On Monday, March 12th, trending on storify was tweets to people's unborn children. Tweets that vowed to KILL their unborn child if he or she turned out to be LGBT. I don't think it gets any worse than that. Luckily, these tweets were picked up on by someone, and these people are being put in the spotlight.
Codie Sowders wrote:
From Daborey Burrell comes this:#ToMyUnbornChild if you so much as think about being a homosexual I'll put a bullet in your damn skull
#ToMyUnbornChild if you turn out gay, I will burn you alive.Rob Grant wrote:
#ToMyUnbornChild if your gay or retarded I will kill you.And, this tweet from Chris Woodie:
#ToMyUnbornChild If you think gay is an option,let me know because we'll abort youExtremely graphic, I know. However, I think it's urgent that we know, and fully realize that there truly ARE people out there who, by their own admission!, would kill their own child if he or she were gay. Worse, they said it unabashedly, as if the murdering of unwanted LGBT children was just the norm.
My first thought was "I sure hope they don't have any other children!" Any person who can even formulate such a thought about any human being at all, let alone their very own unborn child should, at the very least, be mandated to have every snip and tie done as to assure that they can never, ever reproduce. This level of homophobia is reprehensible.
Here's the danger: this level of hatred, intolerance, and violence is precisely the accelerant that fuels the violence against the LGBT teens we're seeing today. And, as we're being shown more and more every single day, the violence against LGBT teens, the bullying, is a learned behavior taught to them, in many if not most cases, by adults. Directly or indirectly. Imagine: Codie Sowders has another child, or children!. Wonderful parent in all aspects; however, the child or children knows Codie's intolerant feeling towards gays. And, that level of hatred would be impossible to mask despite the best efforts. Well, what do you think the odds would be of that child, or those children, growing up to become homophobes themselves? And, thus, the vicious cycle continues. The bullying continues. The LGBT teen suicide rate remains the same. And, frightfully, if an LGBT child is born to any one of these people, the murder rate will go up as well. By their own admission.
I've got a real problem with this one. Hopefully, a lot of people have a real problem with it. Just reading these real tweets from real "people" should be enough to get your blood up to 210 degrees. For that other 2 degrees needed to reach boiling point, realize that there are teachers, judges, police officers, definitely politicians. priests and preachers...people from every walk of life with this level of homophobia.
It's getting better, yes. We still have lots of work to do.
Disgusting. My wife and I decided before we even got pregnant the first time that our "sex discussion" was going to include the lines, "You're straight? Great. Use a condom. You're gay? Great. Use a condom? You're bi? Hope you've gotten the idea by now..."
ReplyDelete:) Wish their were more couples like yours Nosehair :)
DeleteThat is the best!
DeleteI'm voting for you to become the President. It's as easy as having THAT conversation, and the entire universe would be a better place. For whatever reason, humanity feels as though they have to secure a position in which they can speak their mind, whether they sound like complete ignorant murderers or not. It's embarrassing to have to share a species with people who threaten the lives of unborn children. Rock bottom. You can't get much lower than that.
DeleteMy children got the where do babies come from lecture quite young but we also included how some families need help to have children like artificial insemination, ivf and adoption and when they asked questions regarding gay friends who were couples we answered their questions honestly saying that some men loved women and visa versa, some men loved men and some women loved women and some loved both but that it was quite normal and what matters is that you find love. Because we had discussed the different ways couples who needed help have families, their response was 'Oh so they would need some help to have children but they can still have families! That's good!'
DeleteI'm anti-homophobia, but I think a lot of those tweeters are trying to be amusing....Notice I don't say they ARE amusing, but I wouldn't take it as a serious statement of their feelings. Incidentally, how can you be defaming someone by merely printing what they posted publicly?
DeleteThe good thing about this situation, is that I know for a fact that at least 1 or 2 of those 100 people more than likely only said those homophobic things because they're part of a homophobic religion and wanted to look good in front of others from said religion.. That, of course, means that if their daughter says at age 16 "Mom, dad.. This is my girlfriend", they might actually be a bit more accepting than what they're leading others to believe, and I hope I'm right about this.
DeleteNosehair, I really like your comment. That is what we all need to think like!
DeleteHow do you get around defamation of character for the people listed....I support you 100% but idk if u should have included their names....just saying
ReplyDeleteThey publicly tweeted that they'd kill their child if said child ended up being gay, I think any possible public shaming they receive from it is the least of concerns.
