Erica Scott: Life, Love and Spanking

Ruminations, opinionated observations, darkly humorous blathering and the occasional rant from an outspoken spanko and unapologetic attention wh–, um, hog.

04 Aug 2021
13 Comments

Off topic, but…

… I have to ask.

Does anyone have a reasonable explanation for this?

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Remember, I said reasonable.

Still waiting…

Yeah. That’s what I thought. massive eye roll

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13 thoughts on “Off topic, but…”

  1. Xen on said:

    Human beings generally think they’re a lot more clever than they really are.

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  3. KDPierre on said:

    What are you asking about? Why such a cartoon would exist, or a justification for the attitude of the main character depicted? For the latter, in my experience the type of person who is anti-abortion does not see pregnancy as being the same as a vaccine. Frequently religious, with typically an attitude that everything that happens is the will of a god, they see ending a god-given life as a serious sin….murder. Conversely, not getting a vaccine merely puts their fate in that same god’s hands and is not an active, intentional murder…..even if that choice does indeed lead to the death of them or someone else. To them that would not be their fault but the will of that god of theirs.

    Obviously the person who made this cartoon is Pro-choice and again, in my experience, these people tend to see things more practically than dogmatically. Still, while clever in terms of using ‘choice’ as the source of irony for connecting the two issues and then mocking the separation of two issues that the author sees AS connected (by “choice), it does fail on the comparison between a vaccine and an abortion. Even as a vaccinated, pro-choice person myself, I can see a big difference between the two. And a conservative would not be swayed by such a cartoon but instead see it as a straw man comparison…….which it kind of is.

    I am an atheist……but I wasn’t always. I can understand the anti-abortion rationale from a theistic perspective because it is consistent with their belief system and the practicality of being pro-choice from an atheistic one since the hazards of making abortion illegal are well-documented. My biggest issue with theists as depicted in the cartoon, is their usual hypocrisy. If they were religiously consistent, I’d have a harder time dismissing them, but they make it very easy with their theological menu method of belief. (Follow what they like, ignore the parts they don’t.)

    But the far left is just as guilty of hypocrisy….and of marching in lockstep with whatever spews from their pulpit without thinking it through logically…..just on different issues. (I think if a religious conservative saw this cartoon and wanted to retaliate, they’d have an easy time: how about “free speech”? LOL If arch-liberals are guilty of anything it’s the silencing of viewpoints they don’t like while chanting “free speech” to defend those they do.)

    Now that is what’s going on…..but, to your question….are either of those opposing attitudes ‘reasonable’? Perhaps not, but this cartoon exists because it depicts something real regardless of whether it is reasonable. I simply don’t know too many reasonable people and am quite capable of being unreasonable at times myself. And to me the author’s comparison is just as unreasonable as the dismissive view of the main character in the cartoon.

    If a person is raised in a certain environment, and exposed to a particular ideology on a regular basis to reinforce their ‘beliefs’, is it then UNreasonable to think they would behave any differently? If history demonstrates this over and over …..AND OVER….isn’t it more unreasonable to think things would be otherwise?

    (The best bit of sarcastic humor I saw to attack anti-vaxxers was a meme saying: “I’d take a bullet for my country!” followed by: “You won’t even take a needle for your neighbor, so sit down!”) A better comparison I think.

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  4. jay on said:

    Would it be just as compelling and ridiculous if the main characters in the cartoon were switched while the same question was posed, and in doing so, wouldn’t it likely cast the pro-choice character in the exact same illogical loight?

    Lumping individuals into groups, and then portraying those individuals as being representative of an all or nothing group entire group (Rep./Dem.) is precisely the reason it is difficult to have reasonable discourse anymore. For example, in this cartoon scenario, the implication is that an anti-vaxxer cannot possibly make a reasonable point without having to also cheer on a pro-choice advocate solely on the basis of the microscopic thread of logic that connects them.

    This is just my opinion … I could be wrong

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    • KDPierre on said:

      Jay: That’s another very valid point I had not considered, but you are spot on: If a “pro-choice” person believes IN choice when it comes to one’s body, then they should logically support an anti-vaxxer’s decision, even if they don’t agree with it since it’s the same rationale. Hmmm. on that alone the cartoon fails.

      Sharp observation. (I guess I was too busy going in a different direction by not feeling comfortable with the comparison.)

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  5. Baxter on said:

    The thing that gets me about the anti-vaxxers is that many of them supported #45, the same person who instigated Warp Speed to get the vaccines developed and out to the populace. They pound their chests that #45 did the great thing, but then these folks don’t want to take the vaccine. The hypocrisy and ignorance is appalling. But then again, #45 could have done much better than, in his own words, play down the seriousness of Covid AND he could have promoted masking, social distancing and hand washing as ways to help avoid the virus. But NOOOOO, not the egomaniac. So very sad that 600K US citizens died due to him. But so many are still enthralled with him. Incredible.

