Compare/ Contrast

Here are a couple articles about our awesome pink wave event last Thursday @ the Capitol. Should we compare them? The details are so interesting. Even the headlines say volumes about the writers' attitudes towards reproductive health. "Abortion rights group plan rally at Oklahoma Capitol, decry Legislature's 'war on women'" here, while the more balanced KOCO.com reports that "Women Call For Reproductive Rights at Rally".  It's interesting (not surprising) that the first article's focus is abortion. It mentions Oklahoma's new laws further restricting abortion in the state, but also not surprisingly fails to mention its attack on the WIC program, which is targeted because the Planned Parenthood in Tulsa receives WIC funds. That's it. To this person, abortion (even just the hypothetical thought of abortion) is all that is worthy of mention. There is of course no mention of the many other services Planned Parenthood in Oklahoma DOES provide. No mention of how cutting WIC funding would affect women and children in the state.

What we need most of all is to recognize how complex these issues surrounding reproductive rights and womens' health are. The speakers at the pink wave realized this, and their talked covered a wide variety of topics that should be widely discussed. Shrill newspaper articles, on the other hand, don't seem to understand this. Like reality television stars, their only goal seems to be as loud and as brainless as possible.