*was left speechless*

[Pixilated]

We don't have a "WTF??" section so this is going here ...

I was driving to school this morning down one of My Hometown's busiest streets. I had a 9 a.m. class so was just in time for morning rush hour (an oxymoron, of course, because during 'rush hour' traffic generally snails along).

I noticed a young woman standing on the sidewalk up ahead, on my side of the road. It looked as if she was holding some huge piece of artwork.

Then I got closer.

She was facing directly across the street but was holding two items angled so they could be clearly seen by the oncoming traffic. With her right hand she was propping up a nearly-lifesized image of the Virgin Mary. With her left hand she was holding a sign (large enough letters to be read at a glance; looked professionally made, not hand-lettered) that read, "I REGRET MY ABORTION."

My Hometown has never been a hotbed of religious ideology. All I could do was as I drove past.

[Peppergirl]

Hey guys,

Going to let this stand, but the potential for Fratching is there - so please don't take it down that path, ok?

Thanks!

[Jester]

I should point out that, while this is certainly a "WTF?" moment for you, she has every right to express, publicly, her opinion on that subject, and her doing so is not necessarily or automatically her expressing a religious ideology. I would imagine it probably is, but that is an assumption, it is not a clear deduction from the sign. Some people just find that they have to cleanse their soul of certain things.

Of course, others also have the right to go out on the same street with other signs of their choice, which may be the same as hers, the opposite of hers, mocking her, or just plain silly.

I am trying so hard to keep this non-fratching, so the only sign that I have thought of that I will use as an example of what I might do would be something silly, such as "I REGRET HAVING SEEN BATMAN AND ROBIN." I have thought of other signs that I might use, but I think you get the idea.

[hinakiba777]

One has to wonder if this may be one of those moment like the "I steal from my parents" signs. In which someone else convinced her to do this.

However, it's a free country. If she wasn't disturbing the peace she has every right to do something like that. Still an odd moment i will agree.

[Peppergirl]

Hmmm. The problem I have is not so much what she's saying (free speech, etc), it's the fact that it would distract drivers a good bit, I'd think.

[Der Cute]

I haven't had any speechless moments like that while driving!

[Aethian]

Honestly I would have called that one into public safety since someone might slow to see what it is and get rear ended by someone else who is just ignoring that sign holder.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

We have quite a bit of...shall we say...local color around here. In fact, we have a similar guy with similar politics out at the same busy intersection, rain or shine, every single day for as long as I've been living on this side of town.

I don't know what the guy does for money, really. I don't imagine he has a job.

He's been out there so long I don't even consider him a distraction anymore. (and he does a fair bit more than just hold up a sign, too. He wears a baby carrier with a plastic doll in it) I don't care he's out there, but I don't like how he walks the cars stopped at the light. I have a huge problem with that part of it. He's tried that with me, I wave him away and make it clear he's not to approach me.

But that sort of thing is a distraction, and it can cause accidents. Personally, have have enough distractions while driving without having to worry about not running over some dumbass playing in the street.

Friend of mine actually wrecked her car once for this very reason. Conversation as follows:

J: Did you hear that R wrecked her car?
Me: No! Is she okay? What happened?
J: She's okay. There was this guy in a gorilla suit....

[BrenDAnn]

I actually know of one woman around the area that wears a pin with the same saying on it, believe it or not. I agree, though, what the woman in the OP was doing could've caused some serious safety issues!

[Aethian]

It's kinda like the "cheerleaders" that were cheering outside of a gold buying place. Their highkicks and skimpy underthings led to problems and the cops seemed almost too happy to keep going by to make sure they weren't coming back out.

[sms001]

Until I got to the actual sign message, I was wondering that you had never heard of 'public shaming' sentences Pix. You know, those judges that sentence people to carry "I'm a Shoplifter" signs and such.
But obviously, not that at all. Super weird.
I can only hope that this was self-motivated. Not because of my stance on abortion, but because revealing anything that personal shouldn't be coerced.

[Pixilated]

Thanks to all for not taking this into fratching, as that certainly was not my intention when I posted it.

Jester, you are right in that there may not have been any religious ideology in back of this, but the very large image of the Virgin Mary she was also holding makes me believe that there was.

I've definitely heard of 'public shaming' sentences ... I saw a photo of one just the other day on FB: a kid with his mother standing next to him. He was holding a sign basically saying "I cheat, I lie to my mother, I steal." And obviously mom had had enough of it. In this case, however, it's almost impossible for it to have been court-imposed, given Canada's abortion laws. So unless she was put under pressure by others, it seems likely, as several here have suggested, that this was self-imposed. I hope so, for the reason sms001 gave.

Certainly we've had other people standing out on the sidewalk with signs (one guy is apparently not happy with the new announcer for a local sports team ) but I think this one really shocked me because it was about something that is so very private and personal.

I hope she finds the peace and forgiveness she's seeking.

[Food Lady]

I really respect her for her transparency. I think she's probably found that forgiveness; she feels free enough to reveal that about herself. Thanks for posting this. I'm gonna go now. I think I have something in my eye.

[Jester]

So unless she was put under pressure by others, it seems likely, as several here have suggested, that this was self-imposed.

Almost definitely not a legal self-shaming sentence, there remains the possibility that this could have still been a self-shaming sentence, declared on her by her religion or church. Some religious groups are rather extreme, and will demand that you atone for your sins in very public and/or humiliating ways. Just throwing another possibility into the mix.

[jnd4rusty]

The other day we had PETA members, both girls, standing downtown in bikini bottoms and holding signs over their bare breasts!! Talk about getting attention, it was on the news and in the paper AND people were driving by taking pictures!! I found it to be funny! but suprised they did not get arrested for public nudity. I wonder if the "public nudity" law does not count if they hold signs in front of the "nude" part. I guess it is an inventive way to get attention for your cause.