To have a weeny bit of sympathy for the poo smearers?

[ProPooSmearer]

NCed as very identifiable.

In my town there is a sect, founded by someone in the town who thinks they see the Virgin Mary in their garden. The main thrust of the sect, which has a lot of followers all over the world, is anti-abortion, and that aborted children are martyrs. They have parades barefoot around town carrying a statue of Jesus and carrying anti-abortion banners.

Anyway, a sect member lives down our road. On their car they have a huge sticker covering half the back window which says something like "Aborted children are martyrs to The Truth, G-d forgive you". It's parked on the road as we don't have driveways. Walked past the car today and someone has smeared poo all over the front windscreen.

Obviously this is vile and disgusting and horrible and if someone wants to make the point about not having to look at that sticker every day surely a reasoned and polite debate is the way to go. And I feel terrible for the family who have lots of children who will have to look at that today knowing someone anonymous did it to them.

BUT, on the other hand, they have been intolerant and a bit vile with their anti-abortion stuff for YEARS. Maybe someone just snapped today? I can't help having a weeny teeny bit of sympathy with the poo smearers and thinking, "well yes, if you're going to be sanctimonious and ram your message down people's throats, someone IS going to retaliate one day?"

AIBU?

[DeSelby]

I really don't agree with poo smearing, but surely they don't use their own poo!

[Birdsgottafly]

Were would it end if we all did aggressive damage to each others property, because we didn't agree with the views held, though?

I've lived through a time when the property of EM families were routinely targeted. The worse part is that the residents, children as well as adults, which this family has, never know to what level the acts will escalate to.

Anyone who has Tory support stickers on their windows, would be my target, but i like to live in a safe society, so abide by the law.

[BerthaKitt]

You can't get DNA from poo unless you're lucky and find some skin cells on there. Would make for an interesting Jeremy Kyle special though.

[andubelievedthat]

must assume person who smeared da poo has no recent(last ten years) criminal record cos the police will have their d.n.a.on file AND if a complaint has been forcefully made !poo smearer, man ,he/she ? they in the shit !!!

[ethelb]

@two one is the lack of access to early abortions. Some people who have been in the system feel it is almost deliberate.

[SolidSnake]

YABU, no need for poo, there is always paint for that

[ethelb]

@head these people have abhorrent and hurtful views, but allowing people to have a bumper sticker airing those is part of living in a democratic society.

[twofingerstoGideon]

Nor is allowing the UK to have such a high and late abortion rate.
Have you considered the reasons why most late abortions are carried out?

[HeadfirstForHalos]

"people are allowed to hold views that are contrary to popular opinion you know "

I agree. I don't necessarily want these views to be thrust in mine or my children's faces though.

[ethelb]

people are allowed to hold views that are contrary to popular opinion you know

[Brodicea]

I think OP is just saying she just has a 'weeny' bit of sympathy, and TBH I can empathise. Someone did clearly snap, and the very primal and visceral response says a lot about how deep and complex feelings about abortion are.

confusteling, although anti-abortion, is sensible when she says what's needed is education to cut down on terminations and I like her considered response to the scare tactics used by many campaigners. I believe in choice, but agree that what's needed is prevention of unwanted pregnancy.

Abortion is never easy, but it is as old as time itself, and we need to have sympathy for the women who go through it not hate. Unfortunately tactics like these make women who have experience it feel attacked, and unable to talk about the issue.

[sieglinde]

Erghs all round. I'm Catholic too, but some of my erm brethren are really nauseating. DON'T get me started on same-sex marriage and their f*ing lordships.

confusteling, anyone can call themselves a counsellor or a therapist; it's completely unregulated.

[confusteling]

A friend uploaded a video on facebook of a fetus being aborted, probably third trimester. I won't discuss what the video showed except that the abortion shown was not one which would be routinely carried out in the UK, even, I would assume, for medical reasons. I was very nearly sick and cried my heart out.

