"Female Gendercide" - Wow, Somebody Woke Up

I've been running into the phrase "female gendercide" quite a bit lately.

I think that killing people because they're the 'wrong' sex is a bad idea.

I even think that 'sex-selection abortions' are wrong: but I'm a practicing Catholic, so I tend to be 'judgmental' about matters of personal choice: like murder. Even if the act is legal.

The current fad, expressing concern that women are being killed because they're women, is a welcome change of pace from last year's rather diffident response to the same situation:

• "Sex Selection, Newspeak, and Getting a Grip"
  (August 11, 2011)
  Particularly
  • "Potential People"

It's a counter-cultural idea: that human beings are people, even if we are too young, too old, too sick, too defective, or too weak to defend ourselves. I think it makes sense: partly because I'd probably be culled in the second or third sweep through the herd, if America's leadership decided to improve public health by performing retroactive abortions.

"Can't happen here?" I hope so.

Human Life: So What?

I'm a practicing Catholic, so I think that human life is sacred. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258) All human life: not just folks who are interesting or useful.

Before I became a Catholic, I knew how human beings get started: so I wasn't shocked by the idea that human life begins a conception. (Catechism, 2270)

Looking at the fuss being made about "female gendercide," I think it's possible that more Americans have realized that human beings are people: even when we're young. At least someone with clout in media made the connection between conception and folks who purchase goods and services, and pay taxes.

It's a start.

Distorting Language

I think one of the tip-offs that something is amiss is when folks start using euphemisms: nice, polite words that take the edge off some harsh reality. A half-century ago, my generation learned to be skeptical about 'nice' phrases like 'collateral damage.'

Times change, and now we've got euphemisms like "health care."

One of the insidious aspects of euphemisms is that they can be used to help folks think of other people as something other than persons.

A decade or so back, a shocking best-seller was banned for the way it exposed one of America's shortcomings:

"...'...We blowed out a cylinder-head.'

" 'Good gracious! anybody hurt?''

"No'm. Killed a [redacted].'

"' Well, it's lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt....'..."
(Mark Twain, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Part 2 (1885), Chapter XXXII., via Project Gutenberg)
(June 24, 2011)

We've come a long way since 1885; and 1965. And that's another topic.

Other related posts:

• Being human
  • "If Babies are a Disease: This is a Cure"
    (March 8, 2012)
  • "Six Seven People Killed in Minnesota's Monday Crashes"
    (February 22, 2012)
  • " 'Without Children there is no Future' "
    (February 19, 2012)
  • "Steve Jobs, Jospeh Maraachli, and 'Reproductive Health:' My Take"
    (October 7, 2011)
  • "Feeling Ungood About Doublethink? Here's Help"
    (March 23, 2009)
• The establishment
  • " 'Man?!!' Political Correctness and Getting a Grip "
    (April 10, 2012)
  • "My Way, or the Highway: Academic 'Freedom' at Iowa's Top Law School"
    (April 6, 2012)
  • "What's With 'the Establishment' in this Blog?"
    (September 15, 2011)
  • "Rebellious Youth, Protests, and The Establishment: in 2010"
    (January 26, 2010)
  • "Fear of Right-Wing Extremism: Commie-Hunting in Reverse"
    (April 19, 2009)