One of the best movies ever *starts singing theme song* :D sad thing is i have randomly started singing that at work o.O lol sader yet is im mostly talking to myself when i type these up
![la-renard:
Aaron Gouveia and his wife were already having the worst day of their lives. Then came the abortion protesters. [Source]
“You’re killing your unborn baby!”
That’s what they yelled at me and my wife on the worst day of our lives. As we entered the women’s health center on an otherwise perfect summer morning in Brookline, two women we had never met decided to pile onto the nightmare we had been living for three weeks. These “Christians” verbally accosted us—judged us—as we steeled ourselves for the horror of making the unimaginable, but necessary, decision to end our pregnancy at 16 weeks.
After extensive testing at a renowned Boston hospital three weeks earlier, we were told our baby had Sirenomelia. Otherwise known as Mermaid Syndrome, it’s a rare (one in every 100,000 pregnancies) congenital deformity in which the legs are fused together. Worse than that, our baby had no bladder or kidneys. Our doctors told us there was zero chance for survival.
I’m not a religious person and I’ve never believed in heaven or hell. But there is a hell on Earth. Hell is sitting next to the person you love most and listening to her wail hysterically because her heart just broke into a million pieces. Hell is watching her entire body convulse with sobs because she’s being tortured with grief. For as long as I live and no matter how many children we have, I will never forget that sound. And I vowed to do everything in my power to make sure she’d never make it again.
Across a crowded street, two people with “God Is Pro-Life!” signs and pictures of torn-up fetuses managed to drive the blade in even deeper. Again, I was left trying to console the inconsolable, feeling even more helpless this time, because I wasn’t allowed into surgery with her.
Running on pure adrenaline, and without even a hint of a plan, I grabbed my cell phone and crossed the street. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it, I just knew I wanted to make public the cowardice of these protesters. The video’s below—they didn’t disappoint.
I learned a few important things from this encounter. First, these people aren’t used to being confronted. They prey on the weak and they pounce on the wounded. It’s easy to berate people and shame them when they’re too beaten down to fight back. But I chose to do just that, and you can see what happened.
They spout the same tired rhetoric passed out at rallies and subway stations. They don’t have one salient response to any of my questions.
The most telling thing about their cowardice is when the woman on the right gets upset that I’m recording the conversation (which is perfectly legal) and then threatens to call the police. The irony is rich. She wanted to call the police because I was peacefully expressing my opinion on a public sidewalk and exercising my First Amendment rights, which is exactly what she was doing. But I’m not on “God’s side,” am I.
She also claims the women at the clinic are suicide risks. Even if she believed that were true, does she really think yelling at them and shaming them in public is going to encourage these women not to kill themselves?
After I took a walk and calmed down, it was time to pick up my wife and go home. When we pulled out of the clinic, the protesters were gone, and a police cruiser was parked nearby with the lights flashing. My wife, still groggy from the surgery, managed to crack a little smile, and asked, “What did you do?”
I have no idea if it was my interaction with the protesters that got them to leave. I doubt it was, but my wife was convinced that was the case. At first, I didn’t think of it as a big deal, and I actually felt a little foolish for getting so heated.
My wife, suddenly serious, pointed out a women entering the clinic. Within minutes, she said, that woman would be making a serious choice. Whether she kept her baby or not, it didn’t matter—what matters is that she can make the decision that’s right for her. And she can make it without people screaming at her.
My wife and I wanted our second child. We loved her. We even had a name for her, Alexandra.
You never know the circumstances surrounding this kind of decision. Consider this my plea: stop terrorizing women. Stop adding trauma to their trauma. If you’re able, stand up to these bullies in nonviolent ways. Speak out. And if you have a camera, use it.
—Aaron Gouveia is a regular contributor to The Good Men Project Magazine.
Sorry, but this is so wrong. I respect the right to free speech, but I also respect the right to autonomy. Christianity teaches you to love, and all you do is hate. Just because you don’t agree with someone’s choices, is no reason to harrass them and call them names. This is part of the reason I refuse to believe in organised religion.
-I have to agree with the person who posted this before me. I think the man who was able to stand up and calmly comfront the two women is a hero because i know i would not have the control to be calm if that was me and my wife, i would be cussing, screaming, and just plan acting like a psycho. Treat others as you would want to be treated, that is the underlining rule ive always gotten from the bible and church … maybe the “christians” should read their book more.](http://goodmenproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Picture-43.png)
Aaron Gouveia and his wife were already having the worst day of their lives. Then came the abortion protesters. [Source]
“You’re killing your unborn baby!”
That’s what they yelled at me and my wife on the worst day of our lives. As we entered the women’s health center on an otherwise perfect summer morning in Brookline, two women we had never met decided to pile onto the nightmare we had been living for three weeks. These “Christians” verbally accosted us—judged us—as we steeled ourselves for the horror of making the unimaginable, but necessary, decision to end our pregnancy at 16 weeks.
After extensive testing at a renowned Boston hospital three weeks earlier, we were told our baby had Sirenomelia. Otherwise known as Mermaid Syndrome, it’s a rare (one in every 100,000 pregnancies) congenital deformity in which the legs are fused together. Worse than that, our baby had no bladder or kidneys. Our doctors told us there was zero chance for survival.
I’m not a religious person and I’ve never believed in heaven or hell. But there is a hell on Earth. Hell is sitting next to the person you love most and listening to her wail hysterically because her heart just broke into a million pieces. Hell is watching her entire body convulse with sobs because she’s being tortured with grief. For as long as I live and no matter how many children we have, I will never forget that sound. And I vowed to do everything in my power to make sure she’d never make it again.
