Nixon: Abortion is necessary... when you have a black and a white

[autumnmist]

Can't say I'm particularly shocked, but...

On Jan. 23, 1973, when the Supreme Court struck down state criminal abortion laws in Roe v. Wade, President Richard M. Nixon made no public statement. But privately, newly released tapes reveal, he expressed ambivalence

Comments

[bambu345]

Not shocked, no; but angered nonetheless.

[autumnmist]

That too. Consider the fact that most people who are in positions of power nowadays (corporate or otherwise) were included in the generation(s) that elected him.

[bambu345]

I know. It makes me feel better to have actively worked for the McGovern campaign, no matter how idealistic.

[mundungus42]

I don't think I'm capable of being surprised by any revalation about Nixon anymore. And while his feelings on micegenation are wholly repugnant, at least he acknowledges that abortion is a necessary evil, which is a more enlightened view many articulated by contemporary members of his party.

[rhitroadkill]

Well you know where I stand on one of the issues so I won't start a wank on your journal, but I do at least think that at least a majority of Nixon's generation survived to change their minds on the racial issues. He might have too for all I know. If every dumb thing we say early in life when attitudes/society were different were kept in perpetuity (oh, hello Myspace!), we are going to have to learn to deal with the embarrassment and facepalm that often occurs. (I do think the grammar is suspect in that sentence, but you get what I mean, I hope.) We can hope we spend our entire lives "enlightened" but really, it often takes time or new technologies or new ideas or whatever to bring about the change. I hope that someday that everyone will see that abortion is murder and be enlightened in that way while obviously the other side hopes for the complete opposite. (oops, was that wank-starting

[autumnmist]

Well, Nixon himself was not saying that "early in life" (more like rather late in life)

And I'm not sure how much older people have or have not changed their minds. I know they've at least progressed to knowing that they ought to hide it, but I've encountered at least three separate parents-of-my-friends who were unashamedly racist when I was not around.

[rhitroadkill]

Ah. I didn't read the article to see when the quotes were from. It's interesting about the whole racism-undercover thing. On the one hand, you are glad people aren't displaying their prejudices but on the other hand you lose the chance for discourse when they keep their opinions to themselves and sneer behind your back. We've made it so hard to have an opinion that is not "PC" or "of the majority" that we might actually stifle change. Or else change occurs by outliving the ones who don't want it.

[mme_de_bergerac]

*facepalm*
Repeat after me "it's twenty-first century now, nobody thinks like this anymore"...
Do you think that if we repeat it enough, we will maybe start to believe it?