Without-Feathers.com

It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!
Friedrich Nietzsche

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Opinions

Romy

Abortion

Like birth control, abortion should be safe, legal, and readily available to every woman on the planet. I’m firmly pro-choice—not pro-abortion or anti-life, as the “pro-lifers” would have it; I just want to make sure that abortion is an option for every woman who may want or need one. I do not believe in the sanctity of a week-old fetus, and any biologist can tell you that life doesn’t begin at conception. I know a woman who, back in the ’60s, had an illegal abortion in a hotel room, performed by a Cuban doctor who spoke no English (and who was caught by the police a week later, hiding in a closet). I know how desperate she and her family were, and how badly things could have gone wrong—and I know that now it could all be performed legally and safely, by licensed doctors, in a sanitary hospital room. God forbid we should ever lose that right.

Animal Rights

Long overdue. Not very long ago, humans were doing horrible things within their own species and justifying such holocausts by saying that the victims were inferior because of race, gender, or social status. Today, we rightly view such actions as the sickening crimes of an unenlightened age; hopefully, we will soon be looking back on the way we have treated our fellow animals with the same mixture of horror and disgust. Even those who fall back on the “but humans are smarter, so we have the right!” argument can’t hold out for long—we deplore the Nazis’ treatment of the mentally disabled, but that argument would neatly absolve them from all blame, right?

The Bermuda Triangle

A silly little story made up by a travel writer, cobbled together from supposedly sinister goings-on that are actually quite normal events with plausible explanations. I love a good spooky story as much as the next girl, but you’ll have to do better than that to convince me of ghosts/aliens/alternate dimensions.

Bigfoot

Like the Loch Ness Monster, it’s tough to pick out the truth from the myth… but that’s all the more reason to investigate the legend. The chances of a giant ape-man subsisting in the American backwoods are slim to none; the chances of an entire breed of them are practically nil. But then, cryptozoology sometimes gets it right where “kosher” science doesn’t, so it pays to keep an open mind about such things.

Capital Punishment (The Death Penalty)

I’ve swung back and forth on this throughout my life (like a body on the gallows, heh). Now, I’m pretty firmly against it. The methods being used are cruel and inhumane—and yes, I do care how much a vicious murderer suffers when he’s executed, because not caring at all would make me a vicious murderer myself. Killing criminals out of a need for revenge may give emotional satisfaction to the victims and to society, but again, that just brings us down to their level. And then there’s the ever-present question of innocence, even in the most seemingly solid cases; better to let ten murderers live than to execute one innocent person. The only cases where capital punishment could possibly be justified are cases involving offenders who are highly likely to commit more crimes; Ted Bundy, for instance, is a good example of a justifiable execution, because he escaped often enough and committed enough crimes that he was obviously going to be a constant risk to society, even when locked up. Only in those cases is death a viable solution.

Fat People

That’s an insensitive title, I know, but for the record: by "fat" I mean "morbidly obese", as in 200+ pounds overweight. I’m all for a little flesh on the bones—Queen Latifah beats Keira Knightly in my book—but when you’re so overweight you have to buy two (or more!) airline seats, it’s time to cut the carbs and hit the gym. Aside from truly incapacitating injuries or disease, there’s no excuse for such personal laxity. And yes, I do wince when I watch a 600+ person snarfing down their fifth double-decker cheeseburger—not because it’s gross, but because it’s sad, like watching a suicide in slow motion. But the truly sad part is not what I think of them, it’s what they must think of themselves, to put themselves through such hell. To all the morbidly obese people who have ever protested that they have lovely personalities, I agree—and fervently wish that you, too, would believe it.

Family Planning

The key word here is "planning"—you have to plan when to have kids, not just go with the reproductive flow. Having a baby by “accident”, to save a failing marriage, or because you’re simply bored is a rotten way to form a family. I have no patience for the frazzled parents of five (all toddlers, of course) who are worn thin trying to care for their brood; they wanted them, they’ve got them, and now they’ll have to deal with them. And don’t anyone be giving me the fish-eye because I’m talking smack when I don’t have any kids of my own—I planned it that way, silly person.

