Revolutionary Moderation

Meet at the corner of Abortion Kills Babies and A Woman's Right to Choose...



The corner of Commercial Drive and Broadway in Vancouver one of the busiest intersections in Canada - plenty of crosstown traffic, Skytrain stations for both the Expo and Millenium Lines, and the terminus for the 'B-Line' rapid bus to UBC. This corner also creates a lot of traffic on its own, since Safeway, Shopper's Drug Mart, and other major retailers moved into the area, despite the objections of the Mom and Pop grocers further up the street.



This intersection is near my home in East Vancouver, where we consistently elect staunch feminist New Democrat MLAs like Jenny Wai Ching Kwan and a staunch feminist New Democrat MPs like Libby Davies. That being said, the overwhelming pro-choice sentiment in the neighbourhood doesn't stop a dedicated group of about two dozen pro-lifers, who judging from their appearance, come from at least the near fringes of the Fraser Valley, to disrupt the hustle and bustle at Broadway and Commercial by reminding us that, in their opinion, Abortion Kills Babies.



On my Fridays off (I work a flex schedule) I get to be disrupted by the presence of these true believers as I'm toting my groceries home to my bus. Having been cornered by one or two on a few occasions, I may have let the occasional sack of frozen peas swing a little too far, but fortunately, Translink has responded by installing its new bus shelters well back of the curb, making the gauntlet of pamphlets and blown up fetus photos a little easier to run.



My own personal views about abortion aside, or for that matter, yours, here's what I don't get: These are people who every week, go out and demonstrate in a very conspicuous area a position on a hot-button issue that I think everyone outside of pregnant teenagers has made up their minds up about. Why do I never see a group demanding a return to capital punishment, say, in front of the Lions Gate Bridge? The only attention I've ever seen the pro-lifers get is being screamed at by people who hold the opposite viewpoint, and a bag of frozen peas for trying to corner a guy while he's running for the #9.



In cases like this, you're either preaching to the choir, or the choir has a mind to kick your ass. Especially if it's a choir of pregnant teenagers....