The Terri Schiavo Case (Rant)

[Locut0s]

Just what is it about these right wing religious nutters that they can't get it through their heads that there might be people on this earth who's worst nightmare would be to end up in a position like Terri's in? Why can they not see that for many looking at the video of bed ridden Terri that not only do they not see a mentally challenged person simply in need of some love and attention, something disprove many times by doctors, but they see a prison sentence 100 times worse than a life sentence? Why can they not see that it is for the very reason that life IS PRECIOUS that so many are in favour of ending it in these circumstances. It's amazing that with all the talk about the preciousness of Terry's life I have not once heard anyone actually talk about her life. What kind of person was she, what was her personality like, what did she do in life, what were her likes, dislikes, loves, hates, etc.. These are the things that make her Terry and these are the things that she will never get back. One would think that those who purport to be closest to religion would be able to see the ironies in their actions. That in many respects their own religion should be screaming at them that life is more than about whether your body can still sustain itself, whether you're able to take in food and secrete wastes, whether you can react to external stimuli, whether you respond to someone in the room. Hell a worm meets most of those criteria. Yet day after day we hear on TV how we must be thinking about how precious life is, how we are committing an act of murder if we let Terri go.

They cry out that starvation is cruel and unusual punishment. I have yet to hear them cry out about the thousands of children who starve to death every year the world over. But then I forget these children are otherwise healthy human beings, they aren't brain damaged, they aren't a collection of cells in a petri dish. Because yes it's when we fulfill the wishes of a woman who did not want to live trapped in some hellish limbo between life and death, it's when we destroy a hundred cells in a petri dish, it's when we prevent a child being born into a family that doesn't want them. It's when we do these things that we are to be condemned as mass murderers, it's when we do these things that we should incur the wrath of the nation, not when we turn our backs on the real death and suffering in the world!

Let me finish by making a few statements. Yes I am an atheist and to a large extent anti religious, but I have nothing against peoples personal beliefs in religion. I am not angry at these people for being Religious, I am angry at them for imposing their belief system on the rest of us and condemning us as evil for not accepting it as the defacto truth. And I know they do not speak for a very large number if not the majority of Christians. I also agree that letting Teri starve to death is not the best way to handle this, but unfortunately in the current climate the only option available. If I were in such a position I can only hope some compassionate doctor would slip me an overdose of morphine, but even if they didn't I would personally chose to have the feeding tube removed in a hear beat than to go on living like that.

I am also not angry at her parents for speaking out, I feel sorry for them for the most part. However I do sometimes wonder about them too. Am I the only one that picks up strange vibes whenever they, particularly the mother, gives one of their press conferences?

[jdj]

1. the 'starve to death' meme is their ace in the hole.

they don't understand life though, so how could we possibly expect them to understand death?

[alittlelark]

2. Dude, or dudette

That paragraph hurts my eyes.

Please review paragraph structure (freshman comp).


Oh, and YES, I guess you ARE an ATHIEST.... got that.



Yeah.

[Locut0s]

3. Fixed, a little, sorry. Why does the fact that I'm an atheist seem to put.

you off? I know I may have came across a bit strong in that department but I honestly do not mean it to sound like I hate Christians, because I don't.

[alittlelark]

4. An ex-Catholic, Atheist/Agnostic here

One who respects those that still believe.

[ultraist]

5. Yes, on the weird vibes from the mom

There is something really not right with her. It's beyond freakish to keep a body alive to serve your own needs. The amount of attention and pity they are seeking is bizarre. She reminds me of a high ranking cult member. One of Randall Terry's "special ones." Jim Jones had his "special ones" as did Charlie Manson.

This whole charade is really creeping me out. This cult has infilitarated our government and wants to take over our country.

[Seeker30]

6. They're a bunch of hypocrites

Where were they when my friend was laying there dying of cancer and was refused any further treatment because his medical insurance had run out? Thanks to their policies people are dying everyday in this country because they have no medical coverage. Fuck them.