Well, it's primary day here in Massachusetts, and we've just finished passing out 3,000 flyers all over the state. Thanks to everyone who took it and read it, and thanks to my friends for passing them out with me. It was gratifying to see how much interest there was in this topic. People would stop in their tracks and stand and read the whole flyer, and come back and ask questions. It was heartening to hear that most people are very opposed to this research.
Most importantly, I think the flyer succeeded in bringing this issue to the attention of the candidates. They heard from people.
I was thrown out of a Reilly event in Malden, literally picked up and thrown out the door, because I showed up with these flyers. I had agreed already not to distribute them inside, but I wanted to have them with me, as they are the key to the flyering campaign, pt 1. I wasn't about to let them shut me up for the whole duration of the event and not get a chance to present one to Reilly or talk with him about it. So I was told to leave, and since I was being kicked out anyway, I decided I may as well hand them out to everyone I could until the guy literally and loudly threw me out. Reilly campaign staffers hoped for less of a scene, but they didn't want me there either. I retreated to the sidewalk and continued to pass them out, but had to split cause they said they called the police for tresspassing or something. So that was fun.
And a guy from Fox25 News took interest while we were at the State House yesterday, and said they might think about running a feature story on the issue. So that is cool too.
After today the race will be down to four (Kerry Healy, Christy Mihos, Grace Ross, and whoever wins the Dem primary) so it is time for a new flyer, and Flyer Campaign pt 2.
3 comments:
I thought I should post a few anecdotes from the campaign:
One woman got agitated, handed me back the flyer and as got on the escalator to descend into Harvard Square station, she yelled to me "genetic engineering for plants - bad. Genetic engineering so that two women can have a baby - good!" She's straight out of Animal Farm. How many other people feel that way? A surprising number.
Two older gentlemen out for a stroll stopped and chatted amiably with me where I had set up a display on Cambridge Common. They turned out to both be Harvard geneticists. They said they were "libertarians" who felt that there should be any bans on trying it, and asked me if I really thought the "breeders" had done such a great job. We couldn't do any worse than "breeders", they said again. Their misanthropy was not well hidden behind their their seersucker suits and genteel faces.
Another man-in-a-suit that I suspect was a Harvard Law professor asked me the vexing question "what is the difference between this risk, and gambling in Las Vegas? Why do we allow gambling in Las Vegas?" I tried to stay with him and answer his questions, but uh, well that's why I suspect he was a law professor. Also, when I suggested he take a flyer with him, he insisted he did take one, and proceeded to root through all of his pockets to find it, then grew perplexed and decided that maybe he hadn't taken one yet. This took like a full minute, I guess he was a little absent-minded that day.
Hey John
I came across a great resource about heritability and family. It’s a Left wing Blog with columns by a professor with great reservation against ss “m”
Check it out..
http://left2right.typepad.com/main/2006/08/who_are_parents.html#more
Keep Fighting…
Thanks Fitz. Who knows how inheritability will work if anyone tries same-sex conception. Maybe the male and female gametes have to work together to pass on traits, and without one or the other, normally inheritable traits will not be passed on, or maybe some traits will be passed on twice as strong.
btw, I added a link to the latest version of the flyer we have been passing out, updated for the general election, on the eggandsperm.org home page.
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