Deleteit doesnt matter if it was public to begin with.
Deletetwitter is public. say it forget it,write it regret it.
DeleteHow can it be "defamation of character" to report something they freely posted to the world with their name attached? Can you sue yourself for defaming yourself?
DeleteIt's not defamation of character if it's true.
DeleteThey used their names on twitter, what's the difference? It's not like they were hiding!
DeleteDefamation of character doesn't apply if you are quoting something the person said in a public place.
Deleteanything posted on a public forum becomes property of that website in this case twitter owns every post they make.
DeletePost their addresses and phone numbers too.
DeleteThey defamed their own characters just fine.
DeleteThe only real defamation issue here is they should also post the twitter usernames, as there is no doubt more than one Rob Grant, etc, and the other guys may not at all be happy about the idea of being confused for this homophobic prat. You must make every effort to identify people as that "Rob Grant" and not possibly any other "Rob Grant" in the world.
DeleteThank you leathersammie, I thought I was the only one that picked up on the thought of "Why aren't these people being reported, they are threatening to kill their own children!!" I thought when I read about how the one commenter had other children, what happens when if she has a boy who acts too girly or her daughter doesn't act the way she thinks, will she kill those children as well. Why is she allowed to be allowed alone with them for god's sake. She said on a public place online she would kill her child for no other reason than the child was being themselves. In my opinion, its not much different than shouting in a crowd and if I heard someone yell they would do something like that I would call the cops or cps!! maybe she didn't mean it or maybe she has a gun at home.. you never really know.
DeletePublic Tweets, public display. Same argument that the paparazzi have for following celebs. You chose to put it in public, we, the public WILL use it. These sick bastards SHOULD be hounded for their bigotry and hatred.
DeleteAgree with iMags - do post all relevant identifying information such as actual twitter account. In addition to legal issues with confusing with others of the same name you should not want to embarrass someone who shared the name but had nothing to do with the heinous behavior.
Deletemakes me wonder if any if you would allow the mother to abort for other reasons.
ReplyDeletei wholehearedly agree that these comments are horrid to the core...but if you're okay with abortion for others reasons...and not this...you have some serious hypocrisy issues you meed to address.
WTF this isn't about abortion its about murdering for hate's sake stop skirting the issue
DeleteFirst of all, there is a HUGE difference between aborting for health reasons or due to rape, and aborting because the kid is gay...the two issues are entirely unrelated and therefore feelings about one does not amount to hypocrisy regarding the other. Secondly, you are assuming that abortion is the only issue here. I have never seen a single abortion that involved a bullet to the skull OR being burned alive. That is not abortion in any form, that is flat out hate driven homicide of a child who they delivered, raised to a point of being able to know the child is gay, and are supposed to love...
DeleteI don't believe in abortion as a form of birth control! There are several reasons that I do believe in it. First, if it's very early in the term, the parents are extremely young, a 16 year old girl should not be forced to give birth. But, again, not to be used as birth control. If she's going to be sexually active, then get her birth control. Educate her on condoms, male and female condoms to protect against disease.
DeleteSecond, I would say that in a case of rape I would support an abortion. Again, this would probably be very early term. I would think it unconscionable to force a woman to carry her rapists baby, unless she wanted to do so. Third: I'm on the fence about this one but I ultimately think that the choice is up to the parents. That is, when there are drastic health issue risks to the mother or the baby. That's really a personal decision for the family to make. My vote would be for the mother.
I really don't think that the ability to afford the child is the right reason to kill it I rather see the child born and put up for adoption. However, I would rather see a child aborted then abused and neglected and starved. That's just my take on that.
It's just my personal belief that life doesn't begin at inception. Oh, technically yes, but the fetus at that point could be human or could be a cat. You really can't tell them apart. I don't think that you have a child until it is mostly viable outside of the mother's womb. Until then she/he is dependent upon the mother for survival.
Your argument is non sequitur. It is not possible to identify gay foetus for abortion.
Delete@Anonymous: Yes, because aborting for health reasons or a financial inability to support a child or all of your children plus one is EXACTLY the same as aborting because the child is gay.
ReplyDeleteFalse equivalence is false.
health reasons: yes. financial inability: no cause you shouldnt be having sex at all or without protection if you cant support a child. thats what adoption is for.
Delete@DJ....AWESOME response!
DeleteIf i got pregnant I am so unhealthy right now that i have a high risk that i would die so i would have to get an abortion. I use birth controle and protection but u never know and what if i got raped?
