14 Comments

• +9 C says:

  What coercion is involved?

  Also, why are you accepting computer disks from unknown sources? I thought Sony’s rootkit fiasco taught everyone to be skeptical.

• +4 Jason says:

  I would like to thank the Gazette, and specifically Cheryl Stone and those who wrote about this incident in the opinions section of the Gazette (Phil James and Kaleigh Rogers). Yesterday I was late for a class, and was running from Springett lot in order to reach my class on time. I had no idea what these people handing out these DVDs (under the tunnel leading from Springett lot to main campus) were all about (nor the content of these DVDs), so I accepted this DVD when one member of their group handed it out to me. Initially I felt badly for running through this group of people; I thought this was some sort of legitimate social cause that they were passing out DVDs for. I’ve been so busy the last day that I haven’t had a chance to check out this DVD, and so it has remained in my gym bag since. I am appalled and disgusted to discover what this DVD is actually about – I had no idea what this DVD was all about since this group sneakily disguised the content of this documentary. Had I not read the Gazette today I would have come home and watched a small portion of this documentary (probably the first minute or so) before stopping it. Now that I have read the Gazette and know what this DVD is all about, I will not watch it; I would like to thank the Gazette for sparing me from the episode of depression I would have experienced had I watched part of this DVD and discovered what it was all about. I am staunchly pro-choice and make absolutely no apologies about it; I am therefore disgusted by pro-lifers who claim that abortion is just like the holocaust. They simply don’t understand that you must kill something that is alive before it is even considered genocide, and even then there is criterion that must be met before killing someone can be considered genocide. I’m not sure the name of the group that was distributing this DVD; while I’m not sure whether they’re a religious group, any religious group that preaches this pro-life bullshit is crossing the line by shoving their beliefs down people’s throats. Whoever this group is who distributed this DVD are total liars by proclaiming that its an award winning documentary (on the front). These people are the real fascists – if abortion were outlawed in all cases, many women would die (who would have otherwise had an abortion to save their own lives, provided that there was some sort of pregnancy complication which threatened their lives). Many pro-lifers also claim to protect the “lives of the unborn”, yet don’t give a shit about these people once they’re born (i.e. sending them off to fight illegal wars, which obviously then result in the deaths of innocent civilians). In my opinion, Dr. Morgentaler is a hero for all he has done in legalizing abortion in Canada and helping Canadian women get abortions (especially in remote places where medical care isn’t as readily available). He would be absolutely disgusted by such claims, especially given that he is a holocaust survivor. While I agree with Kaleigh Rogers’ support for free speech (in the opinions section of the Gazette), free speech also gives us the power to fight back against these ridiculous and disgusting claims put forth by such pro-life groups as these (as I am with this post). I will be throwing away this DVD when I get home tonight, into the garbage where it belongs. It greatly disturbs me that this DVD is still in my gym bag at home right now. Special thanks again for the Gazette for their diligence and prompt reporting of this incident.

• Jason says:

  I have a correction to add to my aforementioned response – I made a mistake and I have now realized that the group handing out the DVDs was called Living Waters Ministry.

• +8 Erving Goffman says:

  I tend to agree with C’s comment. There wasn’t really any coercion involved, albeit the proprietors of the DVDs were a bit misleading in their intent. Asking people “Do you know about the Holocaust?” would lead many to believe they were a group attempting to raise awareness of the Holocaust. Sadly, they were just a bunch of ignorant, delusional clowns who attempted to exploit the genocide of millions for their own pathetic gain.

  I’m surprised at how many people willingly popped a strange DVD into their computers and let it play, when it could’ve been anything on there (i.e. a virus). No wonder Norton is still in business.

• -7 Tokyo says:

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  @ Jason:

  It’s too bad you threw it out before even seeing a little bit of it. The first half is pretty interesting, simply seeing people’s opinions on human life and how many people actually don’t know who Hitler even is. I found the movie interesting. It’s a bit close-minded of you to refuse to even watch it, let alone feel disgusted because a DVD with contents you may not agree with have “soiled” your gym bag. It’s going a little far, that’s all. Besides, it’s easy for you to be pro-choice, you’re a guy. (hehe, just yankin your chain )

• -8 Sarah says:

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  I don’t think people should cover their ears before they’ve given someone a chance to say what they have to say. It basically boils down to respect, right? Both “pro” sides are just trying to respect different parties, and both sides ought to respect each other… University is about diversity, so if you don’t like what someone has to say, just walk away, but no one needs to accuse anyone of telling lies and all that. Also, I don’t see the coercion involved, because accepting an item that is offered is an act of consent. No is being strapped to chairs and forced to watch anything. While it’s obvious the DVD had an agenda, I still thought it was a least thought provoking. It’s important, when forming an opinion, to research both sides and talk to people who’ve had abortions, to be as most informed as possible. The London Crisis Pregnancy Centre in town is good for that.

