ENGAGE!!

I went to visit my sister in Los Angeles last week, and on Saturday morning we got up to go do her regular Saturday morning thing. She is a clinic escort with L.A. for Choice, a pro-choice group that stands outside a women's health clinic and helps women get safely from the curb to the door.  This group, and others like it, is necessary because there is also an anti-choice contingent on the sidewalk handing out fliers, cards and other propaganda.  The anti-choice people try to intimidate women and berate them with their brand of Christianity, the kind I do not subscribe to.  I'm also not a fan of beating someone over the head with my faith, but that's a post for another day.

So we're out there in the blazing sun, wearing our awesome orange tank tops emblazoned with PRO-CHOICE CLINIC ESCORT, firmly holding our ground between the protesters and the clinic.  We do not engage with them.  It is our job simply to escort women if they need it, and to offer to take the propaganda off their hands.  That is all.  An older woman protester brought her grandchildren, who looked to be about 3 and 5, and sat them on the curb next to the street to play while she sang Ave Maria and recited the Hail Mary for two hours.  This made me extremely nervous, and when the kids started crawling around under my feet I mentioned that she might want to take them home.  A man walked in between us and said, "You can go home, baby killer." 

Baby killer.  

I wanted to punch him in the mouth.  It was the most egregious insult ever hurled at me, and it rolled off his tongue so effortlessly.  

As the morning wore on without further incident, I wanted so badly to go have a conversation with him.  I wanted to stick out my hand, say, "My name is Bethany.  Let's talk about that name you just called me and how it isn't actually true.  Also, not a very nice thing to say.  Oh, and by the way, I'm a seminary student with deeply held convictions on things like abortion.  Let's talk about these things, so you can get to know me a little before calling me such an ugly name."  I didn't, because we weren't there to engage, but oh how I wanted to.

Later, as I took time to process the events of the morning, I decided I absolutely should have engaged him in that conversation.  If for no other reason than to see that no matter how hard I tried, no matter how loving and gracious I was, he wouldn't ever love me back.

Or would he?

I found him on the Twitter, and started following him...and he followed me back.  I'm mostly just observing for right now, but I'm hoping this will create a safe space for us to engage in some real dialogue.  Via Twitter of all things.  Now isn't that interesting?