Janet looks like she could gnaw on some wood with those beaver teeth.
Posted on 09/03/2008 9:02:28 AM PDT by tobyhill
I arrived in my daughter's classroom for an end of the school year performance. A mom I'd met but didn't know well greeted me in a voice that ensured the entire room would hear: "It's great to see you in person instead of on television for a change.” While I was verbally rescued by other parents, she scored the intended bulls-eye. The truth is, I missed the Halloween party, the holiday party and all the field trips last year. And that doesn't include what I missed for my other four children! Her comment was months ago, but it still burns more than yesterday's workout.
I was reminded of that day by the chatter swirling around Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, also a mom of five. TODAY is reporting on the emerging criticism over her navigating a demanding job and campaigning for an even bigger one, all while raising a large family with special needs and unique circumstances. From "she's a bad mom" to "her daughter wouldn't be pregnant if she'd spent more time at home", there are hungry-man plates of judgment being served up from the corner cafe to the blogosphere. Here's a shocker, most of it is coming from other moms.
(Excerpt) Read more at allday.msnbc.msn.com ...
The same liberal moms that never do anything with their kids? Sounds like they feel guitly
Janet looks like she could gnaw on some wood with those beaver teeth.
McCain campaign calls for end to ‘nonsense’ over Palin
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5978733.html
I don’t think Sarah Palin will require much “defending” — she strikes me as a very capable woman. Rudyard Kipling said it best:
“When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When Nag, the wayside cobra, hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can,
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail -
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws,
They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the squaws -
‘Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark enthusiasts pale -
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man’s timid heart is bursting with the things he must not say,
For the Woman that God gave him isn’t his to give away;
But when hunter meets with husband, each confirms the others tale -
The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man, a bear in most relations, worm and savage otherwise,
Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise;
Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact
To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.
Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lay the wicked low,
To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe.
Mirth obscene diverts his anger; Doubt and Pity oft perplex
Him in dealing with an issue - to the scandal of the Sex!
But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame
Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same,
And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail,
The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.
She who faces Death by torture for each life beneath her breast
May not deal in doubt or pity - must not swerve for fact or jest.
These be purely male diversions - not in these her honor dwells -
She, the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else!
She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great
As the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate;
And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides unclaimed to claim
Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same.
She is wedded to convictions - in default of grosser ties;
Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him, who denies!
He will meet no cool discussion, but the instant, white-hot wild
Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
Unprovoked and awful charges - even so the she-bear fights;
Speech that drips, corrodes and poisons - even so the cobra bites;
Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw,
And the victim writhes with anguish - like the Jesuit with the squaw!
So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer
With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her
Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands
To some God of abstract justice - which no woman understands.
And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that the Woman that God gave him
Must command but may not govern; shall enthrall but not enslave him.
And She knows, because She warns him and Her instincts never fail,
That the female of Her species is more deadly than the male!”
I was reminded very quickly this week that the Mommy Wars are alive and kicking. I belong to another site of mostly mothers, more liberals than conservatives, more SAHMs than working moms. A lot of these women, no matter their political ideology or working status, have been the subject of some type of criticism or their birthing choices, parenting choices, etc and claim to hate the Mommy Wars.
There were numerous threads started this week that spiraled into attacks and judgments of Gov. Palins birthing choice (boarding the airplane), choice to return to work, parenting style etc.
So disheartening.
A nervous young McCain staffer recently took it upon himself to explain to Palin the facts of life in a national campaign, the intense scrutiny she’d be under from the media, the viciousness of the assault that she’d be facing, etc.: Palin: “Thanks for the warning. By the way, do you know what they say the difference is between a hockey mom and a Pit Bull?” McCain aide: “No, Governor.” Palin: “A hockey mom wears lipstick.
A bad mom? Who are they to judge? The lady is doing what she feels to be right. It doesn’t mean that she has to put her life on hold just because she has kids. Her and her husband have come to an agreement as to how they want to run their lives and their family. It’s only their business.
“It’s only their business.”
Yes and no. Society has been greatly affected by the number of moms who have entered the workforce.
If this story be true, I am really going to enjoy and admire Governor Palin in DC...
: )
The thing is, I am very conservative (no apologies), and any criticisms I may have had of her say, thirty years ago, are entirely irrelevant today... thanks to the total validation of the social "irregularities" by the loudmouth "progessives" themselves. I just love it when schadenfreude is in play.
The loser radicals and progressives are so screwed...
A mom can be a good mom whether she is working or not. When I worked 12 hour shifts and full time, I spent every day off doing things with my boys. I still read to them, played with them, spent quality time with them and they absolutely loved the on base child care center that was a first rate center.
