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Thursday, May 23, 2013

Limbaugh's apology wasn't sincere

Posted Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at 1:53 PM

Do you remember when you were a child, and you said something really mean to someone? Your parents or teacher would make you apologize -- whether you meant it or not -- or face such consequences as losing recess, toys, or allowance.

Well, political commentator Rush Limbaugh is a child by my aforementioned definition.

After making jabs at a college student's alleged promiscuity because of her advocacy for access to birth control, it seems he only apologized because advertisers were pulling from his show.

Let's go back to the beginning, when a law student went before a congressional committee to explain why she believes contraceptives should be accessible through health care plans.

As a woman who has faced the issues she explained, that seems like an excellent idea.

Although, Limbaugh went on his radio show and said by asking for free contraceptives this young woman was practically selling her body. He even went so far as to ask for access to view these "acts" we would supposedly be paying for.

Mr. Limbaugh obviously hadn't done his research before he started flapping his jaws about a topic there is no way he could fully understand.

Unless of course he has a uterus we are unaware of.

A very close friend of mine found out recently she has cysts on her ovaries. In order to keep them from growing she has to take a certain hormone dosage of an oral contraceptive to reduce the size of the cysts.

Birth control pills can also be instrumental in regulating the menstrual cycle, which can prevent follicles that can eventually turn into cysts.

One thing Limbaugh definitely can't understand: Menstrual cramps.

Pain so intense, it can leave you in the fetal position on the closest comfortable surface with a hot water bottle.

There are other more gruesome details that come once a month which birth control helps to alleviate, but I know men will be reading this too.

Don't let the name "birth control" fool you. I would like to shake the hand of the person who has made that one week a month slightly bearable. I'm not a hugger, but I would even consider a quick embrace for making my life easier.

The website "Funny or Die" made a video shortly before the Limbaugh outburst that made fun of middle-aged men that claimed to know so much about the female body.

One of the men in the parody exclaimed, "Oral contraception is bad, plain and simple. Why? Because I don't understand it and science scares me."

My favorite part, and probably what most men truly believe?

"What qualifies me to be an expert on women's reproductive health?" one man says. "I'm a 59-year old man."

"And late middle-aged men know the most about everything," another declared.

And to top it all off they noted, "Any woman who gets mad at what we have to say is probably on her period."

Don't sit behind your desk, podium or microphone and tell me how my body works if you have never experienced what we go through every single month.

As far as contraception preventing pregnancy, there is one thing these men are apparently forgetting: The old cliche, "It takes two to tango."

Women don't knock themselves up, gentlemen.

Sabrina is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by email at swestfall@gcdailyworld.com or by telephone at 847-4487.


Comments
Showing comments in chronological order
[Show most recent comments first]

Amen! That is exactly what the student who has been so viciously attacked said in her testimony.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is NOT all about sex.

-- Posted by Ellie on Wed, Mar 7, 2012, at 5:49 PM

I'm pretty sure that Rush's job is to be edgy and upset people (usually liberals). My guess is that whatever crew he has that helps him "push it to the limit" misjudged the amount and type of backlash he was going to get for this one.

In the end, he is an entertainer, and I'm sure that his core audience probably got a good chuckle out of it.

-- Posted by per moenia urbis on Wed, Mar 7, 2012, at 6:06 PM

I guess now you are qualified to tell us what 59 year old men mean and don't mean when they speak!

-- Posted by johnpaulcoleman on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 7:44 AM

Very well said johnpaulcoleman.

I'm looking for the column you wrote about Bill Maher and what he called Sarah Palin or perhaps that column taking Ed Schultz to task for what he said about Laura Ingraham.

-- Posted by mtvsportswriter on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 8:35 AM

I agree Sabrina, there are too many women who use this for something other than birth control and furthermore it is nobody's business as to why they need it. I found his comments discusting and his appology the same discusting. I guess 20 of his advertisers feel the same way.

-- Posted by lulu54 on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 10:30 AM

I mis-spoke that is 45 plus the Canadian rock group Rush has also asked Limbaugh's show to stop using its music on the air

read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/031...

-- Posted by lulu54 on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 3:40 PM

Oh ok, thanks urbis, for the clarification. Divisive, belligerence is a form of comedy, you understand, if you are of the right wing persuasion.

-- Posted by Fordtruckmaniac on Thu, Mar 8, 2012, at 11:58 PM

"...Limbaugh went on his radio show and said by asking for free contraceptives this young woman was practically selling her body. He even went so far as to ask for access to view these "acts" we would supposedly be paying for."

Rush was wrong to put it the way he did. There are better ways to criticize and make a point.

The issue is not whether women should be allowed to use birth control. The issue is whether birth control should be provided for "free", i.e. someone else pays for your contraceptives.

If a person wants to have sex but doesn't want a baby, you should pay for your own birth control.

"After making jabs at a college student's alleged promiscuity because of her advocacy for access to birth control..."

Fluke argued that the government should stay out of a woman's womb and bedroom but government (i.e. the public) should pay for birth control devices.

So government has no business make laws about a woman's body unless it is to provide a drug or service that women want?

-- Posted by Maurice on Tue, Mar 13, 2012, at 12:47 PM

James,

To me, the idea behind the whole thing is this - Some women cannot afford birth control, and while we all know that the solution would be abstinance, we also know that it isn't going to happen. So what would be better, us paying for a woman's birth control, or us paying for a child through the welfare system? I think birth control is cheaper. People complain about the number of people on welfare all the time, so here is a measure that I see as helping that problem. Congress should consider having a cut-off for the amount of money someone can make and still get their contraceptives paid for.

-- Posted by EGRACER on Thu, Mar 15, 2012, at 10:44 AM


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