The woman’s sign said something like “No Uterus, No Opinion.” Executive Director Steve Wagner sat down to dialogue.
I was at the University of Arizona in November 2019, and one of the women with whom we spoke on the first day of the outreach returned on the second day…to protest. She sat down right in front of our “Should Abortion Be Made Illegal?” poll table with her own sign that said something like: “If you don’t have a uterus, you don’t have an opinion.”
I could have taken an approach of getting defensive. Or I could have dismissed her opinion by ignoring her. I could have also just given up and decided my opinion wasn't worth sharing.
Jon Wagner offered a different approach in his recent letter, “A Gracious and Courageous Response”. It’s a roadmap for responding to “You’re a man” comments, including specific examples of ways to listen, ask questions, and find common ground in order to make these conversations productive.
In my conversation with the protester in Arizona, it was a good thing I took the approach of listening and asking questions that Jon lays out in his letter. As it turned out, she did not think men shouldn’t have any opinion about abortion, and she did not think men should keep quiet about it. She meant instead, “Men shouldn’t make laws on abortion since they affect women.” This may seem like a subtle difference, but noting it helped me move the conversation in a productive direction. I’m confident Jon’s letter can help you do the same. Share it!