Joy (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} joyliveshere) wrote in elfundeb, |
I hate smear campaigns, and also ads which misrepresent issues, which AFAIC are in the same sleazy category. I hate the way these ads are designed to appeal to people's emotional reaction, with the assumption that most people aren't going to bother to look very closely at any candidate or issue, but just decide based on their feelings. Although much as I hate to admit it, that assumption is probably accurate.
The death penalty is one of the worst issues that way, although I think that more and more people seem to be looking at the reality of how flawed the justice system is, and that killing murderers is about revenge, not justice or decreasing crime.
Here in California there are a zillion ballot measures to vote on today (don't even get me started on the stupidity of ballot measures). The most controversial one would ban teenaged girls from getting an abortion without parental permission, and the ads for it all say "Protect Our Daughters." Amy saw a billboard for it with a photo of a young girl being led somewhere by a seedy-looking character. IOW, depicting legal abortion as equivalent to allowing bad men to lead your little baby girl astray. I mean, really . . . that's just stupid, but it certainly appeals to people's most basic feelings -- wanting to protect their children.
The abortion issue is SO difficult, emotionally, without confusing the issues. While I very much support any woman's right to choose what to do with her body, I can see why so many people are so opposed to abortion -- I agree that it is pretty horrible, and I would never counsel someone to have one without considering the alternatives.
But sometimes there are no alternatives, and it doesn't "Protect Our Daughters" to pretend there is. The thought of some teenaged girl, especially one who is the victim of incest or rape, (or even like most teenagers who get pregnant, statuatory rape) being forced to bear a child, is also horrible.
OK, I'll stop. I realize that this has gone from a rant about the death penalty to a rant about abortion, but that's the sort of thing that happens on election day. Blame Debbie, she started it.
The death penalty is one of the worst issues that way, although I think that more and more people seem to be looking at the reality of how flawed the justice system is, and that killing murderers is about revenge, not justice or decreasing crime.
Here in California there are a zillion ballot measures to vote on today (don't even get me started on the stupidity of ballot measures). The most controversial one would ban teenaged girls from getting an abortion without parental permission, and the ads for it all say "Protect Our Daughters." Amy saw a billboard for it with a photo of a young girl being led somewhere by a seedy-looking character. IOW, depicting legal abortion as equivalent to allowing bad men to lead your little baby girl astray. I mean, really . . . that's just stupid, but it certainly appeals to people's most basic feelings -- wanting to protect their children.
The abortion issue is SO difficult, emotionally, without confusing the issues. While I very much support any woman's right to choose what to do with her body, I can see why so many people are so opposed to abortion -- I agree that it is pretty horrible, and I would never counsel someone to have one without considering the alternatives.
But sometimes there are no alternatives, and it doesn't "Protect Our Daughters" to pretend there is. The thought of some teenaged girl, especially one who is the victim of incest or rape, (or even like most teenagers who get pregnant, statuatory rape) being forced to bear a child, is also horrible.
OK, I'll stop. I realize that this has gone from a rant about the death penalty to a rant about abortion, but that's the sort of thing that happens on election day. Blame Debbie, she started it.