• +4 Jason says:

  I was originally going to watch this DVD by placing it in my laptop, though now I’ve learned my lesson. If someone hands out a DVD to me next time I’ll either watch it at school or on my DVD player so that I don’t run the risk of getting a virus (though as far as I know, this DVD wasn’t loaded with viruses). Why I say I’m pro-choice is because I believe that every pregnant woman has the right to do what they want – whether they have their kid or get an abortion makes no difference to me. I also believe that promoting birth control more heavily will be useful to decrease the number of abortions that occur. I’d like to point out that we celebrate our birthdays according to the day we were born, not the day we were conceived; and that we calculate our age according to the amount of time that has passed since the day we were born, not the day we were conceived – therefore these are 2 reasons why abortions don’t constitute genocide. While I don’t deny that getting an abortion can be a psychologically traumatic experience for those that undergo it, it should be allowed if pregnant women desire it, and especially if their lives are threatened or they have been the victim of rape.

• -8 Tokyo says:

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  Those two reasons don’t prove the person is real. If I had an imaginary friend who was now 14 years old as he grew up with me, he still wouldn’t be any more real because he was never physically conceived. The moment something is created/conceived, it exists. Ie: my imaginary friend would be 14 as of the date I created him, not several months afterward. Just because you can’t see the human before it exits the womb, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and who gave you the right to say that my imaginary friend doesn’t really count as a real imaginary friend until after some rite of passage? It’s the same “passage” a kid goes through, but he is a kid before and after getting out.

• -7 Tokyo says:

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  Can you in all honesty claim that someone has the right to define a human as such after it is born? What the heck was in there before the baby came out? Would you abort it in the third trimester? A week before? A day before? I know it is illegal to abort after the third trimester but whose to say that rule will last? by continuing your logic, that means you could eventually behead it and it’s called aborting at the last second.
  And aborting from a rape seems strange, as you just repay the terrible rape with terrible murder. I’m not saying all cases are cut and dry, but it does seem strange to rid the kid for the faults of the dad.

• +8 Erving Goffman says:

  @Tokyo

  It should be noted that the DVD was heavily edited and intentionally included only those people who did not know about Hitler. Furthermore, didn’t it strike you as a bit strange that not a single person refuted the existence of God? It’s the overall assumptive nature of the DVD and the fact that it uses an absolutely despicable tactic (equating the Holocaust with abortion & pro-choice people with mass murdering Nazis), that most people are taking exception with.

  My professor actually showed this DVD in our class the day it was handed out and not a single person remarked on whether they were pro-life or pro-choice, but rather on the nature of the argument itself (essentially that there is no argument to be made because such a comparison is asinine and beyond disrespectful).

  If the objective of this DVD was to create controversy and promote discussion of abortion, mission accomplished. More likely, though, is that these are merely side-effects, as the DVD is aimed at the ignorant and those who are already vehemently pro-life. Anyone with half a brain, pro-choice or pro-life, would have immediately discredited it for the garbage that it is.

• +4 Person With A Womb says:

  Even if a fetus is a human (it isn’t, but…) no human is legally allowed to use another human’s organ without permission, even if they need it to survive. The woman’s womb is not the fetus’s property! I can’t just grab your kidney for a few months, even if you’re related to me, and even if I’ll die without a kidney.

• -3 Tokyo says:

  Anyone with half a brain would realize that only in the last century have we stopped considering fetuses as human. Duck fetuses are still ducks, pig fetuses are still pigs. There’s no mystery there, why are we so afraid of calling human fetuses human?

• -3 Tokyo says:

  Years from now we will look back and say “what have we done.”

  I’m not going to sit aside and watch as the world blindly descends into convenience over human rights. I say this with as much love and sensibility as my flawed vocabulary allows, but to pro-choice advocates: you have been deeply mislead. Please, for the love of your god, money,science, family or whatever else you believe, think about what your prof is suggesting. Don’t be spoonfed. Believe in absolute truths. Be open minded instead of closing the door when something puts your beliefs in question. Your views confuse and frustrate me but I Love you all the same, just as all should be wary of other’s influence without oppressing or insulting the person themselves.

• +3 Erving Goffman says:

  “Believe in absolute truths”

  Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

  But seriously, the kind of dogmatic approach to life that you’re advocating is contradictory to your notion of open-mindedness. There was a time when much of the world did believe in absolute truths and applied them rigorously to every aspect of life…it’s called the Dark Ages, and it was a low-point for much of Western civilization.

  Years later, people looked back on this period in history and said “what have we done?”.

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