It painted this as something that routinely happens. The website also had another page of images of "abortion tools" - most of which were medieval in nature. They had a picture of a vaginal speculum made out of bronze ffs.

One young girl commented on my friend's post asking if this was what these instruments really looked like, if this was the reality of abortion - and an "anti abortion counsellor" assured her that these instruments were definitely used in abortions and that surgical abortions were routinely carried out in the UK, etc. It's worrying that with such opinions she can "counsell" people on the subject.

I did get involved and said I felt that they shouldn't market surgical instruments as evil and murder weaponry - simply as speculums are used every day, D&C tools are used in all sorts of procedures, other tools are used after miscarriage etc. I argued it could upset people in general, not to mention those who have had D&C etc - to which I was told "perhaps we need to upset women to put them off abortion".

I'm Catholic, proud to be and apparently so are these people. I don't actively support abortions at all for religious reasons but there are ways of reducing the number of terminations through sensitive education, better sex education, better support for parents of disabled children, single mothers/post rape pregnancy, etc.. Thrusting images of abortion and anti abortion slogans etc will IME only serve to put people off getting involved!!

So I can understand the frustration - but poo smearing's not the way to go about it, it's just stooping to their level really.

[FeckOffCup]

YABU, it's not nice for the anti abortionists to force their views on others but the person who did that has totally lost the moral high ground with their action, it makes them as bad as those they are protesting against IMHO.

[HeadfirstForHalos]

I had a little google, and I can see why some people would get so angry and snap. So I do have a little sympathy, but poo smearing is just animalistic and just gross! Especially when there are so many other ways to protest.

[newNN]

I have a bit of sympathy. I believe in their right to hold whatever opinion they choose, but forcing it on other people is utterly unacceptable. If they continue to do this, then other people will feel vindicated in returning the favour. They can't just go through life inflicting their opinions and expecting no consequences. Reap as you sow, and all that!

That said, it's gross behaviour and the message will be utterly lost on this group of people, who will just see it as further evidence that they are right and the pro choice people are wrong and unreasonable in their behaviour etc.

[HoleyGhost]

To add to the chorus - obviously I would never smear poo, but do have a weeny bit of sympathy. Anyway, it might have been mud or chocolate spread :-)

Forced birthers have freedom of speech but accosting women of childbearing age is inexcusable.

[dashoflime]

YANBU!

Also: Is that the best thread title ever? I think it is!

[ouryve]

I can understand the anger, but I would draw the line at poo smearing. Eurgh.

[sieglinde]

Sorry too to hear that YouOldSlag, and I also completely see why posters/stickers can hurt anyone who has had a termination badly, but then they have a right to their views as well. Dilemma! (Think we are all mostly agreed on the poo, though.)

A question for you, YOS - how can those people who oppose termination on moral grounds express that view in public without hurting people who have had one for whatever reason?

[badtime]

I would not judge someone who put something that wasn't a hazardous or permanently damaging over the windscreen/sticker, e.g. mud or yoghurt. I think rabid anti-abortion people like that sort of thing anyway, as it makes them feel like martyrs.

I couldn't condone the poo, but can see how if someone who, say, had had to have a termination and had subsequently been accosted by these people, may have wanted to hurt them as much as they had hurt her.

So I would say YANBU to have 'a weeny bit of sympathy' for them. That's not the same as saying it's the right thing to do.

[Punkatheart]

Sorry to hear that YouOldSlag. But it does goes to show how much hurt it can cause. Poo - never. But I can understand anger. I am an ex-anarchist and I have done things in anger - but throwing/smearing poo just seems too........eurghhhhhhh....even for an anarchist.

Although my daughter, when particularly hurt and upset, talked about sending some poo to her runaway father. I really told her off and I was shocked that she even thought about it.

There are levels of anger and I am sure that cavemen threw poo when they couldn't articulate things. Now - we can - there is less need to be so primal.