Bristol's Baby Daddy on Tarmac

[Anonymous]

yeah, get these jerry springer guests out of here. also, did anyone else see that palin admitted to smoking pot? actually, i admit that that was the only thing i could relate to her on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guess the standards for the Disney channel is a smidge higher than the White House. We don't want our daughters to get the wrong idea her being a role model and all.

What kind of an example are we setting for young teenage boys everywhere?

Get a girl knocked up in high school - just make sure she's the governor's daughter. Who knows where you might end up? Have unprotected sex and you can make it to the White House on your girlfriend's coattails. All the while chomping on Bubblicious bubble gum.

[Anonymous]

Just keep on belittling while McCain and Palin drive on to the White House....

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Just keep on belittling while McCain and Palin drive on to the White House....

Where they can stop and get their picture taken and Sarah can buy a tee shirt that says "I ran for VP and all I got was this stupid T-Shirt".

[Anonymous]

As an unmarried mom (but not a teen), I find aspects of this thread rather obnoxious, i.e. all the talk about what a bad "role model" this is. Although I wouldn't vote for Palin, and I disagree with her political views on abortion and reproductive health, I don't think it's a bad thing that she is supporting her daughter, inclusive to the father, and unashamed about the whole thing. I thought her initial statement on the matter, including the fact that both parents will soon realize the difficulties of raising a child so young, was quite on target.

I'm still surprised how many people treat me as if I have done something "bad" or "shameful" by having 2 kids out of wedlock. I even had one new friend tell me she was surprised I'd done it because I came from such a good family. Translation: how could you do something so white trashy when your family is so educated and wealthy?

I think as a country and as individuals we'd all be much better served if we gave our kids realistic information about sex and the potential consequences thereof and talked about how to decide when and where and with whom to do it. Part of that includes teaching the notion that if you do have the (mis)fortune of getting pregnant at an early age, you have lots of choices, one of which is keeping and raising a child with whatever resources you do or don't have and that is doable but extremely difficult and one should think long and hard about the commitment and resources necessary for it and the consequences of it.

I for one think we ought to leave the days of the stigma of "illegitimacy" and "shotgun" marriages behind and focus on getting both parents to provide for and be involved with their child whether they are married or not to the other biological parent.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I'm going to make it clear to my sons that while I love them and support them (and will make sure that they have access to birth control and a complete education on sexual matters), if they get a girl pregnant, they will have to deal with the consequences. And I make no apologies for making those consequences sound very dire indeed. I see no reason to straddle a fence here; I do not want them having kids out of wedlock. I know things happen, but I'm going to do everything I can to emphasize to them that it's not in their best interest. And I'm as liberal as they come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I for one think we ought to leave the days of the stigma of "illegitimacy" and "shotgun" marriages behind and focus on getting both parents to provide for and be involved with their child whether they are married or not to the other biological parent.

I agree with you. If one chooses to continue with the pregnancy, it should be more about considering the interests of the child first and foremost. Not about 2 people who are forced to marry for the sake of societal approval.

Many Scandinavians and Dutch live together, have children, buy a house together, and stay together without the seal of marriage. They're already married in their commitment to their family. Believe me, their relationships without the certificate of marriage lasts longer than many marriages here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an unmarried mom (but not a teen), I find aspects of this thread rather obnoxious, i.e. all the talk about what a bad "role model" this is. Although I wouldn't vote for Palin, and I disagree with her political views on abortion and reproductive health, I don't think it's a bad thing that she is supporting her daughter, inclusive to the father, and unashamed about the whole thing. I thought her initial statement on the matter, including the fact that both parents will soon realize the difficulties of raising a child so young, was quite on target.

I'm still surprised how many people treat me as if I have done something "bad" or "shameful" by having 2 kids out of wedlock. I even had one new friend tell me she was surprised I'd done it because I came from such a good family. Translation: how could you do something so white trashy when your family is so educated and wealthy?

I think as a country and as individuals we'd all be much better served if we gave our kids realistic information about sex and the potential consequences thereof and talked about how to decide when and where and with whom to do it. Part of that includes teaching the notion that if you do have the (mis)fortune of getting pregnant at an early age, you have lots of choices, one of which is keeping and raising a child with whatever resources you do or don't have and that is doable but extremely difficult and one should think long and hard about the commitment and resources necessary for it and the consequences of it.

I for one think we ought to leave the days of the stigma of "illegitimacy" and "shotgun" marriages behind and focus on getting both parents to provide for and be involved with their child whether they are married or not to the other biological parent.

