#repealedthe8th

[solo1y]

The Rock of Cashel, before and after the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment. The difference from October 2017 to June 2018 is two letters.

We managed to create a safer Ireland for all women, including the ones who voted No.

[lailedcat]

“History says, don’t hope On this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme.” - Seamus Heaney. (The Cure at Troy, 1991)

Ireland, ya beaut. We did it.

[letsallgotothelobby]

[brobexx]

Today my home country of Ireland decriminalised abortion for the very first time in the history of the state.

This is such an incredibly massive step forward and shows just how progressive our country has become. I’m so proud <3

[atheistcartoons]

The Eighth Amendment is to be removed from the Irish constitution. 

For the first time in Irish history, women are equal citizens under the law.

We won.

[somebogwitch]

We did it lads. #repealedthe8th

[mistertez]

🇮🇪👍🏻

[sweetwatergays]

Watching the hashtags go from “#RepealThe8th” to “#RepealedThe8th” has been a special moment

[werewolf-cuddles]

Congratulations Ireland

[glorianas]

repealed #repealedthe8th #dublin (at Portobello, Dublin)

[mariejunior1]

Bit of fun today on top of Bray Head! Totes a fitness model! 😂 Still love my REPEAL jumper and loving my 4th pair of @lovepeachylean leggings. High wasted...yes please! Great fabric too. #brayhead #bray #fitnessmotivation #fitnessmodel #gymleggings #repealedthe8th #funfitness Thank you to my wonderful photographer @annalucyhughes She’s the best 😂💕 (at Bray Head)

[orlaoreo]

Finally got the repeal tattoo I've been talking about since March. It was less letters then but May changed everything. I could do a long sappy paragraph about the campaign and memories of it but it's all been said before and I don't want to end up crying while posting this so just think about your own when you read this ❤ - - - - - - #repeal #repealedthe8th #repealed #tattoo #ink #photography

[stillwithhernothim]

We congratulate the people of #Ireland and we #Celebrate a woman’s right to choose. #repealthe8th #prochoice #womensequality #repealedthe8th

[chrissycurtin]

Personal illustration ‘The North is Next’. Ever since we #repealedthe8th in Ireland this May it’s now Northern Ireland’s turn to make reproduction healthcare available to women and pregnant people there too!! It’s currently the only country in the UK (and Ireland come 2019) that refuses women abortions and it’s got to change. It’s time for equality for women’s reproductive rights.✊💪 I’ve put this illo up on my Redbubble shop if you’d like to buy it. It’s on t-shirts, tapestries, totes & more 🙏 #repealthe8th #thenorthisnext #reproductiverights #womensrights #equality #illustration #illustrator #illustrationartists #illustratorsoninstagram #drawing #artistsoninstagram #feminism #feminist #femaleartist #irishart #irishillustration #womenwhodraw #womenwithpencils #typography #design #chrissycurtin

[solo1y]

My #RepealThe8th: Part X

Both Sides

As I’ve already written, the pro-choice people were subject to harassment and intimidation (I personally know of people who were physically assaulted for nothing more than standing at a table handing out leaflets) on a daily basis. Attempts to explain our experiences were sometimes met by pro-life people with their own stories, some of which must have been made up, and which never seemed to amount to anything more than a pro-choice person expounding a passionate opinion. They would inevitably begin and end the response with “both sides are as bad as each other”, as though that were remotely true.

I had thought that “both sides” was simply a matter of political apathy, but during the #RepealThe8th campaign, it turned out to be something darker: weaponised silencing. After all, if you’re a right-wing conservative, “both sides” can appear like a nuanced, considered opinion and you can easily position it such that any analysis of criticism of that opinion (which will necessarily come from left-wing liberals) can be dismissed as liberal bias.

"Both sides" is an argument used when you know you're taking justified flak and you don't feel capable of addressing those issues.

"Both sides" is an argument used to position your emotion-based opinions on the same field as someone else's fact-based lived experience.

"Both sides" is an argument used to pretend that a few extremists on one side represent their mainstream, while ignoring the fact that your entire campaign is based around extremism.

“Both sides” is an argument which advertises that you’ve put zero effort into understanding any of the issues, and yet have somehow found a way to be proud of this intellectual laziness.

“Both sides” is an argument used to dissuade people who are already weary of political chicanery from getting involved in issues they care about - even if it’s just voting in a referendum. This will necessarily favour the status quo.  

Logic 101

The above illustration is a graph of a standard normal distribution of any data set. I’m sure you can work out why I put it here. 

Further Adventures

“Always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”

- Elie Wiesel, human rights activist and Nobel laureate.

Case Study 1: Vandalism of Heritage Landmarks

When some pro-life people defaced a national landmark by putting a huge NO sign on Ben Bulben, pro-life people on social media leaped to their defence by making comparisons to when Tipperary For Choice published a photo of a large Repeal sign on the Rock of Cashel. 

