Thursday, June 15, 2006

Maori and abortion

Oh Crikey has a post about abortion and his outrage at the government funding overseas Family Planning agencies which provide abortions. Somehow this develops into a strong objection to white feminists killing Maori babies.

For those who strongly oppose abortion, having to fund it just adds injury to insult. They shouldn't have to but there are a hundred and one things taxpayers object to paying for on moral grounds.

Women are not forced to have abortions. Some make the decision lightly, for others, it is agonising. Oh Crikey has framed it as both killing (Maori babies) and suicide (non-Maori). Which isn't unlike the Maori Smokefree Coalition describing smoking, another voluntary action, as genocide of Maori.

Oh Crikey and the Maori Smokefree Coalition openly and admittedly care more about the race they belong to. In my work this would be unthinkable. 'Sorry, I only want to help non-Maori people'. In fact, based on my limited experience, I should prefer to work with Maori and Pacific people because their need is genuine and they are more appreciative of help.

Then again, I wouldn't want to be Maori or Pacific because there are too many people like Oh Crikey's author telling me I am a victim, that I am not capable of making or responsible for my own decisions, that they are made for me by "psychotic white feticidal women". How patronising.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

It seems that too many people cannot seem to understand that in labeling another a "victim" they are not helping - because they are removing that persons ability to help themselves.

Anonymous said...

Phil of Crikey does try to sound as though he he knows what he is talking about.

Gloria

KG said...

Phil of Crikey is a lefty troll who is immune to argument or reason.
No wonder he's been banned from a number of blogs.

Anonymous said...

I was being snide. Something I'm usually loathed to be, but the guy doesn't know what the hell he is on about.

Gloria

Anonymous said...

Can I suggest that when you mention an article that you provide a link to the article, rather than to the blog? In this case:
http://ohcrikey.blogspot.com/2006/06/i-hate-baby-killers.html
(Otherwise it's like giving directions to hell's pizza in christchurch, and only giving directions to christchurch.)

Perhaps the point was that the babies have no choice in abortions, and so in essence, they are forced into it. As you say, it's all about framing; if you look at it from the perspective of the mother it could be considered freedom, while if you look at it from the perspective of the baby then it could be considered murder. Now, if you look at it from a communal, non-individualistic perspective, the baby is part of a larger culture, then you might be able to consider it as genocide.

So it can make some sense. But the culture we live in IS individualistic, which is seen in that the mother has the primary responsibility for bringing the baby up, so I don't think that perspective is logical. And racism against pakeha just makes me sick.

Lindsay Mitchell said...

Thanks Nato, I missed the permanent link being # and not the time, as I am used to. My feeling about racism is exactly the same. There has been historically, and probably still is, racism directed towards Maori but two wrongs do not make a right.

Phil said...

"if you look at it from a communal, non-individualistic perspective, the baby is part of a larger culture, then you might be able to consider it as genocide."

Thank you, exactly the point!

And for the record: I am not a "lefty troll," nor have I - to my knowledge - "been banned from a number of blogs."