The Final Day of the 40 and a Tricky Encounter

As a vigil neophyte, I had not quite appreciated the strain put on the English language to misconstrue the purpose of our signs and indeed our mere presence. I had not realised that praying quietly and passively on a street corner amounted to the ‘obstruction’ and ‘intimidation’ of those seeking ‘healthcare’. Having directed the lady speaking to us to our two signs and asked about her objection, we were told that suggesting women deserve something better than abortion is to shame them. We then learned that both this sentiment and the boards’ stock image of a mother and child, offers of help with clothing, housing, and immigration status are all ‘implied’ acts of intimidation. Moreover, we were informed that our stance aligns us with the forces of ‘fascism’ and the ‘far right’. I can only suppose that in her charity, the lady speaking to us took our offer of referrals to immigration help as proof of how our succour to nefarious forces was at least an unwitting one. 

Calumny is hardly a novel tactic and much of the above is nothing new under the sun (though is no less bewildering for that). My only purpose in relaying this encounter is to remind us that even when faced with unobjectionable sentiments and an offer of help to those at the mercy of often terrible circumstances, our opponents will persist in constructing windows into our souls that reaffirm their very worst prejudices about us. That, then, should prompt us to be found perfect in our intentions and to act as we are prompted in 1 Corinthians: with love. When we smart at defamations and fail to endure them by responding with malice, pride, or impatience, then in that moment we fail our cause and fail to confound the prejudices of those who lie about us. 

I cannot ultimately say what effect, if any, our encounter with the lady at the vigil yesterday will have in the long run. From her emotion towards the end of our encounter, I strongly suspect that abortion is something proximate to her and the motivations she ascribed to us came from a place of great hurt and perhaps having been horribly wronged by men in the past. I was sorrowed seeing her upset and am sorrowed to recall it now. Perhaps hiding the full reality of the things that we do from our own sight can be a mercy at times, and who am I to suppose myself to be any less guilty of terrible omissions in other areas of my life? I only hope that, when the hour comes, I might be shown the loving mercy we should feel in our hearts for those Brixton passersby who are so wracked with suffering and anger but do not quite know why. 

Nathan

For help in pregnancy see here or for help when suffering after an abortion see here

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