To be angry at my BF's response to the current issues around abortion?

[ConfusedatAmerica]

I've been with my partner for just around 2 years. I've always struggled with his strong opinions and attitude to some things that I am deeply passionate about. Mainly my stance around women's issues, sexism and the way that men treat women.

I messaged him today sharing a video of a Tory MP in the House of Commons stating that women should NOT have an absolute right to bodily autonomy, and that this should be a point for political debate. His response was as follows :

'I can't be too upset with that MP, he has a right to an opinion and he was discussing it in the right fashion in the right arena - I don't agree with him, but I can't be angry at him because his belief is different to mine.'

I told him that his response was upsetting to me because if the MP had been discussing something that took away his bodily autonomy I would be angry on his behalf, especially with something as fundamental as bearing children.

He responded saying that 'All it is is in opinion and that the MP's opinion has no influence on the current state of affairs.' He then went on to say 'Are you angry at the Pope for every time he speaks? His opinion has much greater influence, and the Pope has been spouting antiabortion and homophobic statements for generations - point your anger towards people with much power. Not towards people with much power, not towards insignificant back benchers whose ideals don't meld with the zeitgeist.'

I responded and said that actually yes, I am angry at the Pope for his stance and that he should also not use his platform of power to state what he does. I also stated that Trump ended up in power through the backing of small minded individuals exactly like this MP.

It's not the first time we have disagreed on these sorts of issues. He has an attitude that regardless of experience everyone should be able to voice whatever opinion they feel (including himself and yes he can have some very polarising opinions), my attitude is that if your opinion does harm to another faction or undermines or wishes to take away another persons human rights then no you should not be entitled to share that opinion and that as a society we have a duty of care to ensure that these individuals are stopped.

AIBU here?

The donkey told the tiger, “The grass is blue.”

The tiger replied, “No, the grass is green.”

The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion.

As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn’t it true that the grass is blue?”

The lion replied: “If you believe it is true, the grass is blue.”

The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him.”

The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 3 days of silence.”

The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating ′′The grass is blue, the grass is blue…”

The tiger asked the lion, “Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?”

The lion replied, ′′You’ve known and seen the grass is green.”

The tiger asked, ′′So why do you punish me?”

The lion replied, “That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with an ass, and on top of that, you came and bothered me with that question just to validate something you already knew was true!”

Moral of the story?
Never waste time on discussions that make no sense. There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand.

I will say that even though I agree with you, I have also learned to see this from the other point of view. We really are talking about two bodies and yes you are talking about putting a fetus’s life before a woman or girl’s life (and a real baby when it comes to the last few months of pregnancy - whether you like it or not, it really is a real baby). Yes some people will see that baby, male or female, as more important than the woman who carries it. It might not be right in our eyes or nice or ok but they can have that opinion.

I agree with your BF on the free speech issue, but for him to receive your text and respond talking about free speech was spectacularly missing the point. You weren’t, I presume, sending it to him looking for a debate about freedom of speech, but for a bit of empathy about how it feels to know that people in positions of power in this country hold those views. Thank goodness they do have the freedom to express them, so we all know where we stand. Doesn’t mean we aren’t wounded when we hear them.

He likes to talk about alot of women's issues from a very argumentative point of view. He loves a good debate about it and we often end up clashing.

Sounds exhausting. I’d hate to be put on the defensive like that, on issues that have such personal and significant meaning to me, in my own home, by someone who is supposed to have my back.

Honestly, I’d LTB. And accept he’ll never understand why.

Well, I'd say that your opinion "does harm to another faction or undermines or wishes to take away another persons human rights" (your own words). So should you not be allowed to express that opinion?

He needs to LTB!

Why are you with such an utter cunt who would say that let alone in relation to a woman who was murdered?

The compatibility thing is the crux of it for me. Regardless of what some MP does or does not say, this kind of issue is something that partners need to agree on for a harmonious life.

Frankly, I think you're angry about several things. What the MP said, that he's in a position to say it with a platform, that your bellend BF didn't object to what the MP said, that he's an argumentative dickhead that doesn't have your back.

your many subsequent posts explain why you felt the way you did, so I stand by my original reply to your original post, but in general I'd question why you are with Captain Bellend??

This