The Variable Value of Human Life
Most conservatives wouldn’t even consider the argument. The idea that a bombastic blowhard is responsible for a crime and not the man who pulled the trigger goes contrary to the principle of personal responsibility and undermines the very foundation of freedom. If we can never be blamed for the crimes we commit, we cannot be free. Rather, we must be protected from influences that could lead us to do things that might harm others. You cannot have freedom of speech because certain speech is too dangerous to be spoken, even if it doesn’t directly call for violence or revolt.
The left is usually ready to pronounce who the “real perpetrator” is in a crime. Rarely is it the trigger man, who is usually a sympathetic or not-so-sympathetic victim. Republican administrations, organized religious groups, corporations, and disliked political interest groups are usually held responsible. Violence against an abortion provider occurs as the result of pro-life rhetoric according to leftist logic.
The closest the media has come to laying blame is the focus on the fact that Pouillon carried graphic signs. The unstated argument is that the one really responsible for Pouillon’s death is Pouillon. Unable to find a proxy perpetrator, the media has decided to lay the blame on the victim.
The left refuses to apply its logic to itself. It can’t blame eco-terrorism on Al Gore’s doomsday scenarios, it can’t blame the liberals who labeled all opponents of ObamaCare as extremists for the beating of Kenny Gladney at a town hall meeting, and it can’t come to terms with the killing of Jim Pouillon. To search for a “real perpetrator” to blame would require they point the finger at themselves and their institutions.
Instead of incriminating themselves, the left chooses the far more comfortable tactic of minimizing or completely ignoring crimes against their political opponents. This puts the value of human life on a sliding scale. If your death fits into a popular political narrative, it is of great value. If not, your death is only of importance if it can spark the prurient interest of enough people to make a successful prime-time special.
This value system extends beyond the press’ coverage of abortion. The abuse of prisoners of war at Abu Ghraib was far more outrageous to the liberal press than the beheadings of innocent civilians by terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan or the shooting of two of our soldiers outside of an Arkansas Army recruiting center.
In the 1970 episode of Adam 12 “Elegy for a Pig,” the show took aim at elites’ hypocritical selective outrage over death, particularly of police officers. Pete Malloy, as portrayed by Martin Milner, ended the show by saying, “Strangely enough, in view of current custom, no one will raise a placard to denounce his senseless murder, no one will raise indignant cries of protest at the shedding of his blood, no one will march in anger because of his death.”
Little has changed in forty years. The U.S. House voted 423-0 to condemn the death of George Tiller. There will be no such resolution passed on James Pouillon.
So what you’re saying is that in these countless cases where some nutball killed an abortion doctor, the murderers were unstable. And in this one apparent and only case of someone killing an abortion protester they were also unbalanced. Yeah, I see your point.
I hate abortion and everything about it. However, I continually struggle to understand both sides of the issue. This is tough at times. I also strongly believe that this issue should be removed from politics. Its a medical issue. Its a personal issue and I really believe this issue does not belong in a political forum though I realize I am probably very much in the minorty. I can understand those that want to see abortion banned and understand the argument that there may be, in some very rare cases legitimate reasons for it. Like most everyone, I struggle with this issue often.
For Democrats and left-liberals generally, there is only one “freedom” that really matters. Toward that end, they deem any homicide whatsoever morally acceptable. Any infringement on their “right” to practice the supreme sacrament of their faith is a First Amendment violation deserving of crucifixion.
Many left-leaning persons have suggested that abortion is a “personal matter,” or a “medical issue.” This is death cult propaganda, undisguised and red in tooth and claw. Noting makes it quite as clear as leftists’ stentorian defense of monstress Amy Richards and their near-universal celebration of the death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo. Such persons occupy a moral plane beneath moss and grass; if we go by their view, there’s no need even to inquire into the rights of Man or the moral obligations they entail.
We’ve allowed this because of our desire not to be seen as bluenoses and our pusillanimity about moral fundamentals, in particular the real meaning of the right to life.
