REGULARS

Reader Feedback on "Raw Nerve: A History of Violence"

Great article, It's funny, I was once pro-life, then I had a kid and realized "Man being pregnant is hell!" so I'm now a pro-choice activist. I feel no one should ever be forced into the hell of pregnancy.
--VS
04/23

You are vary phillosophical(?) when it comes to this crap! but unfortunitly you are wrong! Not all "pro-lifers'think that way! and not all pro lifers will abandon children!-I know I wont!
--VM
12/04

Steve, thank you for the insight and the vivid writing. Brilliant! You've captured at least one of the "core" motives of the anti-choice/pro-life factions. I used to think that the dominant motivation was to eliminate the need to face unpleasant facts .. by fiat: "make it illegal, and I won't have to deal with it anymore." Now I'm bound to say that heroic projection (and introjection) is neck and neck with moral denial (and displacement.) Thanks again.
--kc
12/03

Wow Sara - that was truly...um...constructive of you. 8 lines about how ignorant I am just proves the point (which YOU apparently missed). I am plenty versed on both sides of the abortion debate; BUT, you see, THIS piece was NOT about forwarding the abortion dialogue whatsoever! Mr. Almond had a chance to respectfully engage and educate his reader, and all of us, but instead chose to blow off steam about how ANYONE who may be 'anti-choice' is STUPID! YOU said the issue is about abortion - I say the same thing! I would just submit that Mr. Almond wasn't writing about the issue at hand like YOU say he was, rather HE (and you for that matter) was simply name-calling those who disagree with him. All of the other essays in this issue of Nerve had an, honest respectful tone to them. I believe this refreshing, real-life approach is vital to the acceptance of the Pro-choice side of the argument! However, what Mr. Almond (and you for that matter) have done is set the argument back to the cliche of angry, hairy arm-pitted, gore-tec wearing women screaming 'MY BODY MY CHOICE' at the top of their lungs while holding a sign with a stenciled wire hanger that reads 'Never again' outside the capitol building. Which is NO BETTER than the dispicable approach of anti-abortionists screaming 'Don't Kill your BABY!' at girls walking into Planned Parenthood. All I'm saying is that In comparison with the rest of the material in this issue of Nerve which offered legitimate facts, history, and realistic perspective, this was a very juvenile, sub-par piece that served to do nothing constructive. P.S. If you treat everyone who disagrees with you on an issue as 'ignorant,' you may find it a hard time making friends...
--LW
12/02

I am a loyal, staunch Conservative in the traditional sense. I believe in the traditional conservative (old time) view that less government is better. The Feds should be there to defend the country, build and maintain the transportation systems, regulate overseas commerce, and control immigration. Beyond that everything else should be regulated by the individual states. I think abortion is wrong, very wrong. But I don't want the government telling a woman, or anybody else for that matter, what they can or cannot do with their body. I believe a woman who has an abortion for convenience will be called to atone for that grevious sin after death. A woman that has to make the heart breaking choice between her baby and her own life because of a medical condition that endangers one or both of them will either die or live with her decision the rest of her life. I know because my wife and I had to make that choice with her third pregnancy. I still have a hard time thinking about the day that we found out the baby was "probably" going to die inside her, which would have killed my wife. The day that the doctor ended her pregnancy was one of the hardest days in my life. And I still think about the daughter I never saw. I'm sure my wife has a very hard time every time she thinks about it. But we still have two wonderful kids. And I want to see those two wonderful kids grow up in the greatest country on the face of the earth. And I want them to have all the choices and opportunities that this country can offer them. I don't want them to become adults in a world where sick Muslims that want want to impose their stone age way of life on the rest of the world are allowed to roam free and commit acts of terror that kill or maim innocent people all over the world. I am really sick and tired of the pathetic pacifist whiners like this author that seem to believe that the radical islamist scum we are in a fight to the death with are human in any way. I want them all to die the most horrible death imaginable and then to their ultimate chagrin find out that there is no paradise waiting for them. Only an endless existence in the deppest pits of Hell. Given the chance I would glady put a bullet in the brain of any one of those sick bastards. And for the author's future reference defending your country is not murder. All those brave individuals that voluntarily give of themselves to defend this great nation deserve the respect of all of us. It is their sacrifices that give the author, an individual that obviously doesn't know the meaning of the word sacrifice, the opportunity to trash this great country. In closing, you don't like it here, leave and don't let the door hit you in the ass!
--DRS
12/02

