Well, frankly that’s short sighted. Sure there is a shit storm right now the fact is that she is the first mother of surviving octuplets and the babies are born… can’t put the Genie back in the bottle. This would be a perfect opportunity for the Gay and Lesbian Community to step in and show just how responsible they are as a community by offering whatever support they can to her and her babies. Bigots are already saying that stuff right now, anyways… here’s the chance to prove them wrong
Nadya Suleman is not someone who accidentally got pregnant. She knew what she was doing and now we should support her brood.
She should be taken off of any type of financial support and be forced to pay back her fradulent student loans and support her family. When she can’t do that, put her in prison and put the children in foster care.
In short, make her responsible for the consequences of her own actions.
I have to admit I don’t understand the attitude you seem to have about someone like Mia Farrow adopting a large number of children. Even if what you suppose is true, that she simply hired a bunch of nannies to raise the kids, are you saying that situation is worse than where those kids were before being adopted?
Can’t we all agree that she simply has a right to be totally batshit crazy?
If it didn’t carry victims, sure.
I think its a lesser evil to allow her to give birth to kids she cant raise, knowing we have foster care and orphanages, than to prohibit her from having such kids in the first place. I do not want to live in a country where other people can tell you how many kids you can have
Can we still think she’s a rotten person and a drain on humanity, if we stop short of imposing legal restrictions on brood size?
Of course! She’s crazy and obsessive, and her kids are doomed
I for one am surprised in a positive way by the furor. Finally we may be reaching a point where the opinion of the general public begins to question whether the quality of life, rather than the quantity of births, should be given serious consideration. By historical tradition, the status quo in America has been more and bigger–more land settled, more cars, more people, and bigger houses with nary a thought of whether our resources could sustain such growth, not even to mention the global impact. In some ways that hasn’t been all bad; there is an inherent optimism as well, which has enabled us to do great things, particularly when enough people and institutions get behind an effort such as reaching the moon. But now, IMO, there’s no question we need to be seriously considering whether we want, need, or can even afford to have an additional hundred or two hundred million added to our population over the next century. In California today, we are facing cuts in public education. Simply keeping the aggregate amount where it was would be a cut, because the population keeps growing, but we’re seeing real cuts now. Decent grades used to be enough to get you into the University of California; now the University actually has to spend resources catching applicants who “fib” about their extra-curricular activities to pump up their applications. While dishonesty can’t be condoned, shouldn’t we at least ask whether it’s truly appropriate to favor an applicant who was captain of the high school swim team, over one who was simply a good student with solid grades in physics who wants to study engineering? In my opinion, it isn’t appropriate, but the University has to have some way of reducing the applicant pool The number of freshman places has not nearly kept up with population growth. And the reason is rampant, reckless population growth and the policies which encourage it.
The fact that people are outraged about this multiple birth is an encouraging sign that people are more cognizant of the physical limitations of the land we occupy. And the mother’s lack of ability to support herself, let alone an enormous number of children, increases the public anger, rather than being exalted as a badge of honor by those who would conflate such uproar with elitism, nativism, or prejudice against unmarried mothers.
I think you’re being optimistic. In my opinion, many if not most of the people who are criticizing Suleman at present would be much more positive about her situation if she were married, self-supporting, and/or conservative Christian. It’s not her being environmentally irresponsible that bothers them: it’s her being financially and parentally irresponsible, and/or selfish, and/or immoral, etc. etc.
I doubt that that reaction really has much to do with concern for finite physical resources, though. I think most people are primarily outraged because her reproductive experiments are being conducted in such a precarious financial situation, and also because they’re being subsidized by public funds.
My bet is that if Suleman were a well-to-do regular churchgoer in a stable marriage who required no taxpayer-funded income and gave interviews gushingly describing her fourteen children as a precious gift from Jesus, a lot of the people who are now outraged by her parenting choices would instead be outraged by any criticism of her parenting choices.
And mind you, fourteen kids in a wealthy family almost certainly have a significantly bigger environmental footprint than fourteen kids in an impoverished family: more toys, more bedrooms to heat, more transportation to lessons and activities and so on. I seriously doubt that any environmental impact issues would matter a hoot to the majority of the people who are now condemning her.
Hell, in all other histories of wartime this woman would be given the Order of Motherhood and her pussy bronzed for all eternity in the aid of her country. You Conservatives are some hypocritical fucks.
I was driving with my psychologist gf when I told her the news about this story - this was her immediate thought. Maybe not as rare as one would think.
Yea, you and your Psych GF go ahead and label it in unnatural and xenic terms… see how much that helps. Twist her motive to your prejudice and uncaring indelibility with legal terminology. When the time comes… she will be Newmother. She is Pioneer.
They’d probably just make jokes about her, they way they do the Duggars.
devilsknew-do you have anything relevant to add? Am I the only one who feels this way?
I do like the suggestion I heard on the radio this morning–the doctor who implanted here should have financial responsible for the children.
You created this situation, now you take care of it!
I like that idea.
That actually might be the proper sentence, if he’s found guilty of malpractice.
(IS he being investigated for such? I know they’re looking into him.)
You are right, but the environmental concerns are really just an extension. First we need to become outraged at use of public resources - taking advantage of MY tax dollars - and that has been going on for some time (and not always to the benefit of society - there are times society should be supporting the less fortunate). But its really just a few steps from there to looking at the larger resources we consume.
And, while a wealthy family might stick every kid in their own bedroom, the wealthy family is also better able to afford less processed food, more organics, smaller footprint products.
I hear this erred logic all the time, and its stupid and should stop. MY Tax Dollars… is bullshit and it comes from a really horrible sense of entitlement. It is not based in reality. You think the octomom has never paid taxes? Have you ever used any Government resources-- roads, libraries, schools, etc.? Ever been on unemployment? Expect to retire someday on SS or if something were to happen to you, God forbid, would you expect SS disability and medicare? If so, then your outrage is misplaced.
(I’m a liberal, I’m using that in the same tongue in cheek way you would - not outraged - or rather, I get selectively outraged…unemployment and social security - way cool, abuse of government funds - not cool.)…