Block patrol, racism, and Dominionism

Today from 9:45 to 11:45 I volunteered with the SSCO Block Patrol. Before I even got to the substation on 19th Street, I saw a man curled up in the fetal position on the sidewalk. This would appear to be our first issue of the day, which I announced to Arlene and Dave while putting on my yellow vest. We called for a squad to deliver our man to detox. He got up when he noticed us and walked to Nicollet Avenue and to the Franklin Avenue bus stop. Two African American men appeared to be discussing something with him - patting him on the shoulders and showing money. It is common for drunks to be robbed, as they are incapacited to the point of indefensibility and incoherent though.

We then had the most active African American cross Nicollet Avenue and confront us in front of Acadia for apparent racism. It seems that our initial call to the police was due to him being black, and not lying on the sidewalk a couple blocks away. He told us he intended to get drunk and did not care if the cops questioned him about it. He told us these things repeatedly in the same and synonymous manner until the police arrived. Then he brought up the race issue again, causing the police to defend our position in getting a man into detox.

It is sad that the race issue is brought up too often. While it is definetely an issue in America, it is not on Block Patrol. I recently heard from a non-member that she heard it was a racist organization. They must not have met Nadine or Mustafa - both are African Americans on the block patrol. Nor have they volunteered with us to see how we operate - it is a nonviolent community effort to curb crime. Ignoring those initiating crimes based solely on color means those committing the crimes are treated different. We as a community, city, nation decide our values and as a community we should enforce them upholding and improving our quality of life.

We also went to an open house at the Artists Lofts on 19th and 3rd Avenue. It was quite a lovely loft, and I am amazed at how well they used the space. It may not be family friendly, but it is couple and single friendly - and quite cozy. The place was two levels, had HUGE windows, and had very high ceilings. I personally would want something less art-like and more practical - more efficient basically.

Then I went to the park for a picnic with Brandy and Josiah - they were enjoying a music festival at Fair Oaks Park. It was some NORML type event, that would top things off with a Marijuana March ( which we did not stay for). But it was fun. Josiah tends to be a flirt and go up to any cute girls he can find and chat with. ;) As we were leaving, we heard a speaker state that the couple who would create marijuana prohibition were married at Fair Oaks Park. Quite an ironic bit of history, as few now are quite so anti-pot in the neighborhood. ;)

Anywho, I went off to work as usual. I had a fun Saturday night. And as usual I am always chatting with people about various things. Politics, social behavior, norms, etcetera get brought up frequently with me. :) Anywho, I found a co-worker who was a Dominionist. She homeschools her kids, votes pro-life, volunteers at her church, and believes we live in the End Times and should have a Government preparing us for such a time. ( you know - to counter the Anti-Christ ) I decided to chat with Brenda about a particularly touchy subject: abortion.

After reading How The Pro-choice Movement Saved America by Cristina Page, I decided to test her hypothesis. Would pro-lifers really move not only to ban abortion, but contraception as well? I cannot remember actually how we got onto the subject - I know we discussed how her sister married a Muslim and could not raise a child without it being "her" Christian religion - so divorced him. Either way, she stated she no longer used birth control. She 'found out' a few years ago that it was an abortificant - because they think that it stops a fertilized egg from imlanting in the whom.

I informed her of how making abortion would make contraception illegal in 30 states and probably many more. She understood that women who have a miscarriage could be seen as having had an abortion and her doctor may have to report it or refuse to assist her. The birth defects like anencephaly to her were simply "mankinds imperfection" manifesting itself in physical reality. Basically, anything bad that happens to us is because we are not in Heaven. We can only take it as a sign to submit to Jesus. It reminds me of the Muslim inshallah - God willing.

It is interesting how Christians see humans as evil, while Buddhists see all humans as potential Buddhas. I prefer the half-full mentality any day.

Unfortunately, the pro-lifers have lied to millions of Americans - contraceptives are proven safe. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

The mechanism of action of hormonal contraceptives and intrauterine contraceptive devices.
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 181(5, Part 1):1263-1269, November 1999.
Rivera, Roberto MD; Yacobson, Irene MD; Grimes, David MD

Abstract:
Modern hormonal contraceptives and intrauterine contraceptive devices have multiple biologic effects. Some of them may be the primary mechanism of contraceptive action, whereas others are secondary. For combined oral contraceptives and progestin-only methods, the main mechanisms are ovulation inhibition and changes in the cervical mucus that inhibit sperm penetration. The hormonal methods, particularly the low-dose progestin-only products and emergency contraceptive pills, have effects on the endometrium that, theoretically, could affect implantation. However, no scientific evidence indicates that prevention of implantation actually results from the use of these methods. Once pregnancy begins, none of these methods has an abortifacient action. The precise mechanism of intrauterine contraceptive devices is unclear. Current evidence indicates they exert their primary effect before fertilization, reducing the opportunity of sperm to fertilize an ovum.

More information on the true pro-life movement on my political blog.