Daily Beacon calls GAP project ineffective in Knoxville....tell that to the lives saved as a result of this education

This critical opinion piece from the Daily Beacon in Knoxville. I used to be critical of this approach myself but have softened my opinion. Is the truth in poor taste? Sometimes the truth is offensive but sometimes we need to be offended. I know of lives that were saved because of this in your face education. Women who saw the photos and recognized the humanity of the pre born. One photo they show is of a baby that was saved from abortion because of this display and made an adoption plan. Is it worth it to save just one life. How valuable is life anyway? If it offends many but saves one life? What do you think?

The GAP Project (the Genocide Awareness Project) recently posted enormous pictures of dead fetuses, Holocaust victims and breasts undergoing brutal augmentation, among other graphic pictorials, in an effort to raise awareness on the perceived severity of abortion in the United States.

Whether or not you agree with the political stance of the GAP Project, everyone can certainly agree on one central aspect of this matter: The pictures are largely ineffective when placed in the context of goals to be achieved.

The pictures, which are very graphic in their nature, don't draw as much attention to the nature of abortion as much as they draw attention to 1) the shock value of gigantic dead baby pictures on Pedestrian Mall and 2) the comparisons between pictures of aborted fetuses and pictures of Holocaust victims.

The pictures largely fail to elicit the response that GAP Project members are hoping to achieve. For the most part, the pictures spark outrage, not about abortion, but towards the insensitivity of the protesters. Those opposed to the protesters feel that they are alienating those who may have had abortions and are simply trying to elicit an emotional response from those opposed to the signs in hopes of receiving some sort of satisfaction.

Also, the members of the GAP Project do believe abortion is a 21st-century holocaust, which you may make your own judgments about, but it seems a bit disrespectful to the memory of victims of the Holocaust to use pictures of someone's suffering to make a political statement.

Whether or not you agree with the GAP Project's political message, one thing is certain: This much controversy being stirred up on campus, especially this close to finals and the holiday season, seems in poor taste for the season. Try a little tenderness, GAP Project. Instead of putting up scary pictures of dead fetuses, try offering a helping hand to someone who could really use a friend. It's the holidays, after all.