There's a time and a place for freedom of speech - Janet Christie's Mum's the Word

“Do you know what’s annoying me right now,” says Youngest, scrolling her phone as I give her a lift to catch the bus to her first, much-anticipated because Covid ‘stole my coming of age so now I’m going to make up for it’ festival.

“No, what?” I say tentatively because she’s already fallen on her back ‘like a turtle, lols’ thanks to the six person tent and rucksack and she’s having ticket issues so the only words liable to come out of my mouth right are ‘why didn’t you check your ticket before the day of the festival’ and ‘it was so much easier when we got paper tickets through the post’.

“All those celebrities on social media saying ‘if my mother had had a termination I wouldn’t be here’. Or ‘if I’d had one I wouldn’t have this sooooo cute child’ and posting pictures of them. Eugh. I’m pleased for them, but don’t they understand they’re living a life of privilege where it’s all lovely and things worked out nicely, but most people aren’t in their situation. They should just shut up.”

“Missed that,” I say. “Too busy reading about how half of the states in the US are moving to restrict abortion.”

“And those people protesting outside clinics shouldn’t be there,” she continues. “Everyone can say their opinion but that’s not the place.”

“Sexual health clinics you mean? They’re going to enforce buffer zones around them,” I say.

“Yes. Because a lot of the people using clinics are children. Don’t they think about that? Children! The people they say they care so much about.”

“How do you mean, children?” I ask.

“People who are underage. They are children. And people go there for all kinds of reasons, it’s sexual health services, lots of things. They go there because it’s less scary than the GP’s and the people inside are medical professionals, who explain everything and have information and facts, and it’s anonymous. Jeez!” she says as we arrive at the bus stop.

What she said.

“Anyway, thanks for listening. And the lift, and for not saying ‘why didn’t you check your ticket before the day of the festival’ and ‘it was so much easier when we used to get paper tickets’, cos remember when you lost my PAPER exam certificates, lol.”