Probably the best thing George W. Bush ever said was his declamation on the need to build a culture of life: a culture that holds every human life to be precious and worthy of defense. President Bush understood that such a culture is a prerequisite for any reformation of the laws concerning abortion, as well as for the defense of human life against the Groningen Protocol, embryo destruction for research and medical purposes, legalized medical homicide (“assisted suicide” / “euthanasia”), and many other horrors.
Truly, in the defense of human life, the culture is the ultimate battleground.
My inbox this moment contains 58,100+ emails from so many different resources, it boggles the Mind.. A quick search just now revealed a grand total mention of Jim’s murder..
In 4.
Media Research Center (CBS Skips Murder of Pro-Life Activist; ABC Sees ‘Flip Side’ to Killing of Abortionist Tiller), G Gordon Liddy (a Twitter tweet), Townhall.com (Slain Mich. activist remembered as unwavering), and something from Examiner.com that arrived courtesy of Yahoo! News Alerts..
In the weeks after George Tiller was gunned down, his circumstances were repeated ad nauseum in the same.
RIP Jim Pouillon.. Your unsung efforts to protect Life were honorable.
And thank you, Adam, and Pajamas Media (yet again) for continuously digging for this type of story.. If it wasn’t for you all, chances are high I might not have ever known this occurred.
Hey, have you heard about the census taker who was kidnapped, stripped, bound, gagged and hanged in the Kentucky woods? He was a hard-working single father holding down three jobs to support his family. You know, a “real” American. They found him with his Census ID taped to his forehead and the word “FED” written on his chest. So much for life. How could Fox news and talk radio miss this story?
The most stark difference you will see in this case, is that nobody will come to the defense of Pouillon’s murderer.
Considering the outpouring of support on PJM for the killer of Dr. Tiller, this difference is more than sufficient to make clear the contrast in perspectives at play here.
Moreover, the anti-abortion movement has explicitly called for violence against medical providers. No such calls have issued from the pro-choice camp. I think the history of violence against pro-choice physicians speaks for itself.
Peace.
DS
David S. and Hung Fed, you nailed it…
#1:
So what you’re saying is that in these countless cases where some nutball killed an abortion doctor, the murderers were unstable
Countless? Try a total of six incidents in 25 years.
Moreover, the anti-abortion movement has explicitly called for violence against medical providers. No such calls have issued from the pro-choice camp. I think the history of violence against pro-choice physicians speaks for itself.
The mainstream pro-life movement condemnts violence whenever it occurs and believes in non-violence.
Hi Adam, your name caught my eye (my mom’s maiden name being Graham), and your article title sounded surprisingly familiar. (great minds think alike?). Please read my daughter’s latest that deals with the same subject matter as yours:
http://www.gingiedmonds.com
Here’s a snippet:
“Tiller was a murderer, and Pouillon was a martyr. And yet the main stream media printed only 19 stories about the murder of Pouillon and printed over 600 stories about George Tiller.”
The liberal pro choice agenda is a desensitizing prelude to the liberal pro euthanasia agenda. It will be instituted with the final passage of the Obama universal health care program (with the Government option, of course). Which of the murders highlighted in this article best serve the “pro death” liberal agenda?
_ May 31, 2009: Prominent late-term abortion provider George Tiller is shot and killed in a Wichita church where he was serving as an usher. The gunman fled but a city official said a suspect is in custody.
_ April 2007: Authorities say Paul Ross Evans placed a homemade bomb in the parking lot of the Austin Women’s Health Center in Texas. A bomb squad disposes of the device, which contained two pounds of nails. There are no injuries.
_ Oct. 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian is fatally shot in his home in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. Militant abortion opponent James Kopp is convicted of the murder in 2003 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
_ Jan. 29, 1998: A bomb explodes just outside a Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic, killing a police officer and wounding several others. Eric Rudolph later pleads guilty to that incident and the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He justifies the Alabama bombing in an essay from prison, writing that Jesus would condone “militant action in defense of the innocent.”
_ Jan. 16, 1997: Two bomb blasts an hour apart rock an Atlanta building containing an abortion clinic. Seven people are injured. Rudolph is charged by federal authorities in October 1998.