Across a crowded street, two people with “God Is Pro-Life!” signs and pictures of torn-up fetuses managed to drive the blade in even deeper. Again, I was left trying to console the inconsolable, feeling even more helpless this time, because I wasn’t allowed into surgery with her.
Running on pure adrenaline, and without even a hint of a plan, I grabbed my cell phone and crossed the street. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it, I just knew I wanted to make public the cowardice of these protesters. The video’s below—they didn’t disappoint.
I learned a few important things from this encounter. First, these people aren’t used to being confronted. They prey on the weak and they pounce on the wounded. It’s easy to berate people and shame them when they’re too beaten down to fight back. But I chose to do just that, and you can see what happened.
They spout the same tired rhetoric passed out at rallies and subway stations. They don’t have one salient response to any of my questions.
The most telling thing about their cowardice is when the woman on the right gets upset that I’m recording the conversation (which is perfectly legal) and then threatens to call the police. The irony is rich. She wanted to call the police because I was peacefully expressing my opinion on a public sidewalk and exercising my First Amendment rights, which is exactly what she was doing. But I’m not on “God’s side,” am I.
She also claims the women at the clinic are suicide risks. Even if she believed that were true, does she really think yelling at them and shaming them in public is going to encourage these women not to kill themselves?
After I took a walk and calmed down, it was time to pick up my wife and go home. When we pulled out of the clinic, the protesters were gone, and a police cruiser was parked nearby with the lights flashing. My wife, still groggy from the surgery, managed to crack a little smile, and asked, “What did you do?”
I have no idea if it was my interaction with the protesters that got them to leave. I doubt it was, but my wife was convinced that was the case. At first, I didn’t think of it as a big deal, and I actually felt a little foolish for getting so heated.
My wife, suddenly serious, pointed out a women entering the clinic. Within minutes, she said, that woman would be making a serious choice. Whether she kept her baby or not, it didn’t matter—what matters is that she can make the decision that’s right for her. And she can make it without people screaming at her.
My wife and I wanted our second child. We loved her. We even had a name for her, Alexandra.
You never know the circumstances surrounding this kind of decision. Consider this my plea: stop terrorizing women. Stop adding trauma to their trauma. If you’re able, stand up to these bullies in nonviolent ways. Speak out. And if you have a camera, use it.
—Aaron Gouveia is a regular contributor to The Good Men Project Magazine.Sorry, but this is so wrong. I respect the right to free speech, but I also respect the right to autonomy. Christianity teaches you to love, and all you do is hate. Just because you don’t agree with someone’s choices, is no reason to harrass them and call them names. This is part of the reason I refuse to believe in organised religion.
-I have to agree with the person who posted this before me. I think the man who was able to stand up and calmly comfront the two women is a hero because i know i would not have the control to be calm if that was me and my wife, i would be cussing, screaming, and just plan acting like a psycho. Treat others as you would want to be treated, that is the underlining rule ive always gotten from the bible and church … maybe the “christians” should read their book more.
hahah this is fantastic! BIOSHOCK!
wow i cant wait till my kids is old enough to do shit like this :D
lol reminds me of the days i would watch buffy before school cuz thats what my mother watched before she left to work. Also makes me think about all the interesting ways different cultures cuss. Was always the best time to frag brits in Halo 2 just to hear them cuss like this :D
What LOVE is…
This is something i feel holds true. I wrote this back when i was a freshman in highschool and have come across it a few times when going through all documents. Thought i would post this again because even now in a comitted relationship and a kid on the way i feel it still holds true. (BTW i have bad vocabulary and constanctly misspell things so yea, be gentle)
People will do crazy things for the one they love. People will do crazier things to find it. People just know when they found that person that they know with all their heart and soul that this person is the one. Its hard to find that one person, some people will spend their whole lives looking for them and still not find them. Then they realize that the person they were looking for was right infront of them. People need to just stop and watch whats going on in their lives. There are so many hints and clues to what people want. It might be the person next door, someone you pass on the street everyday, or even someone across the world. It might even be that best friend of yours. You may be in love now but just because your in love doesn’t mean they are your “true” love. I, myself, lost my first love and I thought I had lost my only chance at happiness, but I was wrong. I fell in love again and this time its so much greater and stronger. No one should ever give up on love, all you do by giving up is sentence yourself to a life of pain. Never give up no matter how hurt you get, for when you finally find that person you will see how great they are, but never take them for granted. Love them with all your heart and prove that you love them all the time. They will never get tired of you proving you love them. There will always be rough times in any relationship but ending it wont help. By staying together and working through every problem and every difficult time you make the relationship stronger, but never say I love you unless you truly mean it. Even if you believe you truly mean it stop, think, and ask yourself, “Do i want to grow old with this person and spend my life with this person or do I want to have sex with them”. If your first thought is sex then your most likely not in love but are just lustful. Being in love with someone means you want to be with them no matter what you two do. If its just sitting together on a swing or laying down on the floor, if all you want is to be with them then its love. Being sexual makes things fun but only for a short period of time. After a while it gets old and you will want to move on. Its alright to be sexual but watch how much and how far it gets. Sex and sexualness is like a spice, a small amount is all thats needed and if to much is used it can turn into a disaster. Always be mindful of your actions for they are always watching. No matter what tho, always protect them and care for them. It doesn’t matter if its from a person or a element you should always put there needs before yours. Also never say something you will regret, you never know if its the last time you will see them. Always tell them you love them and never tell anything otherwise. No matter who’s around tell them you love them for it shouldn’t matter what others think. Once again show them you love them, never take them for granted, sexualness is good in small amounts, always protect and care for them, and Prove that they mean as much as you say.