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  6. Erica Scott on said:

    Xen — oftentimes so, yes.

    MJ — double yup.

    KD — I clearly touched a nerve, but I’m glad it was yours, not someone who would take off on a rant and tell me I’m liberal scum. (Yes, it’s been said.) Here’s a bit of an Achilles heel to admit — I suck at arguing. I get too emotional and lose the point. And I haven’t had any coffee yet this morning. So I’m at a disadvantage facing the attempt to parse and address this. I will concede that you made very good and well described points.

    I am extremely emotional about pro-choice. I came of age in the time of Roe v. Wade, and as a young woman I had the privilege of deciding what I wanted to do with my own body. When I chose at 26 to have my tubes tied, I wasn’t questioned or judged or preached at. And if I hadn’t, I knew I had birth control available and yes, abortion as an option so I wouldn’t bring an unwanted child into the world. Unlike my mother’s choices… and that’s all I will say on that. The fact that we seem to be returning to my mother’s era sickens and angers me. I’m especially grateful now that I don’t have daughters/granddaughters.

    Here’s where my mind goes regarding the two controversies: Getting an abortion doesn’t endanger the public; it affects one body and no more (except for the immediate loved ones involved). Not getting vaxxed does, in my opinion, contribute to endangering the public. So I don’t see the two as equally egregious. But that’s just me.

    I can’t even start to get into the religious reasons for people choosing not to vax. I too am an atheist and always have been. But guess what? I’m not far left. For example, I am pro capital punishment. There, I said it. And no, I wouldn’t have chosen Bernie Sanders. I’m actually a lot more moderate than many people think. But there are certain subjects that touch off my passion. And when I’m passionate, I lose my ability to debate. See, I’m rambling. So maybe I shouldn’t try in some cases. Because when you’re right, you’re right. I posted this in a moment of passion and I should probably take it down.

    Jay — no, you’re not wrong. I appreciate what you’ve said. Thank you for saying it nicely.

    Baxter — I agree with every word of that. Sadly, the damage is done.

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    • KDPierre on said:

      I can’t attack liberal sensibilities because I have several. But I tend to take each thing on its own merits. The cartoonist did what cartoonists do: they made a clever joke about hypocrisy and didn’t dwell on the reverse argument. A lot of humor falls apart if we take it as dogma.

      The only clarification I would make in my reply here is that I just love to analyze and weigh things. I do it reflexively. Hell….I do it for fun. So I will say that no nerves were touched by this…..just brain cells which are also part of the ‘nervous system’. And I love when something like this comes up. It’s great exercise. LOL

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    • jay on said:

      Erica … You are more than welcome. You’re a nice person and deserve to be spoken to nicely. I do have to admit that I laughed when I saw the cartoon, and it does make a valid point.

      I’ve long felt that one of the problems in the world when discourse is happening that we (yes, I’ve done it too) tend to look at one person, or one example, identify that person or example as whatever ((R)/(D)/pro-choice/prolife/pro vax/anti vax/pro mask/anti mask, etc.) and then lump everyone else in as if that one person or example is representative of others. Mostly it’s not representative at all.

      If it’s done in fun, with humor and doesn’t prevent reasonable discourse, then great. Sadly though, often the lumping together of everyone based on one person or example is too often used as a means to drive home a counterpoint with a sledge hammer in the misguided hopes of changing minds. It only ever has the opposite effect when done for that reason.

      I super enjoy your words and pictures, and following you, and not just because you have sexy pictures of your red butt, but also because of posts just like this, and your replies to commenters. Keep up the beautiful work in both regards.

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  7. Spankedhortic II on said:

    A very interesting and worthwhile post. Jay’s comment gave me a lot to think about, as well as your response on effects on others. It is refreshing to see so much genuine debate going on here. There is not enough of that in the world today

    Prefectdt

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    • Erica Scott on said:

      Prefectdt — thank you. I have this unfortunate rep with some for being nasty to anyone who disagrees with me, but that is simply not true. Intelligent debate is welcome and I’m glad people spoke up here. But come at me with rudeness and disrespect and my snark comes out full force.

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  8. Hermione on said:

    I can’t believe the nonsense the anti-vaxxers come up with. Ron’s son is fiercely anti-vax, says he is young and healthy so is not at risk for getting covid. Yeah, right. He won’t get the vaccine until it has been approved, says it is only experimental, not properly tested. I asked him if he believed it would allow Bill Gates to track his movements, but he said no. Sadly, this guy watches FOX, so no amount of reasoning gets through to him.

    Hugs,
    Hermione

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