_ Dec. 30, 1994: John Salvi opens fire with a rifle inside two Boston-area abortion clinics, killing two receptionists and wounding five others. Sentenced to life without parole, he kills himself in prison in 1996.
_ Nov. 8, 1994: Dr. Garson Romalis, who performs abortions in Vancouver, Canada, is shot in the leg while eating breakfast at home.
_ July 29, 1994: Dr. John Bayard Britton and his volunteer escort, James H. Barrett, are slain outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic. Barrett’s wife, June, is wounded in the attack. Paul J. Hill, 40, a former minister and anti-abortion activist, is later convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
_ Aug. 19, 1993: Dr. George Tiller is shot in the arms as he drives out of parking lot at his Wichita, Kan., clinic. Rachelle “Shelley” Shannon is later convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
_ March 10, 1993: Dr. David Gunn is shot to death outside Pensacola, Fla., clinic, becoming the first U.S. doctor killed during an anti-abortion demonstration. Michael Griffin is convicted and serving a life sentence.
According to NAF, since 1977 in the United States and Canada, property crimes committed against abortion providers have included 41 bombings, 173 arsons, 91 attempted bombings or arsons, 619 bomb threats, 1630 incidents of trespassing, 1264 incidents of vandalism, and 100 attacks with butyric acid (“stink bombs”).[5] The first clinic arson occurred in Oregon in March 1976 and the first bombing occurred in February 1978 in Ohio.[12]
You guys are being to hard on the leftist cultist. They are pro-life when it comes to saving the life of a terrorist, cop killer or tyrant.
Steveg. You caught me I am pro-life in those incidences, that’s why I didn’t support the murder of the anti-abortion protester in question.
Gee, sometimes you have to beware of what part of the month you submit an entry eh?…..
good luck to all of you.
Moho, I was only counting actual murders. If one wants to go through this blow by blow, crime by crime, it’d take far too long. Just last a week, two women assualted another elderly (almost 70 pro-life protestor in Arizona, we have two acts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon. And while Mr. Pouillon was alive, there were multiple incidents were projectiles were hurled at him from passing cars. I know one man who had a rock thrown at him, hitting him at the stomach. There have been Molotov Cocktails and bombs at pro-life offices and buildings, but less media interest in covering them. So what exactly are you trying to prove?
“I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”
-Obama’s White House Statement “for immediate release” six hours after the shooting
Yet… nearly THREE days after the Pouillon murder:
“Obama called last week’s shooting of James Pouillon “deplorable” in a two-sentence statement.”
“So what you’re saying is that in these countless cases where some nutball killed an abortion doctor…”
Actually, I count five cases since Roe v Wade. Also four other people who weren’t doctors (clinic workers, etc.) have been killed, or so says wiki which has an article on violence carried out by anti-abortion nuts.
I tried to find some comprehensive information on violence carried out by pro-abortion whack jobs, but the media doesn’t seem too interested in that.
Even when murders are carried out by abortionists (as opposed to abortion supporters)…it doesn’t get attributed to pro-abortion violence.
Example:
‘A Queens obstetrician was convicted of second-degree murder yesterday in the death of a woman who went to him for an abortion, making him the first doctor in New York State found guilty of murder stemming from the medical mistreatment of a patient.’
‘Dr. David Benjamin faces 25 years to life in prison in the death of the woman, Guadalupe Negron, 33, who bled to death two years ago in the doctor’s storefront clinic in Corona, Queens, after the bungled abortion, which occurred as Dr. Benjamin was appealing the revocation of his license.’
‘In the murder charge, Dr. Benjamin was accused of “showing depraved indifference to human life.”‘–NYT
or:
“Dr. Milos Klvana, a Valencia obstetrician convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of infants in his care, was sentenced to 53 years to life in state prison Monday by a judge who said California’s medical regulatory system “allowed these crimes to be committed.” Klvana, 49, was convicted by Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Dec. 18 of second-degree murder in the deaths of eight infants and a fetus between 1982 and 1986.”–LAT
It looks to me like abortionists have committed more murders than abortionists have been murdered…even, if you ignore the millions of fetuses that have been legally killed.
