I can understand Christopher Rabb’s righteous outrage and anger. Between Michael Richards’ evocation of the days of lynchings, people defending him with statements like “when will Black people just get over slavery, it happened a long time ago,” others attacking efforts by minority communities to counteract the default societal white privilege by invoking ridiculous terms like “reverse racism,” and the underlying yet obvious fear and hatred for not just Black people, but Hispanic people as well, it does very much feel like it’s a crime to breathe while Black, much less walk or drive while Black.

Rabb retells a story where he knows full well he shouldn’t have challenged a police officer that pulled him over during a trip through Alabama (Alabama! Yikes-there’s a few places in America I think I could die a happy man without ever seeing, and that’s one of them!) and retells the drill that I know all too well: When a police officer pulls you over, place your hands on obviously visible parts of the steering wheel. Do nothing suspicious. Address the officer with the utmost respect, and do not question them. Answer their questions and cooperate completely. Clear every motion you take with them before you take it: “My license is in my wallet sir, it’s in my back pocket. May I get it?” “My registration is in the glove compartment sir, may I get it for you?” The last thing you want is to be a stain on the pavement while some officer gets off saying “He just reached for something in his pocket/glove compartment! I couldn’t tell what it was! He shouldn’t have moved so suddenly,” and so on. The last thing you want to be is another statistic. Do all of those things and maybe, just maybe, you’ll leave the encounter with just a ticket and in your own car. If you’re lucky-in some cases you could be a saint and still wind up in the back of a police cruiser. I’m sure to some readers this sounds like I’m exaggerating, but I assure you, I’m not, and it’s the drill I received from my parents when I first started to drive alone, especially at night.

Still, I can very much sympathize with Rabb, and his anger. Young black men, completely unarmed, shot down in a hail of bullets (something like 50, to be exact) hours before their weddings, elderly black women killed by police officers who also claimed just cause. It’s remarkable, and it’s absolutely clear that in America, a Black person can be anyone-a CEO, a Doctor, a Professor, a father, a daughter, a son, a husband, anyone-but to some people, they’ll all just be niggers, and their lives will naturally mean less then others, to those people who think that way. It’s a clear message that we most certainly have a long long way to go.

[ The Crime of Breathing While Black ]
Source: The Nation

So the Emergency Contraceptive Pill, also known as Plan B, should be widely available over the counter from pretty much any pharmacist in the country now. But here’s the question: with the current trend of pharmacists being allowed to claim the “moral right” to not do their jobs (can you imagine if firefighters or police officers claimed a “moral right” to not rescue someone from a burning building because they were of another religion? or if a killer were on a rampage but a police officer claimed a “moral right” to not stop them because they don’t like killing? I don’t oppose people not doing something because they have a moral conviction, but I also think they shouldn’t be in a line of work where that’s an issue.) it’s important to make it clear to the major pharmacy chains that we’re paying attention to what they’re doing and we’re making sure they’ll fulfill their obligation to the public by stocking, carrying, and dispensing Plan B appropriately and upon request.

Worried that your pharmacist or pharmacy chain is trying to buck the trend-and the law? Make your voice heard, and press the major pharmacy chains into drafting a national policy requiring their stores to stock Plan B:

[ Plan B: Where's Yours? (Petition) ]
Source: ProChoice Action (courtesy of Alternet)

What a little more info about Plan B? Click below the jump for info.

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