Double Standard, Double Sided
The Anti-Abortion Walkout Officially Announced
April 5, 2018
Following the nationwide walkout in protest of gun violence, RHS junior Brandon Gillespie challenged administration with an anti-abortion walkout “to honor and commemorate the lives of the millions of unborn children that lost their lives to abortion.” While this idea gained several supporters, it also gained several critics.
He officially announced on Twitter that the walkout will take place on April 11th at 10:00 a.m. The walkout will last for 17 minutes.
“I believe abortions are very relevant to teenagers in general, because teenagers can get abortions if they get pregnant and they don’t even have to tell their parents if they decide to get an abortion,” Brandon said.
However, this is simply not true; only about a dozen states allow minors to have abortions without parental knowledge or consent, though these laws differ from state to state.
But what it all comes down to is the question of the double standard.
“I don’t think that the school should support any protest, honestly. But I think because they allowed the first protest, they should allow more because if they refuse to allow the one, it would show a double standard,” said Brandon.
According to the website prolifewalkout.org that Brandon cited on his Twitter, the 17 minutes is to “honor the 10 children who will violently die during that time at a Planned Parenthood abortion facility.”
The website further goes on to copy and make mockery of the anti-gun violence slogans that students have been implementing.
#EnoughIsEnough has been one of the slogans used by students to talk about school shootings to say, “we have had enough and we demand change.”
This hashtag was used in the article on the website along with #EndAbortionViolence on a poster.
There certainly are valid reasons to hold these beliefs and protesters have a right to walk out and voice their views. However, making mockery of the hashtags used specifically for gun law reform and other aspects of the school safety walkout is just not the right way to do it.
Their imitation of these statements prove either their lack of originality or lack of maturity. Either way, this walk-out is taking place on campus to “kneel and pray for the end of legal abortion in our nation.”
We support the anti-abortion’s right to protest but we question the adopting of words and structure from the Parkland students.
Kate • May 21, 2018 at 5:05 pm
I know this is an old article, but I hope in the future the authors will at least attempt to write something that isn’t completely biased either way. The abortion walkout had nothing to do with not supporting the gun reform walkout or making fun of people who supported that cause. If they really have a right to stage a walkout as you say, they have the right to unbiased coverage. I don’t see one article on this website that covers the event for someone who just wants to know the facts and not someone’s opinion. I get that the authors are pro-choice or don’t like the walkout, but their job as journalists is to tell us the facts. I find it hard to believe that this kind of writing is making it past the editing team with such consistency.
Shrek • Apr 6, 2018 at 11:03 am
So the Rich kid whined to get his way for a walkout
Andrew • Apr 5, 2018 at 3:13 pm
relevence: your administration silenced someone saying if you dont allow one there is a double standard. that information made national news, so there’s no excuse for not knowing that.
and the saying “enough is enough” is a lot older than a hashtag, and means; enough is the threshold, and enough has been met. whether or not it meets what is normally on that hashtag is irrelevant to the literally meaning to a hashtag, not a methaphoric/symbolic one. I’ve seen a couple of the “stop x violence” before and even the “#stopgunviolence” is not original.
another reason to use those hashtags is to draw more parallels to the first protest. if they stop this one, double standard. if they don’t, they get to protest. this is what Mrs. Benzel was getting at when she made the comment that got national news. those who protested gave power to those you don’t agree with