I'm linking this article to where my friends can see it. Everyone should read this, regardless of which side they take.
--TBJ
11/28

Hey LW -- just because someone writes to praise a writer doesn't mean that writer should turn off his or her brain. Did you read that email? "Do you believe in abortion? Why do you feel it's okay to murder babies?" How would you feel to receive such a vicious, ignorant note? And the issue here isn't the author, but the attitudes and actions of the anti-choice movement. Do you get that? I very much hope, for your sake, that you aren't a poor, sexually active woman, LW. And that you don't know any poor, sexually active women. Because those are the folks who are going to be suffering in the years to come. Should writers simply keep their mouths shut about this in an effort to exhibit "class"? Your reasoning is truly sad. It's time for the ignorant to be called to task -- that includes you.
--sara
11/26

Wow. Classy. A reader writes to tell you how much she respects you and instead politely thanking her and continuing to produce material for her and everyone to ponder, you take the opportunity to use your platform to ridicule, broadbrush-paint, and essentially label her - and anyone who has an opinion divergent of yours - an idiot ? Speaking of solipsism, rage, and hypocrisy...
--LW
11/26

As long as a fetus cannot survive on its own outside of a mothers body... then that fetus is part of HER body. Therfore it should be HER choice with what to do with HER body.
--
11/23

Oh this is HILARIOUS: "It seems never to have occurred to her that there might be a world outside her own beliefs". Steve, you suffer from exactly the same problem (in fact, probably more so, your fan seems more open-minded than you). It's simply impossible in your ideological world that someone could think that ALL human life is equally valuable and subject to protection. Look, I've had two guilt-free, relief-laden abortions. I do think 1st-trimester fetuses are "just tissue". And I don't even veil my political position in the double-speak of "pro-choice" - I'll come out and say it, I'm pro-abortion when it comes to unwanted children. Nonetheless, I'm not so blinded by ideology to think that anyone that disagrees with me is a violent, ignorant, moron. I know many sincere pro-life people, and they simply think that fetuses are humans. That doesn't mean they're projecting or hypocrites or that they think that non-procreative sex is evil. It means they have a different opinion of what it means to be human. Try and accept that not everyone agrees with your with knee-jerk, by the book, liberal ideology.
--NB
11/23

Excellent article! I would love to post it on the New Jersey Religious Coalition For Reproductive Choice's website. www.NJRCRC.org
--ab
11/22

Thank you for pointing this stuff out! My mother was a receptionist at a women's clinic in Alabama in the mid-90s. When Eric Rudolph bombed the abortion clinic in Birmingham, since the doctor who worked there was the same as the one who ran her clinic, the FBI showed up to tell her not to drive her car (that I was using as a high-school student), because they had pictures they'd seized with the car and license plate clearly displayed parked outside the clinic. I was petrified for weeks that they'd come after me because of the car. These people are hypocrites, and it's about time someone called them out!
--TLS
11/22

Steve Almond has some interesting ideas here on the psychology of those who are 'pro-life', but he doesn't seem to produce any evidence for his thoughts: it is a speculative opinion piece. Steve, do you have any evidence to back up your ideas?
--PRC
11/22

"The Bush era has marked, above all, a dramatic shift away from the tragic complexity of the world. Instead, the citizens of this country have been encouraged to indulge their most childish impulses: rage, hypocrisy, self-absorption." - my favorite quote. Very good writing, thank you.
--mh
11/21

Excellent article, well-argued, strong, and in this current climate, courageous. We need more of it.
--slb
11/20

I love you! Thank you for reminding EVERYONE that the freedom to choose is the American way. Thank you for mentioning the "emotional abuse" of young ladies who choose to exercise control over their bodies. This decision is heartbreaking enough without some fire and brimstone conservative damning you to hell. But, I guess we need to keep women where they were meant to be: barefoot and pregnant. LOL.
--MCP
11/20

