Jun 24

Jun 24 Intractable

Chicago, Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations

“And who knows which is which and who is who
Up and down
But in the end it’s only round and round
Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words
The poster bearer cried”

— Us and Them, Pink Floyd, from Dark Side of the Moon (1972)

“Down in the pleasure center, hell-bent or heaven-sent
Listen to the propaganda, listen to the latest slander
There’s nothing underhand that she wouldn’t understand
Pump it up, until you can feel it
Pump it up, when you don’t really need it”

— Pump It Up, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, B-Side (1978)

Team Abortion Rights took the field at 10 AM today, getting an early jump on the action. Team Pro-Life took a more leisurely approach. During the hour before their 11 AM start-time, team members trickled onto the field. Some set up tables stacked with literature, buttons, and donuts. Members of the band Uncle Nephew tuned their instruments. Others painted faces using eye liner.

I thought I was watching a civic restaging of a Super Bowl game. Two immovable forces, separated by a large Chicago Police Department contingency—the refs.

As hard as it might be to believe, today marked the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ___(2022). Eric Scheidler’s Pro-Life Action League apparently won the “coin toss” when it came to obtaining a permit for today’s demonstration in Chicago’s Federal Plaza. The abortion-rights activists had to settle for the shaded sidewalk in front of the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse across the street from Alexander Calder’s Flamingo.

In truth, this contest amounted to one of the more disappointing “Super Bowls” I have attended. Both teams fielded 100-plus demonstrators. At times, I thought Scheidler’s activists outnumbered the abortion-rights advocates, but my perceptions shifted throughout the three-hour game. Last year, the opposing sides brought much larger teams, with the abortion-rights advocates relying on a raucous group of motorcycle riders. Last year also featured some theatrics that included green flares spewing smoke that rose as bodies fell to the ground in the intersection of Dearborn and Adams—some sort of die-in. [Note, the sponsoring organizations may have been different from today’s sponsors.]

Neither side covered any new ground. The abortion-rights contingent was largely made up of people who focused not only on abortion rights, but also on LGBTQ rights, thereby diluting its core message. The chants were the same ones I have heard at dozens of demonstrations. Although some demonstrators would undoubtedly disagree, I found their vibe rather tepid.

The pro-lifers began their proceedings with a prayer, then extolled the Dobbs decision, spoke of the sanctity of life, and outlined what needed to done to reduce abortions, particularly in Illinois. They are unhappy about the new clinics in Carbondale, but thrilled that Planned Parenthood clinics are closing across the country. On first impression, this group might be described as happy people, but like their counterparts on Team Abortion Rights, many Pro-Life team members are culture warriors, contemptuous of the other side, but more adroit at hiding that contempt. They just smile.

The Pro-Life partisans’ rhetoric is objectively disingenuous. When Roe v Wade was the law of the land, their leaders and think-tank advocates argued that the decision regarding abortion should be returned to the states. Now that the Supreme Court has granted their wish, the Pro-Lifers are unhappy that some states still permit abortions. Many members of the movement are now calling for a Federal ban—abortion is once again a Federal issue, which nicely demonstrates Friedrich Nietzsche's notion that language is just a means to an end as the speaker exercises his will to power.

Everyone should attend at least one of these dueling demonstrations—in truth, both sides are locked in a symbiotic relationship that plays off and pumps up their mutual antipathy. The pundits speak of culture wars, but seeing a skirmish up close is the only way to grasp just how deeply the country is divided. We may have reached the point where de-escalation is impossible.

Could there be a middle ground? At one of the Pro-Life demonstrations that draws counter protesters, Scheidler might consider inviting a leader from the other side to a engage in a discussion, or Scheidler could provide tables where demonstrators from the opposing sides could sit down for chats. At a minimum, maybe each side would realize that the other has legitimate concerns, and more importantly, they might realize that the other side is not evil incarnate.

While in theory there should be positive consequences from such an interaction, I have serious doubts that the discourse would remain civil. The abortion-rights advocates are angry and openly hostile to anyone who takes a position contrary to theirs, dubbing them “Christian Fascists.” There may be some legitimacy to that point of view: to my taste, the Pro-Lifers bring a little too much religion to the public square. Yet, the Pro-Lifers are just as intolerant. They just know how to hide their intolerance better.

Were there to be such an interaction, the jeers and sneers from those who advocate abortion rights would be met with proclamations from youthful pro-lifers about the beauty of a fetus in the womb, life’s potential, and Jesus’ teaching. That is a toxic brew, which is why the abortion debate is a zero-sum game that poses an intractable problem — one that will never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. For the time being, the abortion-rights advocates are fighting to regain ground, but if they can capture the courts or win referenda or key state legislative seats, they may in two or three decades rise again. In the meantime, “the whole kitchen might explode from boiling fat, with food flying everywhere.” Thank you, Bob Dylan.

Of course, neither Scheidler, nor the abortion-rights advocates will ever sit down for a discussion. To do so would be to undermine their respective absolutist positions, or at least that is how they would view what could otherwise be a constructive endeavor.

A couple of specific observations. First, the Pro-Life program’s opening act, Uncle Nephew, exhibited some technically proficient musical chops. Were there a few Grateful Dead riffs in the mix? Their lyrics, however, were insipid. I recall hearing them sing, “Oh yeah, I like cake,” but my notes reference “ice cream.” Either way, it doesn’t matter. Ironically, the bass player was wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with the famous Rolling Stones “tongue and lips” logo. The obvious incongruity came immediately to mind.

How does the bass player reconcile the debauched lifestyle attributable to the bad boys of rock and roll with the pro-life ethos? What sort of satisfaction does the bass player think Mick is singing about? Is brown sugar really something you add to your morning oatmeal? Even Ed Sullivan had trouble with Let’s Spend the Night Together. Next time, attire more consistent with the pro-life vibe would be appropriate—truth in advertising. Notwithstanding the messaging inconsistency, the bass player’s choice of attire once again demonstrates just how ubiquitous rock and roll has become over the last seven decades—to its obvious detriment.

Second, the standout speaker of the day was Eric Scheidler’s 18-year old niece, Hope Miller, who served as the day’s MC. Miller is poised, while exhibiting an infectious buoyancy. Going forward, she should practice her speech so that she doesn’t find herself looking down while reading the text, thereby breaking her connection with the assembly. Her uncle could offer her some assistance in extemporaneous speaking.

Third, and speaking of buoyancy, the best street theater of the day came from the yellow-shirted, clean-cut young people who hopped up and down to the beat laid down by a mini marching band comprised of percussion instruments. I can certainly understand how religious fervor generates motion—think twirling dervishes. I am not sure what some of the Mickey Mouse hand gestures signified, but found the effort amusing.

Fourth, returning to the abortion-rights advocates: In keeping with my view that a demonstration should address one and only one issue, these groups should limit their remarks to abortion rights when holding an abortion-rights demonstration. Tomorrow Gay and Transgender rights will receive their due attention, when the Chicago Gay Pride Parade proceeds from Uptown to Lincoln Park. I was heartened when one speaker advocated adding no more letters after the “LGBTQ” acronym. He believes the movement should be united rather than, as I think of it, “slicing and dicing” itself into divisive sub-movements.

Overall, an interesting day that will change no minds.

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