Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: Opinion

Words are powerful. Believe me, I get it. I am a journalism major with a capital 'J.' However, to think that in any way, shape or form I could actually literally mean harm upon Sarah Palin is ridiculous. Were you joking with all of these comments and letters? You had to be. No one could really think I would mean that, right? Apparently not. Apparently I need to clarify what I meant.

As the sister of a stand-up comedian, I think vulgarity can be useful to demonstrate a point, whether it be humorous or shocking. In this case, I was simply saying that Palin, under a tragic circumstance such as rape, and worse, the incestuous variety, would not choose to carry the child to term. Did it come across well in the piece? Absolutely not. Do I regret it? Absolutely not.

Perhaps I should enlighten all of the people who were kind enough to make comments (17 so far) on the website or wrote letters to the editor. I do not mince my words. There is no brunoise involved.

I understand quite well the complexity of the abortion issue. It seems that half the people want the option, and the other half consider it a done deal once that egg is fertilized. That has nothing to do with my column. To be honest, the fact that I centered the piece around the issue was a bad idea in the first place. No matter what my statements were, someone was bound to end up angry. I focused on the sex education and abortion because of the buzz around Bristol's pregnancy. These reasons are not the only ones that urge me to not agree with Palin.

All anger aside, I stand behind the statements I made about her. One line lacked eloquence, but it was supposed to. To take what I said and somehow attribute it to who I am as a person is equally offensive. To question whether I am, in fact, a victim of sexual assault is inexcusable. Anyone who went through what I did would feel the same. Furthermore, to infer that I am in any way an emotionally unstable person is reaching. I am up front about my experiences. I may have joked about the subject matter, but believe me: I take sexual assault seriously.

My only regret comes from the disappointment in realizing that you all got so hung up on one sentence that you missed the whole point; so hung up that you accused me of fabricating a personal experience that will haunt me forever. I am not trying to work out my issues on paper, simply trying to open your eyes to people's policies by comparing them with parts of who I am.

I can only hope that a young woman who also experienced the pain of sexual assault can look at where Palin's priorities are. This is who she is. If you suffer through this act of hate, and you are unfortunate enough to become pregnant, you'd have to keep it if Palin had her way. Her way is right. Everything else is wrong. It's an extreme viewpoint from an extreme woman. If that is all right with you, if that is what you want the United States to be about, then perhaps you were correct to point out that I am unmarried, and therefore still a 'Miss.' Perhaps you are right to point out that Obama's mother had Barack as a 17-year-old.

I suppose for these commentators it is necessary to reiterate that I do not wish incestuous rape upon the Republican vice presidential candidate. I simply wish she were the type of woman I admired and aspired to be.

Briana Monasky can be reached at bmonasky@statehornet.com

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