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George Carlin Was Right

By Gloria Diaz

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Fort Wayne Reader

2012-03-15

I posted a comment on my Facebook page wondering if Republicans were trying to alienate women in the United States by declaring war on birth control, abortions, and women’s reproductive systems. A Facebook friend said no, but I have to wonder. With all the real problems out there (unemployment, stagnant economy, health care expenses, oil shortages, Snooki’s pregnancy) why all of a sudden, the war on vaginas?

I suspect it’s to distract us from the real problems. Do Republicans truly hate women? I wonder sometimes. I’ve never had a Republican man thank me for not having any kids I couldn’t afford to raise. I’ve never had one congratulate me on my college degree, or be grateful I work three jobs so I don’t drain the unemployment fund. Yet, to some Republican men, I’m a failure. I didn’t get married and have kids; instead I had the temerity to go out and work, therefore taking jobs away from men. I doubt very much that having to dress up as Billy Bob from Showbiz Pizza Place is something your average male would strive for. Yet I deprived a man from that super-sweet gig; there’s nothing quite like wearing a gorilla suit that smells like Lysol and sweat for $3.35 an hour.

But here’s the deal: I knew from an early age that I would not get married or have kids. I just knew. The teasing that I continually received from boys throughout school pretty much clued me in that I wouldn’t have a whole lot of dates. Not being the sorority girl type, I wouldn’t be trying to decide if I should go out with Chuck from Alpha Omega house, or Ben from Phi Delta. No, most of the men I dated weren’t, as one former boss would describe them, “breeding quality.”

If I were another kind of woman, I might have met someone successful and handsome. If I were another woman, I might have figured out exactly what I wanted to do with my life at an early age and would have had a career path set at age 22, and wouldn’t have deviated from it. If I were another woman, I would be reproductively healthy, would have had a job I loved, and some money saved.

However, I took a different path. I had a number of different jobs in a search to find my “niche.” I got into debt. And my uterus grew a tumor the size of a cantaloupe. I got older, and my lack of insurance meant the tumor just got larger, and larger. I’m not blaming anyone for that, but there were reasons I didn’t have kids.

Five years ago this month, I saw George Carlin at the Embassy. I couldn’t really afford to go, but I went anyway, and I’m glad I did. Through YouTube, I can see his clips and think, “a voice of reason.” I just got done watching a clip that is as timely now as when it was first recorded. It was, of course, a rant about Republicans and their pro-life views.

Carlin says Republicans really do hate women, and I’m not just imagining it. Of course, if men could get pregnant, the “sanctity of life” wouldn’t ever be discussed. “A man’s right to choose” wouldn’t ever be questioned. But it’s because women can and do get pregnant, men want to control that. It’s why Viagra is covered by insurance, but birth control doesn’t necessarily have to be. God forbid men live without erections. God forbid women should have control over when or if they should ever have kids. Jealous much? Only over the right to choose.