You know, we are a pretty laid back group here at the Sanger Papers. Its unusual for vicious debates to break out, but that was before we launched the @SangerPapers Twitter account a few months ago. The Twitter sphere is full of people who are rabidly opposed to Planned Parenthood, and in order to attack the organization, they tend to latch onto historic myths and misrepresentations of its founder, Margaret Sanger. Naturally, in the name of historical accuracy (and feminism), we venture from time to time out into the battlefield of representation, and encounter people who seem profoundly unattached to anything like truth or reason. Sanger undoubtedly did and said enough questionable things in her lifetime, what is the point of making stuff up? Here are some particularly juicy highlights from yesterday’s Twitter debates about Sanger with a right-wing ideologues.
@jamespeabo @OBAMA_CZAR Actually the Nazis hated Sanger, had her books burned. sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/set… Do you have any sources for your claim?
— Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012
No one managed to get back to me about evidence. Because there is none. But that doesn’t seem too important to this kind of debate.
@OBAMA_CZAR @SangerPapers @jamespeabo this is a hallmark of leftist thought,stems from collective ownership of everything & every one — ted schuler (@wolframrose) June 6, 2012
@OBAMA_CZAR Respectfully disagree. If you would like a historical take on Sanger and the Negro Project, read: sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/ano…
 
— Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012
And then, the clue that you aren’t talking about Sanger at all, Sanger is just a stand-in for a much more difficult issue with a quickly moving target:
@OBAMA_CZAR I think women who have had abortions should be considered authorities of their own choices. Ask them if they feel targeted. — Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012
And my personal favorite: you are a liar and accuracy means nothing.
@OBAMA_CZAR Actually our blog is based on the archival collection of Margaret Sanger Papers. That’s what good scholarship is made of.
— Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012
Is meaningful (Twitter) debate possible? Or is it just a forum for two opposed sides to shout about their beliefs? It was clear by the end that Ms. ObamaCzar was not talking about Margaret Sanger at all, but about abortion politics. It’s slightly ironic that Sanger didn’t condone abortion and it wasn’t practiced at Planned Parenthood until after Roe v Wade made it legal in 1973, seven years after her death.