Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

I just want to talk.

Not to Republican lawmakers right now, who have spent fifty years crafting, waiting, and planning for the moment that Roe vs. Wade would be overturned. Not to Democratic lawmakers either, whose borderline criminal, absolutely infuriating incompetence and inability to get anything done— in this instance among others — is literally going to get people killed.

No, I want to talk to the right wing voter. The men in particular.

Men all across the country who — as one of my charming old high school classmates put it on Facebook— are celebrating the end of “casual hookup culture”.

“Don’t have sex in the bathroom in the frat house, then…”

“If you aren’t adult enough to raise a child stop having sex…”

“Happy Roe vs. Wade day!”

You really think you’re teaching women a lesson, don’t you?

The sluts gotta learn, right?

Well first, I suppose I could offer my congratulations. Well played. You succeeded, didn’t you? You won this fight, and thanks to the efforts of the party you have elected, tens of millions if not hundreds of women have lost the ability to determine what happens to their bodies. Thanks to you, a uterus is now the property of the state. All the “sluts” out there have been taught that lesson, and you get to laugh at their pain and the real world consequences of what this means begin to set in.

I do have a couple questions, though.

How long is this going to be a game to you?

Will you find it funny when your sisters are murdered by men who don’t want to pay child support? Will you still be happy about this when your nieces end up in the emergency room because of self inflicted injuries they sustained trying to give themselves an abortion? Are you happy that in Louisiana, they explicitly, clearly, and intentionally did not even include exceptions for life of the mother?

I’m sure you’re thrilled.

But you know, I’ve got another question.

How, exactly, did this impact your life in any meaningful, positive way?

Because that’s something I’ve come to notice about the conservatives I see and hear online or interact with personally. My body and my choices, or those of anyone else with a uterus have absolutely no fundamental, lasting impact on you or your life. It does not affect you at all in any way, shape, or form.

And maybe that’s why you don’t really seem to relish in your victories, do you? You laugh at someone else’s pain, and then immediately get back into the swing of your same old struggle. That same old miserable life you had before this decision, filled with constant stress, anger, and fear.

I know a lot of you are struggling to keep that roof over your head, not able to afford that $600 repair your car needs. I know you’re still sick and tired of having to work two jobs just to stay alive. I know you’re angry about the fact that your rent is being raised again even though that roof still hasn’t been fixed. I know you’re angry about that $800 medical bill you got from the emergency room, where you spent six hours in the waiting room and met with the doctor for a grand total of 3 minutes. I know you’re upset that Mom can’t afford her insulin.

So please, explain to me why you find so much happiness in a decision that’s not going to change any of that? You’ll relish in the misery of others for a few minutes, and go right back to the same old miserable circumstances you were in before this ruling was handed down.

See this decision didn’t make your own life any better, but it certainly made the lives of tens of millions of other people a whole lot harder.

But hey, congratulations I guess.

I hope you’re happy.