"I am the people, I am the people" says the man.

[IvyTwines]

That clip on Twitter of the anti-choice men shouting at the pro-choice protestors in New York illustrates clearly why language matters, why using the word woman matters, why erasing it, replacing it with the supposedly more 'inclusive', de-sexed 'people' or 'folks' is so dangerous. "Not the church, not the state, the people should decide their fate" shout the crowd. The man on the steps responds, beating his chest for emphasis, "I am the people, I am the people, I am the people, the people has decided, the court has decided - you lose!"

"I am the people, I am the people, I am the people, the people has decided, the court has decided - you lose!"

So the pro-choice supporters are not people.

The womb-havers...gestational carriers...birthing bodies...are not people.

One vainglorious individual does not speak for the people.

That comment says far more about his sense of arrogance and entitlement than being indicative of any authority he carries.

It's interesting that he says that in the street and it's taken seriously. I can think of various clinical settings in which he assertions would be perceived very differently.

One vainglorious individual does not speak for the people.

Except that he thinks he does, and there are many more like him who believe that they have the right to dictate what female people do with their bodies.

My understanding is if Roe falls then abortion rights depend on the electorate in different states - that is 'the people'. And in many states he does speak for the people at least as far as can be shown by the outcome of elections. If he did not speak for the people, as in many liberal states, the Roe falling would not be an issue

He speaks for some of the people.

When you start using the word 'people' instead of the sex specific word 'women' on issues that are sex specific to women then this is how it will be used, weaponised against women, implying that males have the same weight in this debate, because both are equally 'people'. Right now they are also trying to replace the word 'women's rights' with 'reproductive rights', and just watch as that gets twisted into meaning the 'right' of males to use women's bodies.

I think you're spot on Ivy.

"Right now they are also trying to replace the word 'women's rights' with 'reproductive rights', and just watch as that gets twisted into meaning the 'right' of males to use women's bodies."

I can see this working exactly the same way "equality [of the sexes]" became "gender equality" which now often relates to people with blue hair/postmodern identities. It's this kind of sleight of hand that tends to make women invisible.

This is spot on @IvyTwines well said 👏🏽

He is clearly a total bawbag radge as we say in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Bumping, because when even now political leaders of what passes for the Left/centre in the US can't bring themselves to use the specific word for the sex affected, they grant equal weight in decisions over pregnancy to males.