DeleteWe have no right to question a women as to the nature of her desire to have an abortion. Her motivation is irrelevant and our judgements ought not to support or negate the simple fact that abortions must be made and kept safe, legal, and available for ANY and ALL women who choose to have them.
Delete@ Anonymous: Ahhhh because as we ALL know, there aren't enough babies up for adoption that can't be placed in a good home and are living in "the system" for years and years waiting.... HAVE MORE!!!!
DeleteThat said.... I don't believe in abortion as a form of birth control, however, it is a woman's CHOICE.
Rape, molestation, health risks, and if the unborn child has a serious health issue that will cause HUGE financial hardship... I'm all for the abortion.
They shouldn't be allowed to have children. They should be charged/arrested as well...
ReplyDeletefirst, why is anybody tweeting to an unborn child, and second, these same people who would kill their own gay child, would also kill your child for no good reason. And in fact, once we've declared unborn children as legitimate persons (as has been done in some states), we can have these people arrested for attempted murder or actual murder if their gay children commit suicide. I'm all for holding bigoted parents responsible for the deaths of their own children.
ReplyDeleteI am truly nauseated by those tweets.
ReplyDeleteI am truly nauseated by those tweets. The thought that anyone could kill his/her own child is very frightening.
ReplyDeleteAnd could obviously use a refresher course on grammar. "your gay" ... how about you're gay?
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to, "I hope my baby is born with 5 fingers and 5 toes" or "I hope my baby is born healthy"? How these (unborn) kids end up living their lives later on down the line is ultimately no one's business besides their own...
ReplyDeletethey stated these hateful things under their own names on their twitter so their names being used really isn't the issue at hand. what is an issue is what they said and the level of intolerance/hate/anger these people have against the LGBT community that it even goes so far as to thinking harm on something that's not only blood but unborn or already a baby and that's what should really be the focus
ReplyDeleteits sick Codie Sowders desrves to have her kids took of her
ReplyDeleteThere was also one tweet stating that if the child was a girl, the person would drown her in a bathtub. So much hatred is despicable. It's making me physically sick. If my daughter realizes that she's gay, it won't change a thing. And she'll already know it's ok with us because we've told her so.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent, I am terrified that there are people in the world with such views. As an educator, I teach tolerance in every way I am able. As a married bisexual, and as the proud parent of an LGBT child, I am beyond adjectives to express my dismay.
ReplyDeleteThis post right here ^ ...only good feeling I got out of this whole page.
DeleteThese people are sick. I pray God will have NO mercy on them for even thinking abot bringing harm to another human. Especially an unborn child, one they created.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came out, I thought it was the end of the world, my mother didn't talk to me for days. Then she realized that I was hers. I was the reason she woke up for every morning. The fact that I am gay is something she can rest easy to. Least I am not out getting knocked up at a young age.
As far as the abortion thing goes. The will pay. If you do the deed, then you must suffer the consequences. However, if you are financially unstable, do not take it out on an unborn child. Have the kid and give it up for adoption. Every birth deserves a chance.
Referring to going through with a childbirth as "suffering the consequences" sets a bad precedent for the child in question. I pity the child who goes through life knowing that they were a consequence to be suffered by their parents.
DeleteAs to adoption: MUCH easier said than done, and truly only practical for the financially unstable if the agency or adoptive family takes care of prenatal and childbirth expenses and somehow makes up for the money the woman loses in her later months because she is unable to work as long or as hard. (At least, if the adoptive family wants the baby to be born healthy. Also much harder for poor people to accomplish.)
An abortion of one ill-timed pregnancy, followed by measures to make sure that pregnancy doesn't happen again, can make the difference between a family being forever stuck in a financial pit and being able to actually get their finances in order so that they may be better parents later down the road.
If you are afflicted with this kind of hatred and homophobia, do the world a favor and have yourself neutered or spayed. Secondly, if a woman makes the decision to have an abortion it is just that. HER DECISION. It is her body and her decision. Women don't need outside input from fundie religious nuts nor anyone else. We are quite capable thank you!
DeleteI have been so lucky as a teen. My parents have made it very clear that they will support me no matter what my sexual orientation is. I wish other people had parents like mine. I know if I have kids that I will support them no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI AGREE WITH YOU. THE PEOPLE WHO SAY THESE THINGS ARE NOT CHRISTIAN IN ANY FORM. GOD COMMANDS US TO LOVE OUR BROTHERS & SISTERS & PASS ON HIS WORD WHICH IS "LOVE ONE ANOTHER". GOD CREATED EVERYONE!!!! HE DOES NOT EXCLUDE ANYONE!!! THAT'S OKEY... EVERYONE WILL ANSWER TO OUR LORD GOD- THEN THEY'LL BE JUDGED ACCORDINGLY.
