Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes with grace and gravitas, qualities in concert with how he played basketball with the Lakers back in the day. He speaks truth to power with eloquence and passion, something not often seen in the land of the free and home of the brave.
To whit.
Will Smith’s Oscar slap probably garnered more press and public reaction than any other story this year. But a couple days ago, Oklahoma delivered a collective slap to the faces of the nearly two million females who live in that state and raised a threatening hand to the 168 million females who live in this country.
The reaction? Mostly crickets.
I can’t think of anything that demonstrates just how much America disrespects women than the fact that state after state has recently passed restrictive 1950s-ish abortion laws and millions aren’t taking to the streets in outraged protest on a daily basis. A couple summers ago between 16 and 20 million people marched in the streets to support Black Lives Matter by decrying police brutality and systemic racism, making it the largest protest movement in U.S. history. We need that same commitment now in defense of the civil rights of half the population of the U.S.
The Republc of Gilead awaits if we let it.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Oklahoma Goes Full Agro on Women
Texas, Florida, and Mississippi may have started this patriarchal movement to hobble women the way Kathy Bates handles James Caan in Misery, but at least 19 other states are readying or have passed legislation to restrict abortion to the first 15 weeks. Worst of all, Oklahoma has decided to go a step further by outlawing abortion almost altogether. Senate Bill 612 would make performing an abortion in Oklahoma, “except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency,” a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000. Did Oklahoma legislators watch The Handmaid’s Tale and think, “Yes, that’s the kind of forward-thinking orderly society where I’d like to raise my daughters.”
... The bill doesn’t just prohibit virtually all abortions, it copies Texas’s civilian bounty-hunting enforcement plan which encourages private citizens to sue an abortion provider for up to $10,000 if they violate the law. What shouts how much America values freedom more than the government rewarding citizens who inform on their friends, family, and neighbors? This week a Russian teacher was recorded by her 13- and 14-year-old students using anti-war rhetoric (she was against the bombing of the maternity hospital). She now faces loss of her profession and years imprisonment for “discrediting” the Russian army. When did Russia become our role model?
Time to wake up America before it's too late.
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