Feminism

The fact that I have an opinion page at all tells you I’m a feminist! “Feminist” has become something of a bad word these days, but it’s one I’m happy to have applied to me—if thinking that women are as capable and competent as men is wrong, then I don’t think society is right. I am not part of the “feminist” backlash that thinks that female freedom is all about skimpy clothing and hyped-up sexuality; I am an old-fashioned feminist who believes that female equality extends beyond the realm of sexuality to include intelligence and performance skills. If you don’t agree, then you’d better high-tail it off this site—I’m a woman who’s not afraid to think or talk.

Global Warming

Honestly? I do think it’s real—hell, it’s real no matter what anyone thinks—but I sometimes wonder if it’s a bit overhyped. After all, history provides some spectacular examples of climate change, doesn’t it? Still, that’s no excuse not to clean up our act as a species…

Homosexuality

Oh, for dog’s sake. This isn’t even a matter of opinion; it’s a fact, and the sooner everyone gets used to it, the better.

Immigration

As someone fortunate enough to be born in the U.S., where we have such wonderful things as freedom of belief and freedom of speech, I’d be selfish if I didn’t want to share my personal freedoms with others. Those who come to my country in need of protection or freedom should not be refused—and yes, that includes illegal immigrants and refugees. I don’t think anyone should try to traverse the law by sneaking in over the border (particularly in this terroristic age), but some people obviously don’t have the freedom, the means, or the time to seek refuge through legal channels; we should be able to assimilate illegal immigrants as well as legal ones.

Jack the Ripper

Overhyped—shocking, yes, but still overhyped. Many worse serial killers came before, many worse came since; Saucy Jack’s crimes might have been high-profile and memorable, but they were not really that original. As to the killer’s identity, I doubt they even named the actual culprit as a suspect, but he probably fit the general profile: male, middle- to upper-class, and extremely (probably blatantly) misogynistic.

Jimmy Hoffa

Somewhere in my storage closet.

John F. Kennedy’s Assassination

Oswald did it. Just because he said he was a patsy doesn’t mean he actually was one. (But thank you, Jack Ruby, for giving the conspiracy theorists something to talk about. Way to help the cause of justice, dimwit.)

Life After Death

Dear God, I hope not—just when you think you’re free of all earthly encumbrances, you have to spend an eternity dealing with all the schmucks you thought you’d slipped. Give me eternal oblivion any day.

Lizzie Borden

Guilty.

The Loch Ness Monster

Probably not real—or, if real, probably dead by now—but that’s not to say that there’s not a grain of truth in there somewhere. While the pleiosaur theory charms me, I’m leaning more towards the giant sturgeon theory.

Marriage

Am I the only one sick of hearing this word “defined”? I have no religious creed to corset it up for me, so I’m pretty laid-back when it comes to legal unions between consenting adults. Yes, gays should be allowed to marry; I’m fairly certain that the main reason it’s been denied to them so long is that it throws a kink in the conservative perception of “promiscuous homosexuals”. Polygamy and polyandry, too, should be legalized within reason; there’d have to be reasonable limits on the number of spouses a person could have, and I think it’d be a good idea to have both or all spouses sign the license before a person gets re-re-remarried—but hey, when we get the wrinkles out, it’ll be just as mundane and normal as traditional marriage. (See below for more on polygamy.) Bottom line: marriage should be what the two (or three, or four, or whatever) people involved decide it should be.

The Mary Celeste

Like Jack the Ripper (see above), this case is a bit overhyped—mysteriously-abandoned ships are nothing new. Piracy is out (no signs of violence), as are rogue waves (no damage to the ship) and alien abduction (…oh, come on). My guess is that they thought the ship was in immediate danger of sinking (or possibly exploding due to its flammable cargo) and all took to the lifeboats; there’s no other reason an entire crew would desert a ship without even bothering to make a note in the log.

Mel Gibson

Schmuck.

Organ Donation

All for it. Here, have a liver.

Plastic Surgery

Meh. If you wanna get cut up just so you can have tighter skin and bigger boobs, that’s your problem. Me, I’ll take my original self over the “Made by Mattel” look any day.

