Roe v. Wade Anniversary Shenanigans

Today is the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. The anniversary usually brings out the typical right wing, anti choice nut jobs in big numbers, and today was no exception. Normally I would have thought about picking up an escort shift at Planned Parenthood on such a day (I've been derelict in my volunteer duties - working full time does that to a girl), as I sort of enjoy keeping the peace in all the chaos. However, it turns out it's a good thing I wasn't volunteering this morning, as something unusual happened at the clinic - a rabid anti-choicer decided to drive his SUV or truck up onto the sidewalk and into the front door of the clinic. I guess he then proceeded to ram the door several times, and when the police came to arrest him, he was mumbling on about closing down "Auschwitz" aka Planned Parenthood (I find the comparison to the Holocaust extremely offensive, but that's a post for another day). Wowzers! As I mentioned, I'm glad I wasn't volunteering as an escort today, as they don't really train you for THAT scenario. Bombs, guns, protesters, yes, but a protestor actually ramming the building with a car, not so much.

The most irritating thing about it? Abortions only constitute 5% of all services provided at that clinic. Most women are there for birth control, annual exams, etc. That doesn't stop the nuts though - they have to disrupt service for EVERYONE to prove their point. What I will never understand however is this: how can they claim to be so "pro-life" yet then oppose funding for programs that benefit single parents and their kids? Also, I think everyone can agree that no one WANTS abortions to occur. Unfortunately, the anti-choicers somehow seem to forget that the way to prevent pregnancy is via birth control - something they also vehemently oppose. I also hate the whole bury your head in the sand, abstinence only approach. I'm sorry, but people are going to continue to have sex - it's a human need and right. Isn't it better to PREVENT unwanted pregnancies than to terminate them later? Alas, you simply cannot reason with this group. Instead, it turns out you have to watch out for flying cars on the sidewalk (and other mayhem) while volunteering. Good times! Good Friday should be REALLY interesting this year. Stay tuned for that!

More from Planned Parenthood

I've still been volunteering at Planned Parenthood, and the other day, a woman told me that she wished I would use my talents for good. Being a well trained escort, I dutifully ignored her and went about my work, but I couldn't help but smile. Really, she's sure assuming a lot, as how does she know I have other talents? Also, if she and her cronies didn't spend their mornings at the clinic, I COULD use my talents for something else. Sigh. As much as I wanted to shout that back, there is no point - they just don't get it.

In other PP news, I had to threaten to call the police the other day, as the protestors were blocking cars and thrusting literature into the cars - all not allowed. Yuck. They backed off a bit after the warning, but they were still aggressive. One of these days, one of them will be run over by a car, and I don't think I will be able to help feeling a little...idk, satisfied. I know that sounds awful, but these people are insane, and they violate federal law by blocking the cars. Obviously, I don't want anyone to be seriously harmed, but perhaps getting their feet ran over would teach them a lesson. Probably not, given their nutty ways, but you never know.

That's all from PP world for now.

The Co-Opting of Juno

I had my weekly volunteer gig at Planned Parenthood yesterday, and it went pretty smoothly. 6 protestors, but 3 mostly just prayed the rosary. Charlie was there as usual, and he was his same old self, with one new thing. He has now co-opted the movie Juno into his repertoire. By this, I mean as he talks to the women as they try to walk into the clinic, he tells them that they don't have to have an abortion and that it's just like the movie Juno, in which the main character chose to have the baby. Now, I don't know if most people have seen Juno, but if you have, you know the point of the movie isn't anti-choice, but rather it's a movie about a girl making a tough decision and choosing to do what felt right to her. However, I remember watching the movie and thinking, uh oh, this is going to be used by the anti-choicers, and now it is. Swell. Hopefully the patients are smart enough to see through the ruse, and they can see that they can make whatever decision they want, just like Juno did.

Here's to making decisions that work for you!

Happy birthday to Karen and Austin, both turning big ages this week!

April Fools Day Catch Up Blog

Long time no write! Life has been crazy. Here are a few of the things I've been doing:

1. MS Walk Fundraising. I finally sent out my annual plea for donations for the MS Walk. Come on peeps, I need your help! I want to hit $2,000 this year, and I totally think it's doable. Every little bit helps. If you want to donate, I've set up a link on my blog (top right corner). Thanks for anything you can give!

