Are there absolutely no standards of decency at MSNBC?
On Sunday, in a bizarre protest of the Texas state legislature, Melissa Harris-Perry actually put on a pair of tampon earrings in the middle of her program (video follows with transcript and commentary):
MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY: I just have to show these. My producer Lorena made for me last week some tampon earrings because of course you’re remember that the Texas state legislature said that you couldn’t bring tampons in when they were going these women to in fact stand up for their own reproductive rights. You weren’t allowed initially to bring tampons. So, just in case that ever happens again ladies, you can just bring them on your earrings.
For those as confused as they are disgusted, the Washington Post reported July 12:
I can understand if they took away knives and guns. But tampons?
That’s what happened to women who wanted to watch the ongoing debate over proposed abortion restrictions in the Texas senate Friday when state troopers tried to confiscate their tampons and other feminine hygiene products.
Why? Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the senate president, reportedly didn’t want the women to have any items that could be thrown from the gallery at the lawmakers during their discussion. To be fair, that’s about anything a woman could carry in her purse, and one Twitter photo showed a box of energy bars in the box of confiscated items.
But there’s an ugly side to what sounds like a ridiculous story: According to KETK news,Texas Department of Public Safety officers inspecting bags found one jar suspected to contain urine, 18 jars suspected of holding feces and three jars suspected to contain paint.
So they weren't just confiscating tampons.
I guess that was an inconvenient truth for Harris-Perry.
(HT @mchastain81)