ReplyDeletehttp://atheism.about.com/b/2011/01/19/scientific-links-between-homophobia-and-repressed-homosexuality-2.htm Studies are conclusive. Those most virulently homophobic are often repressing their own homosexuality. Facts are facts. Not a shock, we knew it all along....
ReplyDeleteHad this conversation with my kid. Son if you come to me and say "dad i'm gay" I will be like, "that's nice dear, what do you want for dinner".
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you come to me and say "dad I want to be a prison officer/bailiff/policeman" I will disown you.
LOL!!!!! Love this one.
DeleteSome people aren't fit to be parents let alone part of the human race :(
ReplyDeletePeople who even speak the words of harming a child in any way, should NOT be allowed to have anymore babies and when their babies are born they should get taken away from them. People who hurts kids in anyway shape or form disgust me! God WILL punish you for hurting his children!
ReplyDeleteGods going to give the, children just so they can suffer and then learn tolerance. And if they chose to kill their child bc of sexual orientation (not a choice lol) then they will suffer the consciences and will be judge once in front of god. Love everyone equal . Real simple :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, abortion techniques include using chemicals to burn your unborn baby alive (it's alive because it is breathing and has brain functions very early on). Also, tearing and vacuuming off the baby's body parts is another technique. And no it isn't a bunch of cells after the first couple of weeks to the moron who said that. Get educated people! People DO abort because their babies are disabled! But why is it okay to abort "just because" and not for any other reason? I feel abortion is almost always the wrong choice. But if our society is going to allow women to dismiss their unborn baby as not worthy enough to have rights, then we need to admit maybe we are going about this all wrong. Yes these idiots tweeting are ignorant and childish but I don't see any difference in their attitude and the attitude of those who choose abortion.
ReplyDeleteOkay. 1) The embryo or fetus is not breathing, If it were it would be drowning.2) Brain activity does not begin until the 25th week or six months which most abortions are only available that late in pregnancy because of health risks to the mother. And according to any biology until it is viable it is not living, also all living creatures are "clumps" of cells if you really break it down. You obviously seem to be the one who is uneducated. I highly doubt women get abortions to "dismiss" their child, you cannot know the reasons why a person does it and it is not your choice. I also have no idea where you got this "chemical" abortion idea I am going assume its some right wing christian fanatical website, because there is no such thing. When chemical abortion is stated it is replying to the morning after pill or the abortion pill/shot. what goes into the vagina is a suppository that causes the cervix to dilate. furthermore all but one of these posts were talking about killing an already born living child. I also do not see how you can use the term "almost always the wrong choice." I don't think it should be up to someone else what women can do with their bodies. Lastly is it women like you that set back women's reproductive rights 50 years. With all that said, just because you do not believe in something doesn't mean you have the right to tell someone what they are doing is wrong. You can never know what you would do in a certain situation until you live it.
DeleteMaybe I'm a bit much of a positive thinker but I do think that if some, even most, of the idiots saying that shit had a kid that turned out to be queer, they'd learn to accept it b/c they loved their kid. It's easy to spew hate when you aren't intimately familiar or are someone affected by it, once it involves someone you care about/love, or oneself, then usually, hopefully, attitudes change.
ReplyDeleteI know, unfortunately, it doesn't always turn out that way though. :/ I hope at some point all the idiots who would say shit like that get a chance to evolve past it.
Would hope they have all been reported to Social Services and the various appropriate authorities.
ReplyDeleteim a bisexual teen should i commit suicide?
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely should not. Why would you even consider that an option? Live your life to the fullest, and be proud of who you are. You have a lot to offer the world.
DeleteNo honey, these peoples ignorance is what causes this. There is nothing wrong with you and never will be. You can't help who you love, not to mention being bi you spread and receive 2x the love. :D
DeleteI don't have any of the accounts to allow me to publish under my real name, but you can ask me who I am - the comments re killing your unborn child if it was gay truly sicken my heart. I am shaking right now, with nausea and anger that people have so much hate in them.
