Blessed Are The Barren Black
  Hey — I’ve just finished reading an article on Planned Parenthood’s roots. Like many of the young people today I wasn’t very interested in what happened in the 1920’s; unless it was in a super romantic movie about some soldier and his love separated because of a war or something For me having grown […]
sitting on a log

 

sitting on a logHey — I’ve just finished reading an article on Planned Parenthood’s roots. Like many of the young people today I wasn’t very interested in what happened in the 1920’s; unless it was in a super romantic movie about some soldier and his love separated because of a war or something

For me having grown up in a fast changing world, history belonged in text books in school. Dealing with an issue began with dealing with it here and now, as it is, and not as it was. So when I read this piece, in my mind the name “Planned Parenthood” stopped being just about “abortion” it became associated with something that for a black person like me, I found alarming… it became “Black ” population control.

 

I was raised essentially color blind… in the society I lived in as a child… there were no real differences between people of different colors. White people meant burgers and fries, Indian people meant amazing samoosas and Chinese people meant sweet and sour pork! So believe that I am not being dramatic, or that I was groomed with the social responsibility of embracing titles like “Black” population control.

So who was she? Who was the woman that created this, super evil, super murderous and super giant called Planned Parenthood? Her name was Margaret Sanger. She was a woman who embraced eugenics. Eugenics being the idea of a master race, of purifying a particular race, to its original strain, just like what the Nazis tried to do in world war two. Though some people would oppose the view that Margaret Sanger was a racist, she was. She was heard to describe minorities such as black people as unfit and reckless and irresponsible and deserving to be sterilized! She said that the most urgent problem in her society was the extravagant sentimentalism that stopped others from “segregating the morons who are increasing and multiplying”.

Though many may say in her defense that she didn’t specify this about people of color, she said it in an age and a time when scientific racism was used as an excuse to prove that black people were inferior. So she set about a plan to control the large numbers of children being born to women of color in America.She didn’t start a national campaign and say, “right, I want to sterilize black women,” that wouldn’t have been very clever would it? Of course not, so she took the avenue of making it seem like it was a good idea, as if it was in the best interest of black women to not have children…

So how did she do it?

She put the idea out there about “sex without tears and consequences…” she said that birth control would increase the quantity and quality of sexual relationships and free the mind from sexual prejudice and taboo… In other words it would be okay to sleep around as much as you liked, because you wouldn’t have to worry about getting pregnant. And those taboos that she was talking about were a reference to faiths like Christianity that insist on one man and one woman intimacy in marriage… she was raised in a home with a father who had rebellious views of the church… The issue of liberalizing sex should have been a red warning light for many women, because it is well known that multiple sexual relationships is degrading and it undermines the confidence and self respect women have of themselves… and in this day and age… it could mean death, with STD’s and AIDS ravaging the world.

And if that approach didn’t work with young black women… there was always the financial constraint angle that she took. Her argument for birth control was that she came from a large family and apparently thought that it was a disadvantage. She thought that she would have had more opportunities in life if she had come from a smaller family and though it’s true to a certain extent that having a large family does put some strain on a family budget… But I know no one that comes from a big family that can actually point to anyone of their siblings and say…”well if I could go back in time I would tell my mother not to have … Tim or Julia, we don’t really need them do we?” Even though your siblings can drive you mad, even when you cry and you fight over the remote control… and your sister borrows your clothes without asking you and tells your mom when you sneak out of the house…

{TC} How many of us cry heat tears when we think about the brother or sister. my brother or sister, that my mother and father aborted.

There’s a bond there between siblings that most people wouldn’t trade the world for. And if that still didn’t convince you, the idea of giving birth would be sure to scare you away, she described it as mental torture… And yet when I go through the posts that many of you Stand Up Girls who have decided to keep your babies, the pain of birth isn’t usually the focus, but on the amazing little angel that is now in your life…

Yeah, I mean DUH!!! It hurts, but that’s not really a good excuse not to have children is it?

{TC} What thing that’s really worthwhile comes easy? Don’t we train and practice, pain man!, to do well at b-ball.

For her to sell the idea that it would be “in the best interest” of black women, she had two barriers to overcome, the first one being color and in those days, her ideals would be met with suspicion because of the fact that she was a white… A white gal wanting to do something in the interest of black gals? At that time in history…Hmmm… and the second barrier was the church. Christianity was a big part of the lives of most black women. And though not everyone out there can testify to be a church going Christian, church has played an enormous role in the morals that most people have today… at some point most people have found themselves being dragged to church by their parents or grand parents.

Margaret Sanger thought that church ideals about sex and reproduction were old fashioned and die-hard, she knew that she had a large hurdle to overcome in Christianity. So seeing these two problems an associate of hers came up with the idea of finding black leaders to be put in positions that would make it seem like they were in charge and some of them were a charismatic minister… And come on girls… we have been taught to always trust what the Reverend says, it’s from God’s mouth, then into the Rev’s, isn’t it? And she even said that a black minister would be helpful just incase some of the more rebellious members of the church caught onto the “Black extermination idea.”But not everyone is a church goer and just in case that didn’t sell the case, they put the symbol of what most black women would like to be… a strong, confident, accomplished and attractive black woman at the helm of Planned Parenthood as it’s president… you wouldn’t suspect one of your own of trying to be on their side would you?

My favorite book of all times states that, “you should never trust the kisses of an enemy,” Planned Parenthood does exactly that… It came in through the back door to win the trust and respect of black groups and though the organization has turned it’s back on it’s founders more “politically incorrect” motives and put a black woman at the helm, doesn’t mean it’s anymore helpful today than it was yesterday. A snake is a snake, no matter what color it is, big or small, a snake is still a snake… it doesn’t matter if it seems to be on your side… could we please learn from the mistake that Eve made… never trust a snake… especially a helpful one.

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