I stopped working when my third child was born and I’ve never regretted that decision. While I worked, I knew of mothers that had my same hours and never hardly spent time with their kids and now I see stay at home moms that hardly spend time with their kids. They are present, but don’t actively engage with their kids. So in my experience, it depends on the mom, not whether she works or not.
It’s pretty crazy this week how Sarah Palin has turned many people’s assumptions about politics, working moms, etc upside down. I haven’t lurked on FR for several days (busy with stuff) but I do know there is an awful lot of sentiment against working moms on here. Some posters remind me of the “Bush’s fault!” leftists in how they scapegoat working moms for every societal problem. Not having been on here lately, how are these folks reacting to Palin?
Meanwhile the reactions of the left are amazing, but not surprising, to me at least. It is funny to see leftists all of a sudden go June Cleaver on Sarah Palin. But that sentiment is not as weird or contradictory as you might think. It reminds me of so many of the people I grew up with and of the women elc has met online. I grew up in the 1990s in upper-middle class suburbs in a blue state. My mom worked, but was usually the only working mom on the block. All the other women were SAHM’s. A good number of them (maybe 2/3 to roughly estimate) were liberals. They *loved* Bill Clinton, and no doubt are getting all hot and bothered about Obama now. They held a particular contempt for social and religious conservativism - they had chips on their shoulders against anyone who was pro-life, who dared to criticize anyone’s sexual behavior, and who wasn’t a complete moral and religious relativist. I think this was exacerbated by the fact that some of the non-liberal SAHM’s in the same neighborhoods were evangelicals who also were not quiet about their views.
In any event, while these SAHM’s were very leftist when it came to sex and killing babies (I didn’t get the impression that they thought much about politics beyond those issues, such as about economics and defense), they also held a thinly veiled prejudice against working mothers. In their world, they were superior because they had sacrificed their careers in order to be mothers, and the only reason any woman would have a career outside the home must be because she is some selfish, cold monster who didn’t care at all about her children.
Since these ladies didn’t have much use for “traditional values” I think that their feelings about SAHM vs working moms were more motivated by class than anything. Being a SAHM was a status symbol.
While it is very disheartening to see the viciousness of the attacks on Palin, I am happy to see the light finally shined on these prejudices have been around for years. Leftists look the worst when they are self-righteous, so please let their true colors about working moms all hang out.
“They are present, but don’t actively engage with their kids”
Being present, however, is just as important as engaging.
“Being present, however, is just as important as engaging.”
I don’t think it is the same thing or as important. I’ve had to catch myself lots of times because I sure am no perfect mother. I don’t think anybody is. At different stages of their lives, kids need different things. Now that my boys are teens, I engage them in conversation as much as possible. We discuss politics, religion, things going on at their schools and in their lives. I let them have and argue their own positions but let them know what my values are and so far, they have internalized our values for the most part. I’m lucky in that on the important things, my husband and I agree so there is no conflict in that regard.
When my kids were little, I didn’t just take them to the pool, I would play with them in the pool. Same with everything else. We don’t just take them to ride their dirtbikes, we all ride and go on family rides. Same with every sport. We play soccer with them, snow ski, water ski, ride mountain bikes, etc. Not all parents can do those active things but it’s important to actually enjoy your kids and show them that you do. They grow up fast enough. Not all situations are the same but all three of my kids are extremely close to us and that would be the same whether I was still working or not because it’s not just about the quantity of time being present.
We raised 3 girls. My wife has always worked and chose positions where she could be with them at the times they needed her. Then my job shifted where I could telecommute until i retired. My youngest moved out 3 years before I retired early, at 49. She and I had a great time during that time. During this time my wife took a promotion so she could finish up the last few years at her job as a manager. We tagged teamed it, and we raise 3 great girls. It’s called a team effort. Apparently, Obama doesn’t believe in the team effort. Remember, his wife is a full time executive who is on the road, and he is on the road.
Something tells me that from here on in, it's going to be "No Quarter"...
the infowarrior
That’s awesome and like I said, it depends on the parents, not the amount of time spent being around the kids. I see parents that spend most of their time barking at their kids and don’t seem to genuinely enjoy their kids. I have connected with my kids in a 30 minute drive to soccer, football, or cheer when something is said on the radio and I ask them “what do you think of that”? It doesn’t take a lot of money to have quality time, although I’m grateful we now have enough to do fun things with our kids.
When we didn’t have much money, it was things like going for a walk (which we still do to take our dog on hikes) or going to the park or lake. I love that my kids seem to love our company and want to be around us. They respect our authority because there has always been a consequence for bad behavior to include the occasional spanking. There are times I have to get away from them but I dread them growing up and leaving. They grow up fast!
Shocking to who? Pettiness knows no gender boundaries.
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