But when does a simple protest become a form of passive assault?
Yes, anti-abortion activists have the right to their beliefs. And yes, they have the right to politically organize in order to communicate this to the public. Of course, they can be mad. However, should they have the right to assault people with graphic images and use minors to provide literature about their cause? I think not. Are they effectively destroying the concept of protest, in favor of shock and vehement degradation?
I want protests; all of them. I want signs on every corner for every opinion there is, I want posters about what people care about and what they want other people to know, but I want them to communicate their ideas peacefully—not force people to feel a physical reaction. Employ artists, videographers, writers, poets—anyone—to come up with a thesis, reveal their truths with clout and demonstrate!
There is a difference between thought provocation and unprecedented and unabashed vulgarity; just because a fraction of the reality of the situation may be grotesque doesn’t mean that it should be one’s entire argument, nor their attention-grabber. It shouldn’t insult people’s intelligence by only allowing them to be injured by your cause. Protest is not a synonym for aggression.
