Rusty Hangers: Behind the Scenes

More than a few people have been wondering about Rusty wire hangers and a dark corner, asking one or two common questions each. I’ve decided to put this sort-of mini-FAQ up, to further stroke my ego and fill in details regarding the post’s short history.

  1. The post was originally conceived towards the end of September 2010. I was spurred on to write it when I read about a bunch of old-biddies and greasy politicos making common cause and marching along Quiapo, protesting the “imminent” legalization of abortion. To date, abortion is still illegal in the Philippines.
  2. It was held back all this time because I felt it lacked a certain polish. While I certainly have never been innocent of “preaching to the choir” (i.e., presenting arguments that only have weight for people who already lean towards your own position), I felt that this particular post needed to at least rattle the opposing side, or, at the very least, those who are on the fence.
  3. I read somewhere that March was Women’s Month, so I decided that this was probably the best time to release this sort of essay. Consider it a gift to free-thinking women everywhere: that there’s at least one Filipino geek and father who agrees that women are more than capable of deciding for themselves without the usual patronization they’ve experienced throughout most of history.
  4. The final version is pretty similar to the first draft, differing mostly in how they ended. The previous drafts stayed in limbo, while I experimented with different notes to end it with. One version tried to incorporate spitting on a stranger’s shoes for reasons I can no longer remember.
  5. It’s had three editors, all friends of mine. When I ran full-steam into the much-dreaded writer’s block, I felt that new sets of eyes would help in figuring out how to end on a graceful note. Please note that all errors, misinformation, &c. are my fault: these friends of mine merely were the first ones to offer their thoughts on my essay. They do not necessarily share my beliefs.
  6. I am not arguing for unlimited abortion, wherein any woman, of any age is free to abort a pregnancy for any reason, no matter how frivolous. I am actually a proponent of responsible parenting. I am “merely” arguing that current laws are too restrictive, to the detriment of women’s rights, not just here in the Philippines, but everywhere where a close-knit group of “well-meaning” old men run the show.
  7. I do NOT believe that men and women are equal, and I never will. Instead, I believe that men and women are different; in fact, in a lot of circumstances, women are superior to men (imagine being pregnant, guys, and working a regular 9-to-5 while you’re at it). Men are better whenever brute force is called for, but women can always go the distance.

Throughout my essay, my main point of contention is the fact that, it seems to me, the ones in charge of deliberating over such a tangled issue as abortion are people who either can never be, or are no longer qualified to do so. That, and that the opposing view (i.e., pro-women’s rights) are severly underrepresented (if at all).

In closing, let me leave you with two gems from Robert A. Heinlein, from whom I learned pretty much everything important I know.

From The Puppet Masters (1951):

Most women are damn fools and children. But they’ve got more range than we’ve got. The brave ones are braver, the good ones are better—and the vile ones are viler, for that matter.

From The Notebooks of Lazarus Long (1978):

Whenever women have insisted on absolute equality with men, they have invariably wound up with the dirty end of the stick. What they are and what they can do makes them superior to men, and their proper tactic is to demand special privileges, all the traffic will bear. They should never settle merely for equality. For women, “equality” is a disaster.

Heed the last quote well, ladies.