2. Watching two episodes of the Tudors with Beth and Samantha. To put it simply, I hate that show. Not only is it about one of my least favorite time periods in history (well, let's face it, I pretty much only like history from 1600 on anyway), but the show is incredibly graphic. In the two episodes I watched, I saw and heard a man burned to death, saw people boiled to death (Beth muted for me), and watched a man slit his own throat. WTF?!? Obviously, this stuff happened, but I certainly do not need to watch/hear it on TV. I seriously can't get the images out of my head. Disgusting. Needless to say, I don't plan to watch much of that show in the future.

3. ER visits. Poor Beth is sick. Something is wrong with her stomach/abdomen area, and after three trips to the ER and one night in observation, the docs still don't know what is wrong. They kept saying virus, virus, virus, but I'm sorry, viruses don't last this long. Currently, she is at Methodist hospital undergoing more tests. Her regular doctor sent her there to see a surgeon. Best guess: appendicitis. She had all the symptoms, but the cat scan was clear before. Who knows? I'm headed over to the hospital later today.

4. Jersey Boys. My family and I went to see Jersey Boys on Saturday night. I enjoyed the show, but my sisters and I and our respective dates were by far the youngest people in the crowd. The show must appeal more to my parents' generation, which is too bad because it's a good story with good music. Perhaps it's just the high price that keeps my folks away. If you have the time and the cash, go check out the show. Good stuff!

5. Visiting various Twin Cities Minute Clinics. I've been a bit sick myself, and after getting meds at one Minute Clinic and then not getting better, I had to jet to another Minute Clinic between classes yesterday. Good times! Hopefully this set of antibiotics will do the trick!

6. School stuff. I had a midterm exercise due on Monday, so I finished that over the weekend. I'm also trying to stay on task, as finals are in less than a month. I'm trying to remind myself that I only need to pass...

In other school news, one of my Sexual Orientation and the Law professors really irked me last Wednesday. We were discussing a case and she mentioned that HLNJ, my firm, argued on one side. After class, I asked her which case they had argued, and she told me the name. I then proceeded to tell both profs that I would be working there upon graduation. One of the profs said that was great and that she had a close friend there, and the other prof just said, why would you work there. She wouldn't even look at me. So, there I was, left feeling a bit crushed, as I'm proud and happy to be working for HLNJ, and I tried to respond by saying that I think it's a good firm, etc. She then proceeded to say that she had argued against them too many times to say anything, and then stopped talking. She basically left it at that.

I left class feeling dirty, like I had done something wrong...I can't figure out if she has a personal problem with some folks at the firm (likely guess), or if she just really can't stand people who do defense work (which my firm does a lot of). I also got the vibe that she thought I was selling my soul (she does plaintiff's work for people, many GLBTers, bringing employment discrimination cases, and HLNJ does a lot of employment defense work). I'm really not sure what her problem was, but I found her response quite jarring and completely inappropriate. If she has an opinion, she should state it, but she should also recognize that I'm a student and that what she says will impact me. Anyway, after stewing about it, I decided to visit with Career Services to discuss the firm and its reputation...I highly doubt I will make any horrible discoveries (I've already worked there for 3 months), but I thought it would make me feel better regardless. Stay tuned for more on that, if I remember anyway.

7. Volleyball. I played my last volleyball game of the season (I missed this last week because of another event which will be described below). Overall, the season went well, but we never played up to our full potential. Regardless, I'm so glad I played and I can't wait until next fall to start again!

In other sports news, I think I'm going to play softball this summer! I haven't worn cleats since I demolished my knee, but I thought, why not give it a try. I will try to take it easy and focus on fun...we'll see how that goes. I'm going to hit the batting cages soon, so that should be fun as well. :)

8. Bowling. Beth and I went bowling when I returned home from DC. It turns out there is a bowling alley in the midway - who knew (well, besides Beth of course)? We bowled four games, and I bowled fine. I'm just never going to be a good bowler, and that's okay. My tendonitis certainly remembered to act up though, as I could hardly use my right hand the next day!

9. Planning Trips. Alaska is booked now, which is excellent news. We have our plane tickets and everything. I can't wait to go on that trip! We will spend time in Anchorage, Denali National Park (location of Mt. McKinley), and Barrow, a town that is super far north and only accessible by plane. While in Barrow, I'll be near the Arctic Sea, which I think is quite neat.