Line me up with the folks who say this article was doltish. The writer is as blind to other world views as he claims his correspondent is (talk about projection!). I'm a pro-choice male, and certainly the Radical Right is full of hypocrites, but even I can see that there are many people of good conscience who believe that life begins at conception and, therefore, that abortion is a homicide, and the law does not permit homicides except to save oneself (or another) from the risk of death or grievous bodily injury. If life begins at conception, then the state has as much interest in preserving the life and well being of a fetus as it does preserving the life and well being of a child. If a mother injures a child, the state will prosecute her; if you believe life begins at conception, why should the rule be any different? Moreover, framing the issue as wrong because it invades a woman's right to control her body ignores the fact that there are MANY laws governing what you can and cannot do with your body: you cannot sell a body part for a transplant, you cannot sell your sexual services, you are required to wear car seat belts or motorcycle helmets in many states, you cannot ingest a variety of drugs, etc., etc. Only a strict libertarian who opposes all government regulation of a person's individual choices could logically argue that abortion should be permitted SOLELY because to do otherwise would interfere with a woman's right to control her body. (FWIW, I believe life begins at viability -- but the question of when life begins are beliefs, not admissible of scientific proof. I think Roe provides a good framework for evaluating the balance of interests between the individual and society, though I remain troubled that this is judge-made, rather than legislature-made law.)
--REM
11/18

argue that an unborn child isn't a human being? what is it with you pro-life whackjobs? can you stop fetus-fetishizing long enough to fathom that the world's fetuses don't belong to you? the choice belongs to the woman who carries the fetus/cell cluster/child. not some moralizing religious hypocrite. you want to be a good christian -- pray for people's souls, don't try to take possession of their bodies.
--pam
11/18

I like the way you don't let the "liberals" off the hook. Right on!
--pc
11/18

thank you, steve almond, for your powerful and nuanced essay. it's so important to hear the male voice on the subject of reproductive rights. i encourage Nerve to invite more pro-choice men to speak up and share their thoughts. abortion is NOT just a woman's issue!
--ef
11/18

Amen.
--jw
11/18

This was a fairly idiotic argument. I am pro-choice.
--RBH
11/17

Thank you, that pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? As a woman who terminated a pregnancy at age 19, and had to walk past anti-choice protesters to get into the clinic, I'd like to say thank you for saying this. Please God, let the pendulum swing back to the left soon.
--JMC
11/17

Wow. I have never been so saddened to read an article in all my life. This is not simply due to to my disagreement of the Steve's stance on abortion but more about the poor journalism tactics. Then again, this really isn't even journalism now that I think about it, just someone's emotional throw up. This should really be placed on someone's personal blog for his friends, family and occassional fanboys. Steve's wreckless bludgeoning of people with opposing views shows how personally he takes this issue. Let me ask you Steve, do you have a uterus? Why is this issue so close to your heart that you would personlly attack other people with opposing view points? I mean, I understand rational discussions about issues, but to start attacking the person instead of the idea is truly bad form. Learn how to argue like an adult Steve. Not everyone in the world has to agree. Bad form Steve, bad form.
--KW
11/17

This is completely brilliant. Thank you, Steve.
--CR
11/17

Steve Almond's latest column on prolifers is filled with so many strawmen and ignorant statements I don't know where to start. First, the college student never called him a "baby killer." She asked why he thought killing babies was ok? Instead of defending his view (he could have argued that the unborn aren't human beings), he merely acts like she is attacking him personally and then goes on to attack her personally. To Steve it seems that any argument against abortion becomes a personal attack on individuals getting abortions or indviduals in favor of legal abortion. One could also easily argue that pro-choice people see themselves as rescuers: saving "choice" for women in crisis and protecting their "rights" from those crazy prolifers. Talk about projection. Many, I'd guess most, prolifers recognize that women having abortion suffer considerable anguish. Steve has absolutely no clue if his correspondent does. His thinking seems to be "If someone thinks abortion kills a baby, then they must think that abortion isn't a tough decision." Nothing could be further from the truth. Prolife people recognize that abortion is often a case where the woman in question sees no other choice and feels forced into having an abortion. Like most pro-choice columns, Steve makes no attempt to prove that the unborn aren't human beings. He merely passes over that argument in favor of pigeon-holing and insulting prolifers. Why is the choice to abort an unborn child "a modern tragedy?" What's wrong with abortion? If the unborn are merely "part of the woman" then why is killing them "a modern tragedy?" Is removing wisdom teeth or getting a haircut a "modern tragedy?"
--DM
11/17

i agree COMPLETELY with steve's idea that these pro-life people are simply projecting their own violent impulses on to this situation. i cant believe its still an issue in america, thank god i live in paris...
--os
11/17

Well said.
--akl
11/17

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