Blogging! Yes. So clinic has been weird the last couple weeks. It's like the protesters have decided that there's no way we're getting a bubble zone, so they've given up trying to appear peaceful/respectable. The women, especially, have become very aggressively vocal over the last couple weeks.
On Tuesday, Crazy Legs was out, and not just at the end of the morning. She was actually back to her old tricks - running up to cars, yelling things out, etc. This is pretty unfortunate for patients, but I have some pretty awesome escorts who are always one step ahead of her. Oh, and the male protesters have taken up their old habit of making comments to the escorts, calling them sluts and harpies and whatever else.
I really don't know the extent of the change because obviously being inside I can't see everything that happens. But I can tell that something's up by the way the patients act when they get into the clinic. In the last couple weeks there have been more patients commenting on the protesters as soon as they get inside. I had one wonderful woman offer to take care of them for a discount on her procedure. She was funny - she went out front to have a smoke and chat with the escorts, and she stared down every protester who glanced her way. Sometimes our patients are hard as fuck - I could never be that tough in that situation.
Life outside of Tuesdays is good too. Yesterday I interviewed a new escort, so that's good; I'm hoping that as the students come back, there will be an increase in our numbers.
In other news, I've been asked to sit on a panel at the upcoming New Brunswick Social Forum, and to give a brief talk on restriction to access to abortion in NB. The forum is going to be amazing; lots of great speakers and interesting topics; for an intersectionality enthusiast like myself, it's going to be very cool to see how all the topics are interconnected. For more info, you can check out the website (which is currently under construction), or drop me an email and I will direct you to the planning committee.
Rock on friends, and enjoy the last days of the summer.
4 comments:
you guys should have signs that say "we're better people than you" to whip out when the protesters harrass you, because you so are.
I think I'd simply place a little tasteful sign up front saying all escorts are miked...please speak clearly when attempting to intimidate the staff. Theres nothing like using their own words to put the fear of God in them. I am sure they wouldn't appreciate the public knowing what a Tuesday in front of the clinic really sounds like after all.
The escorts have tried signs in the past. It creates too much confusion for the patients going to the clinic. People with signs look like protesters, people with blue smocks look like escorts.
It makes it so much easier for the patients when approaching the clinic, being stressed already, then having to sort out who is a pro-life, who is pro-choice. Stick with the smocks.
UNLESS!! Having pro-choice protesters outside the pro-life house next door at the same time. That'd be amazing. Really amazing!
I think that leaving the signs to the protesters works fine. They can say what they want to the escorts, the escorts don't (and shouldn't) care. The point of the escorts should be to create a calm, controlled situation in the midst of the crazy people. Especially at times when clients are being helped inside.
Threatening to record people doesn't work, they don't care, recordings come out all screamy and distorted (its been tried) and they also open the door to having recordings of various types being created by the others (not that they would be able to work a recorder). Just buck up, personal insults are the ultimate sign of victory. The last resort from a desparate minority who just can't deal with defeat.
Keep up the good work everyone (including the good work done by the anti-choicers in making themselves look insane). Congratulate them on how Christian they look insulting volunteers at a medical clinic.
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