Risky Business
Catrina Otonoga, Case Western Reserve
Across the United States, the reproductive justice movement is in a face-off. We’re facing off with our opposition on just how much legislation they can push at us, before we shove them back. We’re facing off on how far their messaging can go, before we finally go father. But most of all, we’re facing off against ourselves.
Even in the Midwest, generally known for our non-offensive accents, cornfields, and ability to get along with most everyone – we couldn’t always agree on just what issues our region was facing, whether we were red, blue or purple, or how to address the myriad of issues being thrown our way by opposition. In our afternoon plenary, this thought was manifested further. CoreAlign gave figures and facts to assumptions and showed us just how deep the divides are within the movement.
From Boston to DC, Atlanta to the Bay, the divides on how to approach the movement, the work, and the balances of needs and long-term change are scattered across the spectrum. But one consistency remains; we fail at taking big risks. While our opposition is great at flashy, pithy banners full of half (or less than half) truths, we’re struggling to find a way to please everyone. The RJ movement, and each of us in it, has to break free of habit and find ourselves in a place a little less comfortable, a little more risky, a lot more open to new dialogues, and a little closer to creating a whole new narrative.