Feminists starve Chinese toymakers!

Found this giant billboard on Torontoist, which caught it in the heart of Ryerson University's urban campus.

Makes you think, right? Like, say, what the hell would we do with 100,000 extra babies?

But it seems this particular pro-life organization doesn't want you to think about that. Nor do they want you to think of the separation of church and state, or the constitutional rights of women, or the myriad complicated circumstances surrounding unwanted pregnancies.

No. They want you to think of the toys.

There are only, what? 343 shopping days, give or take, until Christmas?

The tragedy of all those depressed toys!

When Torontoist called the number listed on the billboard to ask these questions—a number belonging not to Niagara Region Right to Life, but to a local organization that calls itself Aid to Women—we were put indefinitely on hold, which gave us lots of time to rethink our position on billboard bans.

By the time we got bored and hung up, we'd decided that we'd be a lot more outraged by this public display of sanctimony if it wasn't so laughably stupid. Toys without children? Boo-freaking-hoo. What about children without toys, without proper food and care, without loving parents and homes? That's a real tragedy. This abortions-make-toys-cry argument is just a bad joke.

(Torontoist credits reader Lina Aristizabal for the tip and photos.)   

So with that in mind, one more time:

There are more than 76,000 children in the care of child welfare organizations across Canada. More than 22,000 of these children have parents whose parental rights have been terminated by the courts. What this usually means is that these children have no permanent family and will live in foster care or small institutional placements until they are legally of age.

How many of these children, born unwanted, often affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and other troubles, will bounce around the foster care system until they land in prison for some crime or other? Where are the billboards asking us to think of them? 

Will the ''pro-lifers'' -- many of whom support capital punishment, by the way -- show sympathy? Will they want to channel their tax dollars into rehab programs and better social services, or free contraception, or anything?

Or is it all about gaining control over women?

But, oh my goodness. The poor toys.

UPPITY DATE (1/24/08): On a related note, Nicole MacIntyre, city hall reporter for the Star's sister paper, The Hamilton Spectator, copped 88 comments for her blog bit on this bus shelter advertisement.

It's on the home page of this website, created specifically to un-celebrate the Morgentaler Decision.

The poster was taken down, and that got the pro-Life contingent angry.

Frankly, I am on its side in this case.

I may not like what you say but I will defend your right to say anything.

That's true freedom of speech.

UPPITYMOST DATE (25/1/08): Just drove by the location. The toy soldier has been replaced by a gigantic Hooters girl and directions to the John St. location. There's something cosmic in that.

Comments

[sooey]

Oh well, they end up being recalled to China, anyway. The toys, I mean. There are lots of Chinese girls up for adoption.

[stephen.reeves]

Many do not support Capital Punishment so don't make sweeping statements,! in fact that is an insult to many Roman Catholics, and other religions, beware! you could be up against the HRC for offending pro-lifers.

[Simon]

And how interesting that they would choose a picture of a toy soldier...hmmm....the anti-choice movement. By men...for men...

[Chris Moorehead]

...very similar to right-wing nutcase lobby group Concerned Women for America, which doesn't appear to have any actual women in it.

[Bruce Wayne]

The catholic church at best is a foolishly run organization. How could celibate cloistered men understand the complexity of pregnancy and life, well over a thousand years ago? Abortion has not always been against the Church's teachings and only entered into its collective mindscape AFTER Jerome violated the Old Testament with his personal additions.

The church is responsible for so much death how can it possibly still think it has the right to defend life?

[Tw]

If anyone actually wanted to save 100,000 children, there are a dozen ways I can think of off the top of my head -- and none of them involve putting up a lame billboard. What the hell.

[Karol Karolak]

Antonia Zerbisias writes quote, "There are more than 76,000 children in the care of child welfare organizations across Canada. More than 22,000 of these children have parents whose parental rights have been terminated by the courts."

Would it be right to ask how do baby snachers come to have so big inventory of young human slaves held at their werehouses, ready to be sold to highest bidder??

Would this post at AETV website shine some light on that dark mistery??

http://boards.aetv.com/thread.jspa?threadID=300012892&start=195