I still need to plan my other summer adventures too...so many options, so little money! ;)

10. Setting a start date at the firm. As of right now, I will begin working at HLNJ on September 8, 2008! They let me choose between that date and the Tuesday after Labor Day. I figured I might as well take the extra time, as once I start working I won't have a whole lot of vacation time. Oh, in other news, Don Lewis, the "L" in HLNJ, is going to be the dean of Hamline's law school! This is great news for Hamline! Don will stay on at the firm in the Of Counsel position, which is great for the firm. All in all, good news!

11. Twins Season Opener. I went to the Twins opener last night with Beth and her parents. We battled the crazy snow and made it to the game with plenty of time to spare. Everyone kept talking about how nice it was to have the dome because of the weather. However, I disagree with them. Once the new stadium opens, the Twins will simply open the season on the road; there won't be home games in March. Plus, not that many games get rained/snowed out, period. I just don't think it will be a huge deal. I could eat these words in 2010, but oh well.

Anyway, the game was fun and the Twins won, so no complaints here. Oh, except that the hot dog that I ate made me quite sick. Other than that, it was all good! I can't wait to go to my next game...

12. Volunteering at Planned Parenthood. Not much new to report here, as I missed a shift for spring break and then another from being sick. I will be there tomorrow though, so perhaps I'll have a good story for the blog. Stay tuned. :)

13. Making plans to see you, my friends and family! I'm trying to hang out with folks before the mad rush of finals and so you all don't forget I exist! ;) Shout out if you want to get together some time soon.

Well, I think that's about it. I need to buckle down on school work, so life (and as a result, this blog) might be a bit boring for a while.

Adios mis amigos!

"You're a hollow shell"

So today I discovered that I'm a hollow shell, that I'm dead but yet in my body, that I'm doing Satan's work, that I'm crazy, going to hell, and that I enjoy shredding babies. I also learned much more about myself, but I can't remember it all at the moment. What the hell was I doing you ask? Well, that was just from my first class this morning!

Okay, okay, really, I made all these discoveries during my weekly Planned Parenthood volunteer stint. A new (to me) anti-choice protestor showed up today, and let me tell you, she was a nut job. She informed me of all of the above and said much, much more as well. She was in our faces, rude, and confrontational in general. Also, she kept shaking "holy" water on the ground in front of the clinic. I declined her offer for my own personal bath, and fortunately, she at least listened to that. She also carried around a disgusting picture of a "shredded" baby and spent a great deal of time talking to herself. My favorite though was when she told the African-American patients that she had people who would love to take their black babies. Wow! I've heard she often uses the N-word, but fortunately, she did not today. Seriously, she needs treatment. Scary, scary woman. In good news, her presence makes our side look a lot more sane!

Also, I heard Charlie, a regular protestor who is basically harmless, tell crazy lady that they saved a baby today in Robbinsdale. Now, I'm not sure how they did that, since it's really the woman's choice, but they were so proud and smug. Also, I think the clinics in Robbinsdale are similarly named, so they probably tricked the poor woman into going to the wrong clinic. Seriously, they make me laugh.

Finally, in an interesting twist of events, a car pulled up in front of the clinic and out climbed a woman. I figured, okay, she must be a patient, but this is a bit odd as patients are usually dropped off in the parking lot. Instead, it turns out that this woman is pro-choice and wants to get right in the face of the anti-choicers. And she does. Right in their faces, arguing with them.

Now, you might think her stepping up is good, but it actually made me very nervous because confronting the protestors tends to escalate the situation. Our job as escorts is to remain calm and keep the scene under control while accompanying patients inside; really, it's about patient care. Thus, we are not to engage in dialogue with people like nut job lady. Instead, we are to ignore them and to provide a buffer between them and the patients. Ignoring them isn't alway easy, especially on days like today, but it works. In fact, it really pisses the protestors off when you ignore them. However, our well meaning pro-choice activist caused a bit of a scene and Charlie threatened to call the police because she was interfering with his speaking. Really, the police probably would have ignored him, but because he was reaching for his cell phone, I had to step up and call security outside. Our security guard spoke to our pro-choicer and things calmed down a bit after that. Eventually, the pro-choicer was picked up (still super strange) and things returned to normal (well, as normal as they get outside of PP). I appreciate her efforts, but really, that probably wasn't the best idea and it's certainly not the most effective way to enact change. So friends, please don't show up to confront the anti-choicers, especially during my shifts. :)