Polyamory

Why not? I’m all for letting people live however they want, as long as it makes them happy and doesn’t impede on my own freedoms. Some people are just not cut out for monogamy, and that’s fine; they should be able to accept that and live their lives happily and openly, instead of trying to force themselves into a lifestyle that doesn’t suit them. Of course, polygamy and polyandry (having multiple wives or husbands) is currently illegal in many countries, and we’ve all heard of those tragic cases of young girls being paired off with lecherous old men. That, of course, is more pedophilia than polygamy—most polyamorists are perfectly normal people who have no inclination to marry or mate with underage children. If polygamy and polyandry were legal, there could be regulations on the age and number of spouses a person could have; as I mentioned above, it would be a good idea to require the consent of all spouses to the introduction of a new spouse.

Pornography

Again, why not? Humans are naturally curious about other humans’ habits, particularly when it comes to taboo topics such as sex. I don’t subscribe to the belief that all pornography degrades women—some does, some doesn’t, and most of it’s just silly. (I’m more of a “vintage erotica” girl myself.) I do draw the line at involving creatures that can’t give informed consent, such as children or animals.

Religion

Delusion—and silly delusion, at that. Humans have a natural need to explain the universe around them; if they can’t find the actual reasons for things being the way they are, they make up elaborate stories to explain them. As a testament to human creativity and inventiveness, religion is impressive, but it’s also an example of the basest human motives—greed, violence, prejudice, and hate. Frankly, I’m amazed that so many people still believe in a God or gods; we’ve progressed far enough scientifically and socially that we can survive quite well without the need for a binding dogma. One day, we will overcome our fear of death and come to terms with the chaos and impartiality of the cosmos; then, perhaps, we will be strong enough to dispense with religion once and for all.

Stem Cell Research

As stated above, I don’t believe in the automatic sanctity of the human fetus or the life-begins-at-conception notion. Not only that, but I don’t believe in using or killing live, sentient animals for the benefit of science, particularly when we have such a beneficial alternative as stem cell research. Which is better for scientific testing: a live animal whose cellular makeup bears little resemblance to a human’s, or a piece of human tissue that contains materials that could help us cure cancer? I’d go with the human tissue any day. I do think people should have the right to refuse to let their own discarded fetuses be used for testing—and I’ll set a good example to others by donating any spare fetuses I happen to have for a good scientific cause.

Suicide

It should be the right of every person to choose if, when, and how to end their own life, for whatever reasons. Having said that, I don’t think that suicide is always (or even occasionally) the best solution; many of the problems that drive people to suicide are treatable, such as depression and pain management. (If the laws allowed for better pain management for those with chronic pain and terminal illnesses, I suspect the suicide rates would drop significantly.) I also support the legalization of assisted suicide. Again, though, I think people should try as many other options as they possibly can—the worst thing about suicide is that there’s no going back once you’ve done it.

Sex and Violence in the Media

I find it telling that American society is much more squeamish about sexual content in the media than they are about violence—a movie where dozens of people get killed in explicitly gory ways can often get away with a PG-13 rating, while a movie with even the briefest glimpse of a topless women gets an R rating. If I were a parent, I’d be much more concerned about my child viewing something as unnatural as an inventively-violent death than something as natural as nudity or sex. But I wouldn’t consider it the media’s responsibility to shield my child from such horrors—as the parent, it would be my responsibility to decide what my child could and could not watch. My theory is that parents get upset about sex and violence on TV because they’re used to using the television as a kind of babysitter—they sit the kids in front of it and go do something else, while their impressionable youngsters soak up all kinds of crap. At this point, we’ve all heard the studies about what constant exposure to TV violence can do to a child’s growing mind, and the parents have heard it, too; they know enough to feel guilty about plopping their kids in front of the boob tube, but instead of changing their own parenting habits (why mess with convenience?) they lash out at the media and demand that it censor itself so that they won’t have to censor it for their children. There’s a term for that, you know: lazy parenting. If you don’t like seeing sex or violence on TV, turn the damn thing off and hand your kids a book instead—there might be sex and violence in there, too, but at least they’ll have to work for it.