Ashley is a 22 year old native of Mississippi
and a student at Millsaps College here in Jackson. She has been involved with the local NOW chapter
and has been active in opposing Operation Save America’s attack on the last
abortion clinic in Mississippi.
What’s it like to
grow up in a place like Jackson Mississippi?
Jackson’s
like any other place. I always resented
the fact that people think of people as us being stupid southerners, it’s a
stereotype. But stereotypes sometimes
have some validity. There is racism and
ignorance down here. But there are also
cultural interactions here that you can’t find in places like Seattle.
When I went there, they thought everyone from the South was stupid and
ignorant and racist, and it’s just not true.
I don’t like using terms like tolerant and liberal. Because some things shouldn’t be
tolerated. I’ve never considered myself
racist or better than anybody. I do have
people in my family that use words like “nigger”. Growing up I went to a private school,
predominantly white Episcopalian school.
In high school I moved to a mostly Black public school. That was a good thing for me, especially
socially. I got to see a different side
of things.
Growing up in Jackson has
helped a lot, because it is the biggest city in Mississippi, compared to rural areas. Those rural areas are more affected by the Bible
belt. They don’t have groups like
NOW. There’s more racism and less
education.
You’ve mentioned that
your family has deep roots in the South going back to before the American
Revolution, and like most other White people, supported the Confederacy. What role does that Southern heritage play
for you?
My mom was in school when desegregation was going on. My mom didn’t have any problem with it, but
her brother did. It’s not that they
would be violent, but they do have their viewpoint. I know my family wouldn’t be comfortable, for
example, if I dated a Black person. My
grandma sees it as an immoral thing whereas my mother would make up a flimsy
excuse, like saying it would be too hard on you in this society, especially
with an interracial child. My parents
never taught me to be a racist, but they never taught me not to be.
How did you get
politicized in such a conservative region of the country?
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First of all, my parents are republican, and most of us just
do what our parents do. So I was a
republican until I was about 16 and then I started to read more on my own. I stopped listening to what my parents said,
and I started reading books, like that the Margaret Atwood book, Handmaid’s
Tale. I was affected by September
11, and the changes that took place.
Some things happened in my personal life. I was date raped, and that sort of was the
catalyst. I dropped out of school and
began reading books. I got into
Quakerism. They have a lot of good ideas
about peace and I became interested in the history of the abolitionists and
suffragists. I got into feminist
literature through a mentor-like friend of mine that would give me books to
read. For a while I was a bit too
fanatical (laughs), I was 18, went to Seattle
and joined every cause. Socialism, Amnesty
International, feeding homeless” but I couldn’t handle it in Seattle.
Now I pick what I’m really passionate about.
The World Can’t Wait:
Drive Out the Bush Regime! has called groups like OSA “Chistian
Fascists.” What’s your experience
with this Christian fascist movement and how do you see it manifesting itself
here in Mississippi?
You know about creationism?
I don’t even know why it was such a huge debate in our public schools
(laughs)? The head of a supposedly reputable
college, Bellhaven
College sponsored a
debate, actually it was basically a creationist forum promoting the idea that
the world is 5000 years old! I don’t
understand why we are going against scientific fact. Why are we trying to make our kids ignorant? It boggles my mind. Then of course, after September 11th,
there were the posters in every classroom with the flags and the “in god we
trust” emblazoned upon it. I was in
public school during that period. That
was in every public school, it must have been mandatory for teachers to put it
up, because it was in every classroom.
There goes the separation of church and state!
When I was charged with “disturbing the peace” at a party
and pled no contest, I was ordered by a court to attend a series of classes as
part of the ACTS program (alcohol and chemical treatment series) which was held
in a Pentecostal church in Pearl, Mississippi, and is run by born again
Christians that are recovering drug addicts.
This is a state run program (laughs)!
I went on the Clarion Ledger online discussion boards today,
the local paper” It was rife with people
quoting scripture and saying abortion is murder and the pill has prostituted
women since 1972 and stuff like that.
I don’t understand this abstinence-only education. There is not sexual education in public
school here.
When I was in High School I was wearing a shirt that had a slit
in the cleavage area, but it wasn’t revealing, but my teacher started calling
me a prostitute at lunch, saying I was selling myself until finally I zipped up
my hoodie at lunch. A few weeks later, I
was wearing a lace shirt with a jacket over it, and she sent me to the
principal’s office, then my friend offered me an “abstinence” shirt, because she
was in the abstinence club. Then the
teacher screamed back, “That would make Ashley a hypocrite!” That’s the kind of teachers we have, passing morality
standards on students.
The church is everywhere.
You can see how many churches there are in Jackson.
You mentioned Handmaid’s
Tale. Do you see the possibility of
something like that arising here in the U.S.?
In my optimistic view, I want to say no, people would never
let that happen. But you never
know. It’s scary. OSA is really scary, and to think that really
powerful people are behind them. For instance,
I was writing about the OSA on the Clarion Ledger discussion board about their
lies and distorted signs — fetuses with birth defects not abortions — about
them terrorizing women. But everyone
just ignored it. They ignore AIDS and
genocide in Africa, the unjust war going. Their whole world focuses on putting up
religious barriers. Maybe it’s because
the world we live in is in so much chaos.
Is creating a religious theocracy really their solution? It seems like it’s their solution and it will
be our destruction. That’s scary.
How do you see a
movement growing in a place like Jackson
to counter all this? And are you
encouraged or discouraged by this conflict over the clinic?
I’m encouraged, because it makes me wanna get out and hit
the streets. It makes me wanna fight
back and protest more and talk to people more.
I haven’t been doing this that long, but I don’t like to see people
running over me. I can’t stand people
telling a blatant lie, and the thought of horrible laws and irrevocable things
passing makes me feel restless. I’m
ready to get out there and fight back. I
want to work to change laws. You do need
something like a new Civil Rights movement.
How do you see a
massive day of resistance against the whole Bush onslaught kicking off here on
Oct. 5?
It’s gonna be hard. I’m
used to seeing “W: still the president” stickers all over Jackson. We need to start a chapter. You’ll have to give me tips (laughs). Bring the bus down and teach us how (laughs).