Not really. But sort of.
Rush Limbaugh has gotten himself in trouble again, doing the same thing he's done before. I don't know why anyone is surprised. He seems to delight in being sensational, stirring up controversy and, in his own words, "illustrating absurdity by being absurd". It's a trademark of sorts. So why is anyone in the least surprised that he called a professional women's rights activist who demands we pay for her birth control a "slut"? Why?
[Just to settle the gentleman or not debate - as far as this blog is concerned anyone divorced from three wives and married to a fourth is no gentleman, whatever he says or doesn't say about an activist putting herself on the national stage He's just not. But I wouldn't whine about not supporting his advertisers. I don't listen to talk radio much any longer, but if I did, this wouldn't be the straw to break the camel's back shooing me away from his show.]
The only thing about this whole sordid episode that should give anyone pause is the screaming double standard here. Sarah Palin, Laura Ingraham and others have all been called similar names and more - but did they get any call from the president to encourage them for standing up on principle? Did any of their accusers sponsors pull their ads? No, in fact one sponsor that has pulled their ads from the Rush Limbaugh show is still advertising on the Ed Schultz show MONTHS after he repeatedly called Laura Ingraham a slut.
You see, it's OK to call conservatives names for their views because their views are wrong, according to the kind, caring and thoughtful Left. It's OK to call yourself a slut in defiance of advice to dress modestly, when you wear it as a badge of honor. But it's not OK to call someone a slut based on their self-confessed behavior because that would be, well, it would be true and we simply cannot have that.
Slut was never a nice name. But it has always been and remains a perfectly good name for someone demanding birth control be given to her for free.
For that reason, Rush should not have apologized.
12 comments:
Excellent thoughts, well put. Bravo.
That would be all well and fine, if birth control were only used to prevent pregnancy. But that is not the case. Birth control can also help prevent ovarian cancer, help reduce the pain of severe cramps thus nigating the need of pain killers. It is appalling that as women you agree with any women being called a slut. No one deserves that humiliation. You should be ashamed of yourselves. I pray that neither you nor you children are ever judged so unfairly.
Your first mistake is to assume the judgement is unfair. I've already told you why it's not.
If your problem is severe cramps, OCP is not the best treatment. The recommended treatment is timed doses of Ibuprofen which works to block the prostaglandins that are responsible for severe cramps.
In other cases, birth control is often the default treatment of choice but frequently not the best choice because it carries risks many proponents don't like to talk about such as the increased risk of breast cancer. Another risk is the increased risk of serious and potentially fatal blood clots in women who have a normally silent genetic mutation, Factor V Leiden. The incidence of this mutation is between 5-7% of the Caucasion population. And that is only one of several mutations that increase risk of thrombosis with OCP.
"If your problem is severe cramps, OCP is not the best treatment. The recommended treatment is timed doses of Ibuprofen which works to block the prostaglandins that are responsible for severe cramps."
Just wanted to say: the kind of cramps I had before I started HBC would respond to nothing. The months leading up to starting my prescription, I spent peak days at home in agony, sweating and feverish from the pain. I was popping ibuprofen like it was candy, but it didn't make a dent. Nor did heat treatments or therapeutic stretching. (Ethan could vouch for this; one of the worst days I spent at his family's house -- this was when we were engaged -- and somehow my throes of agony didn't scare him off. That guy's a keeper.) However, I started the pill and after that -- no more cramps.
And honestly, the health risks associated with HBC are risks I'm fine with taking. I take worse risks when I get in my car to drive to school every day.
Olivia,
That is unusual. For the Ibuprofen regimen to work, it has to be started *before* cramps take hold of you and it has to be tImed so you keep a steady level in your system - which means setting an alarm clock at night.
But no sIngle treatment works for everyone.
I've been there. Had days where I couldn't stand up straight.
Kamilla,
If we establish that some women suffer debilitating cramps that respond best or only to the pill, would you alter your argument re: ibuprofen as a more suitable therapy?
That's not my argument. As I've already saud above, no single treatment works for everyone.
The problem is that the medical establishment defaults to OCP because they assume every woman between the ages of 12 and 40 is sexually active and wants to avoid pregnancy. After 40, the advice tapers off because of decreasing fertility and increasing risks. I've seen Docs practically force girls to accept OCP Rx and not discuss other options.
I wish I had been listening to Rush when he was talknig about this... but I pretty much guessed that he was being "absurd". Even though I don't particularly like his choice of words sometimes, I have never laughed harder at some of Rush's "absurdities". Don't know for sure until/unless I listen to the audio, but my understanding is that his use of the term "slut" was in response to someone's analysis that if Ms. Fluke was using condoms (at $1 per use), she must be using 2.74 condoms per day. Don't know if this fits your definition of the word or not...
I wish I had been listening to Rush when he was talknig about this... but I pretty much guessed that he was being "absurd". Even though I don't particularly like his choice of words sometimes, I have never laughed harder than when listening to some of Rush's "absurdities" (entertainment). Don't know for sure until/unless I listen to the audio, but my understanding is that his use of the term "slut" was in response to someone's analysis that if Ms. Fluke was spending $3,000 on birth control and using condoms (at $1 per use), she must be using 2.74 condoms per day. Don't know if this fits your definition of the word or not.
Kamilla,
You made it your argument when you said "If your problem is severe cramps, OCP is not the best treatment."
Just pointing out that this is a polarized, broad statement which is obviously untrue in some cases.
I agree that HBC is over-prescribed. I was a victim as a teenager, myself -- I was prescribed isotretinoin and my doc would not let me take it unless I also got a prescription for HBC. Apparently abstinence isn't as successful at preventing pregnancy as the pill.... And at 17 I didn't feel I had much of a choice. Hard to argue with a doctor at that age.
However, just because HBC is over-prescribed doesn't mean it ISN'T the best choice for managing certain symptoms for some women.
There's been a lot of maligning of the Catholic Bishops for their "denying" women proper medical treatment by not making OCP available at no charge, as the HHS mandate would have it. The Catholic Church considers the use of oral contraceptives and hormonal treatments for actual illness, e.g polycystic ovary syndrome, to be licit. It's always been so. Contraception in these cases would be considered a secondary effect, not the reason for taking them.
Sandra Flue gave her testimony about a friend who had ovarian cancer. She didn't say anyone should pay for her to have sex. If you haven't heard her actual testimony, it's not really fair to talk it.
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