The media just doesn’t make a big deal out of guys like Klvana, while they do make a big deal out of guys like Eric Rudolph.
Which side is more violent, and murders more people?
The pro-abortion side…by far.
Well, i’m afraid like usual, the media caters to whatever people want to hear. As it turns out, the public has a lot more sympathy for Mr. Tiller than some old dude who’s life purpose appeared to be holding up signs of mutilated fetuses in front of high schools. Shocking, I know.
“SANTA ANA — The operator of an unlicensed clinic in which a 27-year-old mother of four died last January was arrested Friday on charges of second-degree murder and performing illegal abortions, Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi announced Friday.”
“Capizzi said the Orange County Grand Jury indicted the operator of the Santa Ana clinic, Alicia Ruiz Hanna, on one count of unlawful abortion and one count of second-degree murder in the death of Angela Nieto Sanchez of Orange on Jan. 19.”–LAT
Convicted and sentenced to 16 years to life. Google this case…it shows what stand-up folks abortionists are.
The “countless murders” occured when a beating heart was stopped by a abortion procedure.
I think it’s a simple system, Adam. There are violent wing nuts out there – not many, overall, but it doesn’t take many.
Then there are the rest of us, who need to be very careful about how we use language.
I am sorry for the death of Jim Pouillon, a man not unlike the men (and a few women) that I’ve come to know as an abortion clinic escort and, lately, a counter-protester to the protesters.
I hope I’ve not said anything – either face-to-face or online – that would have “targeted” some wing nut to kill Mr. Pouillon.
And that’s really all I ask from the anti-choice side: don’t call us Nazi’s or Communists or Baby-Killers or traitors or anything else that might cause a wing nut to target us.
Bill Bekkenhuis
Bethlehem, PA
“LAUREL, Mississippi, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Nearly 10 years after a 1998 mistrial, a jury has finally found abortionist Malachy DeHenre guilty in the 1997 slaying of his wife.”
“Dr. Malachy DeHenre was charged with killing his wife, Dr. Myasha DeHenre, with a single pistol shot to the head in their home. The Jones County Circuit Court jury, composed of six men and six women, deliberated 45 minutes before finding him guilty of manslaughter…”
“…Abortionist Malachy DeHenre had his license to practice medicine in Mississippi, Alabama, and New York suspended after being convicted of “gross malpractice” and “repeated malpractice” on abortion patients beginning in 2003. Three women on whom he performed abortions required complete hysterectomies to control severe hemorrhaging, and another woman Leigh Ann Stephens Alford, died as a result of a perforated uterus after an abortion he committed on her.”
“DeHenre also faced charges earlier this year of raping a then-21 year old patient in March 1992, however a Jones County jury acquitted him in October…”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08013112.html
Charming folks, these abortionists. Kinda violent too…though the good old MSM doesn’t like to talk about it much.
Note to Adam Graham. We’re only talking about things that happened in the real world, not your fevered imagination.
Another abortionist/murderer (I know…same thing)
“John Baxter Hamilton, Abortionist and Wife-Killer”
“Somebody was searching for John Baxter Hamilton.”
“Hamilton was convicted of the Valentine’s Day 2001 murder of his wife, Susan, and sentenced to life without parole. Mrs. Hamilton worked as a physician’s assistant at her husband’s abortion facility.”
http://realchoice.blogspot.com/2006/02/john-baxter-hamilton-abortionist-and.html
Man, these abortionists sure do commit a lot of murders, but I guess that’s not too surprising seeing as how that’s kinda what they do for a living.
What really shows the “variable value of human life” is all you moral imbeciles who call yourselves pro-life, yet back every invasion and bombing run ever proposed [so long as they originate with Republicans].
“…back every invasion and bombing run ever proposed…”
Just think of the bombings as abortions of Baathists and terrorists, and you’ll feel much better about it.
