What do you think of arsonists who are blamed for a fire at an abortion clinic? What do they think of women?

Question

According to an AP article titled "Arsonists blamed for fire at abortion clinic": http://kob.com/article/stories/s278550.shtml

Arsonists have set fire to an abortion clinic that destroyed the clinic's exam room. That's according to Jake Gonzales of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Albuquerque office.

Gonzales says no one was injured in the fire Thursday night at Abortion Acceptance of Albuquerque. The practice is owned by Doctor Curtis Boyd, who has been providing abortions in New Mexico since 1972. Boyd says he remains committed to tolerance, even though his office looks like a war zone.

Gonzales says guests at a nearby hotel overlooking the clinic told investigators they saw two hooded figures outside the clinic windows just before the fire was reported. He says the suspects dumped a gasoline can in the room and then lit it as they stood outside.

Why do some people think they are above the law? No one is torching anti-abortion clinics.

Making generalizations? I asked why some people (arsonists) think they are above the law. I didn't ask why "all" blah-blah-blah think they are above the law.

I also pointed out that anti-abortion clinics haven't been bombed or burned, but I didn't say "all" blah-blah-blah are bombers or arsonists...it's quite obvious they're not.

Answer 1

I don't know what to think about them, or what they think.

To quote Robert Heinlein --

"I never will know. I have never understood the gangster mind -- I just know what to do about gangsters."

(fictional character Lazarus Long talking about shooting attackers of his wife and himself)

Some years ago, I served, proudly, as part of a volunteer security detail outside a women's clinic that had been threatened by religious nuts. It being California, we were unfortunately denied firearms and had to make do with walking sticks. We were all reasonable, law-abiding folks, some owning firearms anyway, but the laws against public carry are very strict in California.

One of our members, however, was an armed guard in his regular job, and usually came directly from work to the abortion defense patrol, still dressed in his uniform and with his gun and holster.

I noticed that some of the antis usually made themselves scarce shortly after he would arrive. And the cops, who were usually pretty lenient to the antis, would suddenly start enforcing the minimum distance rules about how close the remaining ones could come to the clinic.

Do you think maybe I'm reading too much into that? Just a coincidence?

Answer 2

Arsonists blamed for fire at Albuquerque abortion clinic
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Arsonists set a fire to an abortion clinic that destroyed the clinic's exam room, a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms employee said.

Jake Gonzales, of the bureau's Albuquerque office, said no one was injured in the fire Thursday night at Abortion Acceptance of Albuquerque.

The practice is owned by Dr. Curtis Boyd, who has been providing abortions in New Mexico since 1972, the office said in a statement e-mailed Saturday.

"Although my office now looks like a war zone, I am not at war with those who oppose me," Boyd wrote in the e-mail. "I remain committed to tolerance."

Guests at a nearby hotel overlooking the clinic told investigators they saw two hooded figures outside the clinic windows just before the fire was reported, Gonzales said.

The suspects dumped a gasoline can in the room and then lit it as they stood outside, he said. Witnesses also heard an explosion, which came from the gasoline fumes igniting the exam room.

Answer 3

Well, if they were "religious zealots" as one person put it wouldn't be a fire late at night, with only property damage. It would have been a bomb during the day designed to kill the doctors, staff, and as many clients as possible. That's the way a religious zealot would think.

That being said, it is still a despicable, criminal act, and the perpetrators should be caught and punished.

And it is an act of domestic terrorism, the legal definition is:
"Activity, directed against persons involving violent acts or acts dangerous to human life which would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the U.S.; and is intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping."

Answer 4

Log in on the protest internet site and sign a paper promising you will act in a non violent way at a similar time as protesting. come across and proceed to exist public sources in any respect cases. you are able to desire to be arrested and jailed in case you step or walk on the sanatorium's sources. Pray quietly for the period of your flow to while you're protesting using religious ideals. it extremely is carried out individually or on small communities. Your prayers should not be used to incite reactions from those vacationing abortion clinics, as this would be considered as coercion. carry a consultant-lifestyles sign for the period of your protest flow to. convey your individual sign or use an illustration presented by utilising the protest organizer. do no longer stop and block the often used public sidewalk in case you opt to speak to women getting into or leaving the sanatorium. it extremely is grounds for an arrest. depart the abortion sanatorium quietly taking each thing you delivered with you.

Answer 5

I think there are some really desperate people out there. I can understand feeling this way if actual babies were being hurt or killed - if I had access to some of the child abusers I read about in the newspaper, they'd better hold me back. But I see a big difference between a "chosen" miscarriage and the actual death of a child. I guess if you don't see any difference, you feel desperate to somehow stop it.

I can respect someone who is pro-life as far as their own uterus, but to so desperatly want to control some other person's uterus is unfathomable to me. Would these people shoot me if they saw me drink a glass of wine while I was pregnant? Is the idea that the fetus should have more rights than the woman? How about they instead spend some time trying to raise awareness about the (limited) social programs for pregnant women, like the WIC program? Women's bodies are not public property.

Answer 6

Whether or not something is legal doesn't define whether or not it's morally right.

I'm pro-life, and my position is that violence is NEVER the way to solve a problem. I don't support people who create unnecessary violence. There are much better ways to put your point across; burning down an abortion clinic isn't going to change anyone's mind on the morality of abortion, or reduce the number of them. It just portrays all of us as hypocritcal fanatics.

I could also point out here that some pro-choicers resort to violence too. On both sides, the people who carry out these acts are a minority, and the whole movement shouldn't be judged by their extremeism.

Answer 7

Most likely, the are religious zealots and are not thinking about the women who go to the clinic, the owners of the clinic, and the neighbors to the clinic. They are being selfish.

Answer 8

Pro-life, my butt. That's what I think.

EDIT: The fourth answerer makes a brilliant point. You can guarantee that if Timothy McVeigh, the Omaha shooter, and everyone else who once bombed an abortion clinic had been Muslim, they would have packed them off to Guantanamo by now.

Answer 9

I am a pro-life woman. You are making generalities here. There are PLENTY of pro-lifers who wouldn't even consider setting an abortion clinic on fire or shooting abortion doctors! The means to an end matters, and it's never acceptable to hurt people and damage property to get your point across.
Sadly, people have been battling over differences of opinion and beliefs since creation, and that's never going to change. All we can do is continue our decent, law-abiding lives and fight to put those who think they are above the law in prison (no matter who they hurt and what beliefs they represent).

Answer 10

Let me get this straight, when someone burns a hummer at a hummer dealership, that's terrorism, but when someone burns part of a medical center, that isn't? hmmm good to know...