ReplyDeleteTheir comments are a valid argument why I do not believe in god or any organised religion, because I am the very proud mother of a beautiful little gay girl and I will not, EVER, see her harmed. By religious fanatics, by retards with no thought process. BY ANYONE. TRY ME AND SEE.
I feel sorry for those babies no matter what their sexual preference will be. Imagine having one of those low lives as your father (and I use the term father loosely here).
ReplyDeleteI joined twitter because of this. I will till my last dying breath fight for equality among the human race as a whole. Life is precious and that includes everyone.
ReplyDeleteI now post to #IWillLoveMyChildNoMatterWhat These are children. Precious,joyful,free, growing and learning from example.
I will love my child regardless of their sexuality, If I adopt I will love my child regardless of their skin color and sexual preference. Love is love..it should not come with a *but if you are a* Clause.
Come on people learn to love and be love. The world needs it. hurt someone and you only hurt yourself. Help someone and you help yourself. We are all one.
Who the hell do these people think they are? Instead of worrying about having a gay child they should worry about them not turning out like them, Just the thought of this conversation sickens me to the core. I have two children I've raised and the furthest thing from my mind was are they going to be gay....Normal people worry about collage and what they will be when they grow up, I just don't get it, what the hell is this world coming to, Scary
ReplyDeleteI have seen what people do to animals, to each other, it is so sad that they will never be able to experience true, unconditional love. Diminished humanity...very sad.
ReplyDeletei hope they are blessed with straight kids who kill/rob/abuse their own parents. for whateva reason or none to that matter. they deserve such kids.
ReplyDeleteI could vomit right now. I grew up with a mother that constantly told me she wished she had aborted me from a time I was very young. But I was straight and she was bi-polar.She finally ended up killing herself. As horrific as my abuse was I don't think it compares to this. It wasn't bcs of WHO I was. It wasn't personal. I don't think I could have survived the vile, sadistic behavior of these sick parents. God bless every one who lives in such an unhealthy, un-nurturing home.
ReplyDeletethose people are just wrong, but people do think that. one of my best friends 'came out' to his parents and they did not understand at all. his father even hit him for admitting he was homosexual. that's one of the reasons he lives with his Aunty now. its just wrong when parents cant put aside their petty thoughts to be there for their children. they don't know what it does to them when they say that sorta crap. words hurt. they can push people to do horrible things. words can cause a person to self loath and feel anxiety. words cause self harm and the harm of others. words caused my best friend to try to kill himself. of course, you can tell at the hospital afterwards they put on the whole sob story, and didn't know why he did it. little did they know that the years of verbal abuse given to him by them made him feel useless. its what started to push him towards suicide. the whole coming out thing was the icing on the cake. he's here typing this with me, and feels safe telling you all about this, and he is gonna type next.
ReplyDeletehi, my name is John, but everyone calls me Jonno, and because of the sh*t my parents were putting me through, about 5 years ago, i started to self harm. i was only 11! My parents noticed the cuts and scars one day and, without even asking where they came from, yelled at me for being an attention seeker, my mother even told me the 'right' way to cut. 'down the tracks, not across the road' she said. well, people like them don't deserve children! it feels weird for me to say that, seeing as they are MY parents, but they didn't deserve me or my sister. that's why we were taken away. we are both a lot happier and, most importantly HEALTHIER here at my Aunty's house. she treats us with like her own kids, seeing as she cant have any of her own.
let me ask you all a question.
who deserves to have children more: (a) dead beat parents like mine who don't even act like they love their children. or.
(b) a woman who takes in someone Else's children and treats them like her own. feeds them and clothes them and everything.
i think the answer is pretty obvious.
well, thank you all for taking time to reading this and hear my story, mostly told my Maddi :D
<3 Maddi and Jonno :3
Maddi and Jonno, thanks for sharing your story. Please do join us on the facebook blog page: http://www.facebook.com/bloggingforchange
DeleteHi, its Maddi, i already do and Jonno Doesn't have facebook :)
Deletejust to reassure myself and my fetus #tomyunbornchild: i hope you come out healthy and that i can arm you with enough strength to stand up for whats right, and i will love and support you no matter your sexual orientation..
ReplyDeleteMuch love to you both
DeleteMy son many years ago (he was about 10 or 11) asked me. "Mom what would you do if I told you I think I am Bi" I said "I will still love you." "Why do you think you might be Bi?"
ReplyDeleteHe said "Well I think girls are cute but I also think some guy a really good looking to." I said "Hmmm okay cool what ever makes you happy." He said "Love you Mom" he then walked away.