Let me begin this with a note. I have a VERY slow computer. Working on getting that fixed (as in buying a new computer). Roughly 90% of my posts are made at a university computer, and not my own personal one. This post is an exception. I updated my computer to Windows 10 and that actually did help, it’s now running at a significantly faster pace, but to call it fast would be an exaggeration. I am most likely going to purchase a new laptop in the near future, and hopefully that laptop will make writing a breeze. I write A LOT. I am currently looking through sets of Laptops under $500 that can handle streaming videos and have relatively solid wifi connectability (not a word, even though it SHOULD be). If you know of any you’d recommend, let me know! Now onto the REAL post. This is meant to be a sort of “Silly Argument Saturday”, but that’s too nice. These arguments you’ll be hearing are downright dumb. Say hello to my least favorite person: Tony. Miano.

 

First things first: I am covering this now, because I loathe these arguments. I had never heard of Miano until this month (which is why I am only now talking about this guy instead of doing it earlier), and I’ve been listening to the idiocy he spews, internally debating whether or not I should give him more coverage than he’s already gotten… I decided that he’ll get the “fame” he wants one way or another and thus I should talk about his nonsense. If you don’t know why I think him gaining fame is inevitable it’s because he’s worked with Comfort, and with Jeff from Apologia Studios, and he’s just… he’s one of those Apologists who will make himself famous. Because he’s a jerk who has no qualms about filming people who are in the process of making an incredibly difficult decision, and he has no real issues with making women cry, or acting like he has a moral high horse. I edited this sentence because without an explanation it kind of demands more than “he’s a dick” which is what it originally said. And because he is willing to do things for fame. I’ve seen dozens of his videos and I have listened to his nonsensical rambling for far longer than I should have, and I can confidently state that he desires fame. He, like many other apologists, will state that he doesn’t, but he does. And that’s not actually a bad thing (I don’t think wanting fame is bad despite what many in society will say about that), but he has to act like he believes wanting fame is a bad thing.

This video was uploaded on May 1st of last year, and it’s just 16 minutes of bad arguments. Let’s talk about it.

The first argument he makes is both an appeal to fear and an appeal to misusing definitions. Which is doubly bad because he has some experience in law-enforcement and thus should KNOW that abortion by definition isn’t murder. I’ve written about this, and it was largely inspired by him and people like him that I wanted to talk about how abortion and murder, provided the abortion is legally acquired, are not the same thing.

Second argument (begins at 0:45)? Nazis. Yep. Tony goes full Nazi in order to make this lady feel bad. But of course it’s not the same thing. No one is forcing these women to get abortions. And the “escorts” and staffers are there to ensure people like Tony don’t break the law. No one tries to stop women from leaving Planned Parenthood if they aren’t comfortable with what’s happening in the clinics.

Third argument (around 1:00); people of color and Planned Parenthood. This one is trickier. It is sort of correct, if you view Planned Parenthood as a “murder/abortion” mill. Of course he’s not talking about the needs of families in low income neighborhoods populated by families of color, but trying to demonize Planned Parenthood.

Forth argument (begins at about 2:35); the parasite thing. I don’t know if Planned Parenthood teaches this, but it is a nonsensical thing to say. It’s easy to see what people think of this term could apply to a fetus growing inside of a female of any species. Tony is trying to make emotional arguments instead of real ones that can be discussed, by attaching terms that tend to evoke negative emotional images. Fetuses aren’t parasites, but that’s not the point here. Tony is making a radical claim in order to get a reaction. Also the whole “empowering women” thing. It’s true. This does empower pregnant women who don’t want to be pregnant, to make the decision to not be pregnant anymore. That is empowering them.

Political Agenda comments at around 3:20. No Tony, the people who work at Planned Parenthood, especially regular workers, don’t have an evil agenda like you wish they did. They are men and women who have jobs. People like you, who want to criminalize abortion have political agendas.

A note about the religious stuff: Tony isn’t making compelling arguments FOR CHRISTIANITY. He is making God look like a rapist, and making it clear that there are SOME (not all) Christians who are Christians because they are cowards. They are cowards who believe God will punish them if they accept responsibility for their actions, and instead believe it is MORAL to let someone else suffer for them. It is better to question this system and the being who allegedly designed it, than to accept this system as reality without compelling evidence. And if you think Miano will ever make arguments supporting what he believes you are incorrect. He has stated multiple times that he and Sye Ten are the same kind of apologist and refuse to support what he is trying to assert is real, and will instead focus on making YOU and anyone who disagrees with him feel like evil, pathetic, worms.

At 7:35 Tony begins to talk about Sanger. This is actually a real argument. But he refuses to realize that organizations can change overtime. He also doesn’t talk about how Sanger was praised by plenty of African American civil rights leaders, AND how she was invited to some neighborhoods inhabited mostly by people of color for her clinics. This is a stupid talking point, and while it has the appearance of a real argument it doesn’t work when investigated. Yes she was problematic, BUT the work she did and the people in Planned Parenthood do now is real and has genuinely positive effects. Also Tony goes on to talk about “heritage”. No Christian should ever make this argument. Ever. The heritage Christians inherit is one which supported slavery, one which includes the Crusades, the eradication of Native Americans, the Salem Witch Trials, the European Witch Trails, the Ku Klux Klan. It is HILARIOUS that a Christian apologist wants to argue about “heritage”.

This video includes lots of bad arguments. I think it’s worth not spoiling the rest of the video, but I’d love to hear what you think about Miano, who is just… he makes awful arguments, and refuses to do research once he hears a claim that he thinks he can use against people who disagree with him. I’d love to get your opinion on this particular apologist. I think he’s awful. And dangerously regressive. But he’s also not popular. So there is that.

Let me know what you think! Do you think I should talk about other apologists? If so, who?

Some sources on Sanger.