Thoughts on Brazen Careerist's Controversial Tweets

In case you haven't seen it on CNN, AOL, or any of about a thousand blogs, Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist fame recently tweeted about a miscarriage she was having at work and her relief that she would not be forced to drive to Chicago (from Wisconsin) to have an abortion (tweet featured above). Like or love it, hate it or feel disgusted by it, she's garnered a lot of attention because of it (and here's her blog entry about it, with the CNN interview). There are a number of complex issues involved here - personal thoughts on abortion, ideas about admitting something so private in the most public way, general beliefs about discussing something rather taboo... unfortunately, it seems that a lot of people (or at least those who feel the most compelled to comment the most frequently and the loudest) are focused on the abortion part, and their own personal feelings about it, as well as their own beliefs about a woman who would want an abortion.

I'm not saying that I agree with Penelope Trunk or her actions - either wanting an abortion or tweeting about her miscarriage at work - I don't think it matters, but I think that's a copout, so I'll admit that honestly, I feel pretty uncomfortable with it, but I feel compelled to defend her right to say it. Reading some of the comments posted on her web site - presumably comments written to Penelope herself! - I was absolutely horrified, outraged, and disgusted by people who would say such things. The irony that these people want to clean up the internet yet spew such hatred and awfulness seems to be lost on most of them.

I think David at The Rest Is Still Unwritten did a great job writing about this whole situation and the importance of discussing taboo and difficult topics, even revealing a lot about himself in the process. I think it's important not to lose sight of the fact that this forces us to think about a number of different issues and confront some interesting ideas that might not mesh with our own beliefs, and some issues that are only now relevant given the advances of technology that would allow someone to tweet at work, while having a miscarriage, and reach millions.

I posted this on Tumblr a few days ago when I first saw comments from these hateful people, but I felt that it was worth posting about the whole situation here because it continues to blow my mind...