Despite the craziness, I'm still loving the clinic escort gig. In fact, I sort of thrive on the craziness. I'm not saying I want a violent blow up or anything (that would be horrible), but I'm good at maintaining the peace. I can remain calm in crazy situations, and I think that carries over into the surrounding environment. Thus, I feel like I'm making a difference everyday I work there. However, I'm very glad I had a co-escort today, as a solo shift might have been difficult under the circumstances. Overall, PP rocks and I'm so glad I volunteer there. Yay PP!

PS: Two days til DC! Yay!

Volunteering I'll a Go - Planned Parenthood Rocks!

Because my class schedule this semester provides some free time during the week, I decided I should volunteer somewhere. At about the same time, Planned Parenthood sent out a note saying they needed clinic escorts, and I decided to sign up. For those of you who don't know, clinic escorts literally escort patients into the Highland Park Planned Parenthood clinic. We meet the patients near their cars and then walk them to the entrance, acting as sort of a buffer between the patients and the anti-choice protestors that descend upon the clinic every day (the Highland Park clinic is the only Planned Parenthood clinic in the Twin Cities that provides abortions).

Anyway, I've always wanted to be an escort because it seemed like a really worthwhile use of my time, unlike some of the other volunteer work I've done in the past. I had my first shift last week, and I think it went really well. It was bitterly cold, but fortunately I had the later morning shift, meaning I started at about 9:45 and ended at around 12:00. I still don't think the temp rose about 0, but at least it wasn't below 0! During my shift, there were 3 protestors present, one of whom actually approached me as soon as I walked up to the clinic. She wanted to provide me with some anti-choice information, and she was vocal and right up in my face. Per my training, I ignored her and told the escort there that I was a new escort. I then had a little training/orientation, and began my shift.

Many of the patients for the day were already inside the clinic, but I did have to escort several folks in, and I also tried to block the patients from the protestors while they went out for cigarettes or snacks. One of the protestors just walked back and forth carrying a big crucifix while praying the rosary. He didn't really cause any trouble; it was just amusing. However, the other protestor was extremely vocal, talking at the patients for their entire walk into the clinic. He would tell them they were making the wrong choice, that there was help down the street, etc. He would also tell the patients' friends/partners/boyfriends/girlfriends that it was their job to encourage the patient to make a better decision, etc. He also told them they would go to hell if they made the wrong choice. As an escort, I am not supposed to engage the protestors at all, and despite the idiotic things coming out their mouths, I was able to ignore them completely. The vocal guy tried to engage me at least twice, and I just stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. He did inform me that hell is a real place however, so I'm glad to finally know that! In actuality, it really wasn't that hard to keep quiet, as there is really no point in engaging these folks. They obviously believe what they believe, and nothing I say on the street is going to change that. My job is to make the patients feel comfortable, and engaging in a battle won't help with that. Besides, many of the patients were quite vocal themselves, and they came up with some brilliant comebacks on their own. It was hard not to say "right on" at times, but I kept a straight face and did my job.

Despite the cold and the nut job protestors, I really enjoyed my first shift, and I'm excited for my next one. I finally feel like I found a volunteer gig that matters, and I'm working for an organization that I support wholeheartedly. Perhaps if things get really sticky one day, I will have a change of heart, but I doubt it. I survived the 2004 legislative session, during which the phone rang off the hook with anti gay marriage, homophobic, hate filled callers and we received 1000s of similar emails; certainly I can handle a few anti-choicers on Ford Parkway!

PS: Planned Parenthood is looking for pro-choice, pro Planned Parenthood volunteers to come to the clinic on Good Friday, March 21. Every year, anti-choicers organize a HUGE rally at the clinic, and Planned Parenthood would like to counter that with some friendly folks. I cannot go as I will still be in Washington, D.C., but if you could spare a few hours that day, I'm sure they would greatly appreciate it. Contact me for more information.

PPS to Mom: Try not to worry too much about my safety while volunteering. There hasn't been violence at that clinic for a very long time. :)