Controversial tweet causes Twitter uprise

Published: Thursday, March 4, 2010

Updated: Thursday, March 4, 2010

Angie Jackson, a woman from Tampa, Florida, is in hot water after a recent commentary she delivered on the social networking site, Twitter. What was the topic of her tweets, you ask?

Jackson delivered a live series of tweets about her experience after taking RU-486, better known as the abortion pill.

Yes, you read right, this woman gave a vivid play-by-play documentation of her abortion. Now, when I say vivid, I mean vivid.

One of Jackson’s tweets was quoted saying “Okay, the pain starting to get distracting,” which was followed by “Definitely bleeding now.”

The tweets go on to detail Jackson’s feelings of nausea and excessive bleeding. Jackson said that her reasoning for tweeting her abortion live was to “demystify abortion for women,” explaining that her family told her terrifying lies about abortion to prevent her from ever having one.

Jackson compared the abortion to feeling the same as a miscarriage. Jackson also explained her reasoning for the abortion. Jackson, who already has one child, was advised to not have any more children after her high risk pregnancy with her first child. Jackson also said she was astonished by the harsh backlash she received.

One tweet compared her to a mother scorpion, saying “Scorpion mothers will grab one of their children from their backs and eat it if she gets hungry. So {you’re at} the same level?”
Jackson said that she is surprised people would react in such a negative way to her posts. Really? How could she really be surprised?

Abortion is a touchy topic in America as it is. How can she think that giving a step-by-step process of how it feels won’t be criticized? Is this woman seriously that stupid, or is she really that desperate for attention?

Jackson claims it wasn’t a publicity stunt, but I beg to differ. Anyone who posts something as controversial as this has got to be begging for some kind of attention. Personally, I think this woman has gone too far.

I don’t care whether you are pro-choice or pro-life; I do not want to log on to social networking website to see someone posting something about excessive bleeding or nausea.

This woman showed an amazing level of disrespect by posting her tweets. She not only made people sick by her comments; she insulted an incredible amount of people.

Anyone who has ever regretted an abortion or had a miscarriage could be offended by Jackson’s lack of sympathy, as well as every single individual who is pro-life. I am amazed to think that an individual can either be so selfish or so stupid that she cannot see any further than herself and her opinions. How dare she?

As a pro-life individual, I am one of the people this woman has offended and I have a feeling that I’m not the only person on campus who feels this way.

Honestly, I think that people who are pro-choice would be offended by this.
No one should be subjected to this kind of posting. Although Twitter is used to give an up-to-date description of your life, some things should be kept private.

So Miss Jackson, I have one request to ask of you: next time you want to “demystify” something, do the world a favor; forget your idea and log off of Twitter. You’ll be doing the world a favor.

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Kyle Payne

Fri Mar 19 2010 03:19

Jarrod,

I appreciate your strong feelings about abortion, and I certainly understand if you felt uncomfortable reading the details of an abortion on Twitter. What I would encourage you to think about, however, is what relevance your response to Ms. Jackson's actions - either the act of ending her pregnancy or discussing her experience online - has to the world around you. You and I are, or at least ought to be, on the margins of any dialogue on this issue. In obtaining an abortion, Ms. Jackson made a private decision neither you nor I will ever be in a position to make for ourselves. It would be inappropriate for anyone to pass judgment on Ms. Jackson for ending her pregnancy, without walking in her shoes, but it is especially problematic for you as a male to criticize her - calling her "stupid" multiples times - on an issue that has nothing to do with you.

As far as live-tweeting the experience is concerned, an act which made Ms. Jackson's private decision quite public, again, I struggle to see the relevance of your opinion. You may have personally found her speech offensive, perhaps because you perceived that she was trivializing the moral significance of her actions. But then again, it wasn't for you. It had nothing to do with you. The simple fact that you identify as "pro-life" does not afford you any protected status. You are not a victim of Ms. Jackson's words. You disagree, and that's okay. Her actions - which, as you failed to notice, did accomplish her goal of demystifying abortions for other women - created a space through which we can all cross borders and better understand the experiences of others.

Unfortunately, your approach thus far has been to attempt to silence Ms. Jackson and other women who might speak about reproductive rights - calling her "stupid," attacking her for offending your delicate sensibilities, and suggesting that she ought to log off her Twitter account (the one that I'm assuming you had to go out and find in order to self-righteously rant on about all the ways a stranger's unintended pregnancy is all about you). That's no way to open yourself to learning. And if, on the other hand, you published this editorial merely for the sake of making an argument, there are much more effective and responsible ways to do that as well.

In closing, I hope you'll continue to share your views, especially through the Tack. But don't forget the assumptions, biases, privileges, and most importantly, the limitations, that you bring to the table as a writer. It doesn't take a rhetorician to point out that you're speaking from a position of ignorance and intolerance in your editorial. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write about controversial issues, but take seriously the implications of your words and your responsibilities as a writer.

Thanks!

Kyle Payne
BVU Class of 2007

Tina Victor

Sat Mar 13 2010 01:34

I'm a woman, and I am offended by your article... I had a misscarriage of twins and they took the second baby, just like what happened to this woman... If anybody is strong enough to educate woman and the public, more power to her. You will never understand and until you educate yourself on the subject, you have no right to have an uneducated opinion...

Lauren B

Wed Mar 10 2010 20:59

Next time don't like a Twitter post, do the world a favor — forget it and log off of Twitter. You’ll be doing the world a favor.

She's free to share her experience, free to have an abortion and you're free to whine about it. God Bless America!

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