The Wondering Mind

If you’re in favour of a woman’s right to choose, you probably find the people depicted in the NY Times article not just objectionable but downright crazy. We can argue about the merits of allowing or banning abortion, although I suspect it wouldn’t be much of a debate as few people’s minds would be swayed.

What is rather sad are the people who engage in these activities. These are all broken people, in one sense or another. They may not all have obviously traumatised childhoods like Deborah Anderson, but they all clearly have some void in their lives they are desperately trying to fill by hectoring other people on how they should lead their lives. So often, people who feel something broken in their lives find it easier trying to fix what they think is wrong with other people’s lives, even if those other people see nothing that needs fixing. It’s not hard to see why: it takes less courage to face other people’s demons than to face your own.

The other thing is that they are all obviously craving attention. Desperately. I quote from one of the people in the story.

“I don’t want to say the conflict is fun, because it isn’t,” said Mr. Brewer, 40, an easygoing state pool champion with an earring high in his left ear. “But the interaction is fun, to be able to talk to people who take the time to listen to what you have to say.”

Whether you’re talking about anti-abortionists or the Fox News tea-baggers, these are people with inflated egos who cannot understand why the world is not paying them their due attention. They love being the centre of attention, even if they have to act out like cranky 5 year olds throwing a tantrum. How much more attention can you get than to have someone getting in your face and yelling at you?