(Not that it matters at all, but the French Justice Minister has said she is pregnant. She is single. And a Muslim.)
Think about it this way: If Howard Dean was known to be a major proponent of prohibition legislation, or if Al Gore’s son got caught speeding while driving a Hummer, both situations would have gotten much more media attention than they did.
Right wing idealogues have never had a problem casting judgment on the “evils” of teenage pregnancy, even when the unwed mother in question wasn’t sucking on the welfare teat. It’s always been a symbol of social decay, abandonment of moral order, the degradation of personal responsibility, and the decline of American civilization.
So somehow, it seems awfully convenient that when an anti-choice, pro-abstinence-only, fundamentalist Christian candidate has a pregnant unwed teenage daughter, the judgment is reigned in and it becomes a “private matter”.
Jon Stewart, last night, nailed the hypocrisy on display (go to 1:40 on the video “Sarah Palin Gender Card”.
I’m sorry, I thought there was pretty wide social agreement that teenage pregnancy wasn’t exactly ideal. I get that message from everyone from the Catholic Church to Planned Parenthood, even if these organizations have different messages and theories about what to do to prevent it and mitigate it when it happens.
Can you find me a pro-teenage pregnancy organization?
Youmg Ms Palin has been dealt some pretty tough cards here. Its tough enough to be 17, when the Goddess has deemed that the hormones get ratcheted up to 11, tougher still to be pregnant, not one child in a hundred at 17 has even the slightest notion what they are getting into. I truly hope this girl has an an unshakeable grasp on reality and a totally firm sense of her own worth and her own self-respect, she’s going to need it.
What nags at me is that her mother knew this already, and opted to follow her career goal. Without question, this puts her child at some risk, unless that chilid has a phenomenal maturity, a maturity that often eludes people twice her age and more.
As a parent, I would hope that I would have chosen differently than her mother did. Values, I suppose.
Look no further than the boons of Texas…
Bingo. Her mother decided on a path that would force her pregnant teenage daughter to undergo national scrutiny. Unless she believed that US magazine was actually going to respect her family’s privacy (and if so, I have a bridge I’d like to sell her).
:rolleyes: “not exactly ideal” is very different from “severe moral failing subject to criticism from total strangers”. While everyone may agree that teenage pregnancy is a serious social issue that needs addressing, the right wing doesn’t stop there: they personalize the debate, painting a broad brush of fundie judgment regardless of context or other variables. Remember Murphy Brown?
Just because I’m not willing to unilaterally condemn every unwed mother doesn’t mean “Unwed Pregnancy = AWESOME!!!”.
Except perhaps in your little black & white corner of the world (which, thanks to Palin, has just got inconveniently grey).
So it’s her mother’s fault that the US media behaves like assholes? Wouldn’t that make it Bill Clinton’s fault if anyone tells a nasty joke about Chelsea? Or if someone goes after the Obama children, that is Obama’s fault? After all, he chose to run for President.
Regards,
Shodan
If the bridge goes nowhere, I’m sure she’d buy it!
I am reminded of a quote attributed to E.M. Forestor, who said that if he were forced to choose between betraying his country and betraying a friend, he hoped he might have the decency to betray his country.
To be quite honest, I think that anyone running for Pres or VP is by default putting something else above their family. (“Something else” being whatever it is that is motivating them or that they expect to get out of it.) Holding this kind of office is simply not condusive to a great family life, and no matter how much you try to shelter children, they will be the target of jokes, scrutiny, and criticism. God knows, if they are older teens or young adults, they can’t make the kinds of mistakes all the other young people in the world make all the time, because the whole world will know about it, and hold you up as an example of how terrible your parents are. No, running for Pres or VP isn’t a good indication of how wonderful a person is as a parent, I don’t think.
I’m with you, elucidator, in that I try to value family life above other things (although some would say that I don’t because I am a working mother), and that this situation is not what I would consider the best thing to do as far as her family is concerned. But I don’t think that she is necessarily showing less of a concern for her family than anyone else in her position.
Well, they did make Levi get a haircut, fitted him with a nice blue blazer, and made him stand on the same stage as McCain… pretty harsh if you ask me…
Well, there were those LDS guys from last winter/spring…
I don’t think she really ever expected that it would be left alone. In fact, I think she was counting on the media circus. Y’all have absolutely no idea how well it’s playing down here. Two of the busy bodies in my office were talking about it yesterday. “Oh, that poor, brave woman! I’m going to ask our pastor to talk about it on Sunday so we can all pray for her. You just know those Democrats want to make her daughter murder her baby.” You couldn’t ask for better publicity.
When your children do something stupid, as all children do, you have a choice. You can treat it as a private matter - not telling every Tom Dick and Harry about it. Or you can tell everyone. When you are a private person, this is pretty easy to do, you simply don’t mention it - although I speak about it here where I have some anonymity, only my close family and friends know about my sister’s trips through rehab. It isn’t a topic we have permitted to become community gossip. The family has other pasts, some distant or minor enough to discuss - some I wouldn’t even discuss here under the shield of a username.
A public person doesn’t have as many opportunities to protect their kids, but you get some choice on how public you want to be. Sarah Palin was given a choice at a time when her child was vulnerable to step into the limelight and expose her child further, or to say “now is not a good time for my family, and they need to come first.”
From the Daly show. You can not talk seriously. Our repubs only want to be nice when it suits them.
Are you suggesting that a single case invalidates a policy? Is there any sex-education plan that is 100% effective in stopping unwanted teen pregnancies?
Two things:
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The pregnant daughter story was released from the Palins themselves. The media didn’t break it, Sarah Palin did.
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I have yet to see a single example of any mainstream media outlet attacking Bristol Palin in any way. All I see is MSM outlests expressing outrage about the treatment this chick is supposedly getting from the MSM. I wish someone could direct me to the actual attacks on Bristol so I can evaluate them…
I think the outrage over the imaginary media attacks on Bristol Palin are just a smokescreen to keep the media talking about the more legitimately damaging issues regarding Palin, starting with her ethics investigation.
Not one case, no. But I thought this study was old news.