my freedom of speech problem

Sorry, couldnt' think of a better title. I hope this is the right forum. I apologize if it is not.

Here is my problem.:
On the way to drop my 2.5 year old on the way to the babysitters this morning, there was a pro-life group standing in the medium of a busy and major route into the city.

They had rows and rows of people holding 6 foot posters of aborted fetuses at various stages.

This was disturbing to say the least. They disturbed me.
But if my child had seen this, he would of had nightmares for days. It would of profoundly upset him.

And there are school buses going nearby.

These were not images for children to see.

Thank heavens he was on the other side of the car, looking out the window.

I called the police dept., and apparently I am not the first one. But they said they are protected by the freedom of speech.But they were moved for safety issues.

Now I am all about protecting the freedom of speech. But when that speech horrifies someone, and when it can terrify small children, where do we draw the line?

violent video games come with warnings, so you can make a decision if your child should see it. But I was suddenly put in a predictament where I had no choice, and I could not protect my child.

And I do not appreciate that position being forced on me.

What are your thoughts. And is there anything I can do about this?

Here is my disclaimer, I have no problem with people being pro-choice or pro-life.

I completely understand both sides. So my issue isn't with the political topic.

If they simply had "stop abortion now" signs. Fine.

But this was completely over the line.

reply to post by nixie_nox


I am anti abortion (yes, pro life but I like to say ANTI ), however, this is my personal respect for life that I don't go around imposing onto others. I have had friends who have had abortions and although our views differ, I have never let that come between us or passed judgement on their situation.

Having said that, I concur with your line of thinking. I think standing on the side of the public road with signs of aborted fetuses is an extreme and tasteless way to get the point across.

If you (generalized) want to educate your children on the topic through the use of horrific pictures, by all means, do so...... but please, can't ya do it in your home?

I don't hide things from my children, but I certainly don't force the "horrific" and gruesome details into their faces either.

To me, this defeats the purpose of the message they are trying to get across, don't you think? I don't want my sons so desensitized to the horrific side of life that seeing something like an aborted fetus is the equivalent of a mundane trip to the grocery store.

My 2 cents for what it is worth.





[edit on 1-8-2008 by justamomma]

Same with me, I'm pro-life. However, when their free speech rights infringe upon your rights to not have an innocent child exposed to graphic images then there's a problem. This really isn't any different from holding up pornography in public for all to see.

Thank you for your kind responses.
This was just very upsetting. It was shock value at its worst.

And all the people holding the signs were young teenagers.

I am not one who is going to shelter my kid.But this would be like someone flashing a picture of a horrendous monster. Even worse because it is humans. My child is VERY empathetic, and is greatly concerned with people in despair.

My personal stance is that the decision of prochoice and pro life are debating a symptom, not solving a problem.

Eliminate the need for abortion to begin with, and you don't need to debate the cause.

Have more educational systems into place, have more access to birth control, have many more TRAINED therepists available in school and elsewhere so people can work out the problems that put them in this predictament. And so on.
Can I do anything about it?
So the next question is, Can I do anything about it?

By the way Bluetriangle, I am originally a Burgh girl. go Pens!



[edit on 1-8-2008 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by nixie_nox


did it ever occur to you that when someone that is against abortion thinks about that fetus being murdered, thats not pleasant for us either. thats what we see when we think about abortion. maybe your kids should see it, and mine too. maybe they can stop the madness when they grow up.

although, completely out of nowhere on the side of the road you say. probably a little overboard.

peace

Sometimes the message can be shocking, from both sides.

Originally posted by pureevil81
reply to post by nixie_nox

 

did it ever occur to you that when someone that is against abortion thinks about that fetus being murdered, thats not pleasant for us either. thats what we see when we think about abortion. maybe your kids should see it, and mine too. maybe they can stop the madness when they grow up.

The issue brought up was not an issue of is abortion right or wrong though.

"maybe your kids should see it" Who is anyone else to say what my kids should or shouldn't see besides me, the parent? Exposing kids to this too young could backfire by causing it to be a mundane issue as they grow older.

And as for what the OP asked: Can I do anything about it?

Not really sure. I guess you could look into the regulations for such things in your areas and write the appropriate letters, but as far as I can tell, this kind of stuff isn't deterred much and my guess as to why would be that impositions of personal views onto one another helps to put up the walls of division btw us as individuals.

Good luck and please share whatever you find out concerning the topic!

reply to post by pureevil81


The kid isn't 3 yo yet. Why would the child need to be subjected to mutilation pictures at that age? That makes no sense. Everyone should have the right to raise their kids in the fashion that they want. I wouldn't have wanted to expose my kids at a young age to this.

I agree with your point here.Possibly try to get obsenity laws passed in your township.If the government can pass laws to stop smoking at someones privately owned business(unconstitutional as they do not own the business)then they should be able to pass laws limiting the display of obsenity also.The people that do these things are doing it for the shock value and they do not care about your child perhaps you might ask a few of them why they care so much for unborn children but so little about living children.

reply to post by pooty


Yes I have been debating this in my head. I don't want to opress free speech. I am thinking of a middle ground like they have to post warning signs of content. Just like a video game or tv episode. Instead of people at work, it can be, protest containing disturbing material ahead or something.

I guess to start I should write my congressman and see what they have to say.

That stunt ruined my whole day. I didn't need to deal with that at 8:00 in the morning.

I have heard of this stunt. But I have not witnessed it before. Now I am worried that this group may go at it again.



[edit on 2-8-2008 by nixie_nox]

You just need to let the Child Know what they are seeing...

But, of course, you should try to not expose them to some things...


But, we cannot always choose what our Kids look at, when they see something that is disturbing, Like pictures of aborted babies, or 2 men Kissing, we must explain to them as simple as possible, what is going on, and why...