27. Dave Surls:
“Just think of the bombings as abortions of Baathists and terrorists, and you’ll feel much better about it.”
And just think of the 9/11 victims as collateral damage in the war to defend Sean Hannity’s home remodeling budget.
It is easier to mourn the death of someone who sees life the same way, than it is for someone who sees life differently.
Let’s face it, the treatment pro-lifers receive
from the MSM tends to be of suspicion because pro-lifers, more often than those who would not enter a church for any reason, tend to hold their
actions to a fixed point, rather than what is the status quo.
Another authority enters into the mix when pro-lifers make the case that all of us go through various stages of life, and the initial stages take place before birth. For, how did the first
examples of life come about? Randomness or design.
Pro choice and anti abortion???? For goodness sakes, call it what it is, Pro Abortion and Anti Abortion. Pro Choice means nothing, just a euphemism. I’ll bet anyone who calls him/her self Pro Choice always approves of abortion. We all know what reaction the old media will have when there is a murder of anti abortion supporter. It’s the reaction when hunam babies are killed that has me puzzled. Old media doesn’t care in either case. This is murder, pure and simple. 99% of abortions are done as a means of birth control and there are a number of options other than abortion for birth control that are not invasive. Why can’t people use them?
“And just think of the 9/11 victims as collateral damage…”
I’d rather not. I prefer to think of them as precious human beings.
And, I prefer to think of Al Qaida terrorists as useless blobs of protoplasm that need to be aborted.
That’s what works for me.
And military firepower is God’s wrath against stateless murderers and murderous regimes.
“The Variable Value of Human Life”
Shoot, I don’t have a problem with that concept.
The value of the lives of my kids is beyond measure. The value of the life of a terrorist, like Osama Bin Laden, is non-existent.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Inshallah,moho med,inshallah.
#10:
Bingo! You win the prize. Any nation that will abort its unborn will eventually turn to the other end of the age spectrum.
Once euthanasia of the old is as accepted as abortion, sites will be set on those with debilitating birth defects and other imperfections.
Reminds one of Hitler, yes?
I just recently read about the story of Tim Tebow, and the complications of his birth. The medical professional advised his parents to abort because there was no way they would have a healthy baby.
Tim Tebow, who is called superman by his followers, will go down as one of the greats of college football. How many other greats never saw the light of day?
I’ll try again. Let’s tally up the body count for the record. Pro-abortion supporters murdered = 20 to 25 (?). Abortions or babies murdered since 1973 = 50 million plus. I guess that makes it about even for pro-choice supporters, don’t you think?
Moho -
You’re so cute when you’re lying through your teeth, spewing worn out moral equivalence BS from your talking points, and in general trying like hell to get people to veer off topic. I understand, though, what, with Holdren saying we should force the “generational” welfare recipients to be sterilized and force abortions on those who aren’t economically on par with what the government thinks is a sufficient income to have children. Then there’s the simpleton who keeps writing his little papers justifying getting rid of the Bill of Rights and other things he thinks are in the way of the elite ruling like they should. You know who, the czar who says it’s fine to force people working in private religious institutions to perform abortions even if their religion opposes and that taxpayer funding of abortion should be top priority no matter what the public thinks. Add that all up with the millions of abortions you folks have talked people into and made so easy with convienently located eugenics factories in all the poor neighborhoods and it’s easy to see why you rely on old, tired, laughable BS all the time.
Yeah, eugenics, nationalization of industry, ownership of major media, it’s starting to be tough for you little Nazi weasels to hide the fact that the National American Socialist Democrat Party is the same old fascist crap with a nice new 1/8 Afro barker out in front of their carnival tent, isn’t it? The democrat party is now and always has been the party of choice for racists because it’s the racist party.
Next thing you know, you’ll be forced to resort to ever more straw men and ever more outright lies. I can’t way, cause, you’re so cute when you lie through your teeth!!
have a wonderful day
Both were murdered, but one was damned. Which, one, do you think, was the one?
39. oldguy:
“Both were murdered, but one was damned. Which, one, do you think, was the one?”
Both killers. Next question.