The difference is that the pro-choice people merely held up a banner in front of the Rock of Cashel, took a photo and went home. The pro-life people did actual damage to Ben Bulben, refused to take responsibility, and the sign had to be removed by others. 

But, sure, “both sides”, yeah?

Case Study 2: Experts

Whenever experts were consulted by pro-choice people, pro-life people would inevitably counter that “both sides” had experts.

However, the pro-life people struggled to find qualified spokespeople, and when they did, they were frequently exposed as liars or had criminal records or were misrepresenting their credentials. The Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment could not find a single medical expert in Ireland to argue the case for the status quo.

The pro-choice people had a coalition of experts from every relevant field, including the vast majority of general practitioners, midwives, lawyers and gynaecologists. None of those disciplines was remotely split down the middle, and working, qualified professionals made appearances across social media, in the discussions programmes and attended meetings all over the country.

But, sure, “both sides”, yeah?

Case Study 3: Avatars Of The Movements

As the debate heated up, heroes of the people emerged on “both sides”. While there were scraps between infantry on the ground, the gulf in class between the leaderships of the two sides was apparent right from the start.

The pro-choice people had, among others:

Ailbhe Smyth, spokeswoman and convenor for the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Nurse Polly, practicing gynaecological nurse and Twitter detective.

Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council.

Louise Kenny, Professor of Obstetrics in UCC. 

Simon Harris, Minister for Health.

The pro-life people had, among others:

John McGuirk, communications director for the Save the 8th campaign.

Cora Sherlock, deputy chairperson of the Pro Life Campaign.

John Waters, journalist.

David Quinn, journalist and founder of the Iona Institute. 

Maria Steen, retired barrister with the Iona Institute.

Declan Ganley, businessman and founder of Libertas. 

Rónán Mullen, senator and founder of Human Dignity Alliance.

The pro-choice leadership developed a campaign of tolerance and inclusion based on compassion and promoting the real-life stories of the many, many women whose lives had been negatively affected, and sometimes destroyed, by the Eighth Amendment. At no point did they insult or demean anyone who had strongly held pro-life views.

The pro-life leadership developed a campaign of harassment, sarcastic abuse, histrionics, vandalism and lies. And as if you didn’t already know, the reason they engage in these lies are because lying is an alarmingly effective political strategy.

During an episode of Claire Byrne Live, literally every single attempt by representatives of TFMR to share their experiences was shouted down.

On the Pat Kenny Show and elsewhere, Rónán Mullen repeatedly indicated that mental health issues don’t count as real health issues.

John McGuirk called students “buffoons” and averred that “the vast majority of young people are dumb”. 

Cora Sherlock regularly repeated lies like “90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome aborted, one in four pregnancies ending in abortion”.

John Waters compared abortion access to the holocaust and shouted abuse at an interviewer who questioned his opinions in a fairly neutral way.

Declan Ganley averred that the pro-choice movement was about making money for “the abortion industry” and claimed he wouldn’t pay tax if abortion were legalised.

Generally, they never stopped complaining about being “marginalised” and “silenced” while the media reported on everything they said and did.

and on and on and on.

How they expected to win I have no idea. Thankfully the Irish people were smart enough to see right through it.

But, sure, “both sides”, yeah? 

Conclusion

"Both sides" is not just demonstrably incorrect; it actively damages the public discourse. Smart people mistake it for nuance and stupid people mistake it for thinking.

PRO TIP: If only one side keeps saying "both sides", then maybe not both sides, yeah? 

Next: My #RepealTheEight: Part XI

[yseultb-blog]

I have stayed very quiet during this entire campaign. My aim was to be respectful. Respectful to people I disagree with, respectful to people hurting, respectful to people in general being bashed and beaten with propaganda from both sides. That's not to say that if you posted you weren't respectful, I saw many people who campaigned with grace and dignity but I saw a lot of low blows and even now that the people have spoken, the mud slinging hasn't stopped. So I'd like to tell you why I voted the way I did, if you care to read it. I was born at 26 weeks, so my feelings on abortion as a contraceptive, esp at late term are not especially favourable. However that was never up for debate. We are offering women in crisis situations up to TWELVE weeks or late term in cases where there are fatal foetal abnormality, or a risk to the mother's life, the option to healthcare and support at home. We are making sure that women who are going through miscarriages, do not have to suffer over extended periods or knock on deaths door, and women do not have to lose their lives simply because they became pregnant. You are perfectly entitled to disagree with me. But I am happy with the result today. #TrustWomen #8thref #Repealedthe8th #Revolution #Reform #KnowYourRights #ThingsAreNotBlackAndWhite #TogetherForYes