During our first day at the Planned Parenthood office in Southeast PA, I was told by a protestor that I should be ashamed to work there. Of all the things protestors and opponents have said to me, this was possibly the hardest not to respond to, because I am so proud to be working for Planned Parenthood, especially on the issues of sexuality education and health care reform.
What makes me so proud, besides the utter import of our causes, is the wonderful group of women who intern with me, each with her own capabilities and strengths that make our team in Southeast PA so strong. I am also so proud of all the hard work that we do. We have been canvassing, phone banking, tabling, doing clinic advocacy and escorting until we can do it our sleep.
On Monday the interns in Southeast did crowd canvassing for the first time in Center City Philadelphia. Anna M. and I were so frustrated at first that no one would stop to talk to us, until we decided to approach people at bus stops- “captive audiences”. This worked so well, men and women were grabbing for the clipboards after they heard our explanation of the bills. One woman asked if she could list everyone she thinks would benefit from the bills. We were filled with confidence and encouragement, brushing off rejection and learning to relinquish our sense of shame- as Sara Reed told me would happen at action camp. Canvassing today, a man told Madeleine and me that we needed to “get educated” about eugenics and Hitler, but we refused to engage and we moved on, inspired by the importance of comprehensive sexuality education and by all the people who say, “We need it”. So far in this internship, I’ve developed my pride and been inspired. Let’s see what the second half brings.
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