I'm not sure I get your point here. If you're against the "shotgun" marriages, do you support this marriage of Bristol to her baby daddy or not? I agree that what's most important is having both parents be held responsible for raising this baby that they created. In this case, there seems to be an encouragement of a 'shotgun' marriage.

And, I'm sorry to hear that people think that you've done something "bad" or "shameful" by having 2 kids out of wedlock. If you have the means to support the kids and love them, more power to you. Noone should critique your decisions. However, in this case, Bristol is a minor and her mom is running for VP representing the Family Values Party.

If the Reps wouldn't spend so much time criticizing other peoples decisions on birth control and pre-marital sex, this whole situation wouldn't scream of as much hypocrisy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an unmarried mom (but not a teen), I find aspects of this thread rather obnoxious, i.e. all the talk about what a bad "role model" this is. Although I wouldn't vote for Palin, and I disagree with her political views on abortion and reproductive health, I don't think it's a bad thing that she is supporting her daughter, inclusive to the father, and unashamed about the whole thing. I thought her initial statement on the matter, including the fact that both parents will soon realize the difficulties of raising a child so young, was quite on target.

I'm still surprised how many people treat me as if I have done something "bad" or "shameful" by having 2 kids out of wedlock. I even had one new friend tell me she was surprised I'd done it because I came from such a good family. Translation: how could you do something so white trashy when your family is so educated and wealthy?

I think as a country and as individuals we'd all be much better served if we gave our kids realistic information about sex and the potential consequences thereof and talked about how to decide when and where and with whom to do it. Part of that includes teaching the notion that if you do have the (mis)fortune of getting pregnant at an early age, you have lots of choices, one of which is keeping and raising a child with whatever resources you do or don't have and that is doable but extremely difficult and one should think long and hard about the commitment and resources necessary for it and the consequences of it.

I for one think we ought to leave the days of the stigma of "illegitimacy" and "shotgun" marriages behind and focus on getting both parents to provide for and be involved with their child whether they are married or not to the other biological parent.

I don't think the criticism has anything to do with Bristol being unmarried. But being only 17 years old and the product of a mother who believes in "abstinence only" sex education. Teenage pregnancies are not a good thing for a whole slew of reasons. As a mother, I just can't imagine running for such a public office - which forces increased scrutiny on the family - all the while my 17 year old has an unwanted pregnancy. How anybody can equate that to "family values" is beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think as a country and as individuals we'd all be much better served if we gave our kids realistic information about sex and the potential consequences thereof and talked about how to decide when and where and with whom to do it. Part of that includes teaching the notion that if you do have the (mis)fortune of getting pregnant at an early age, you have lots of choices, one of which is keeping and raising a child with whatever resources you do or don't have and that is doable but extremely difficult and one should think long and hard about the commitment and resources necessary for it and the consequences of it.

13:46 poster here again:

I completely agree with what you're saying here. People should have the CHOICE to decide what to do if they get pregnant at an early age and in a less than ideal situation. I support that 100 percent.

However, Palin's party wants to take that choice away! Fine, her daughter chose to keep the baby. That might not be the correct choice for everyone.

Palin also supports abstinence only education. So, she doesn't think we should give kids realistic information about sex. We should just hope that they'll abstain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure I get your point here. If you're against the "shotgun" marriages, do you support this marriage of Bristol to her baby daddy or not? I agree that what's most important is having both parents be held responsible for raising this baby that they created. In this case, there seems to be an encouragement of a 'shotgun' marriage.

And, I'm sorry to hear that people think that you've done something "bad" or "shameful" by having 2 kids out of wedlock. If you have the means to support the kids and love them, more power to you. Noone should critique your decisions. However, in this case, Bristol is a minor and her mom is running for VP representing the Family Values Party.

If the Reps wouldn't spend so much time criticizing other peoples decisions on birth control and pre-marital sex, this whole situation wouldn't scream of as much hypocrisy.

By "shotgun," I mean a marriage entered into only for the purpose of meeting societal norms and avoiding some sort of societal shame. If the 2 parents are getting married because their parents say they have to, or because of national scrutiny, or the potential negative consequences on the mom's VP campaign, then, No, I don't support the marriage.

But, really, I haven't the foggiest idea what really happened in the Bristol Palin situation. Everyone assumes that the 2 kids had unprotected sex, didn't want the baby, and were forced by their parents values to have the baby and get married. If that's what happened, I don't think they should've been put in that situation, and I'd rather that my own kids get sex ed, have a choice about whether to keep the baby and decided to get married or not on the basis of a realistic assessment about their love and commitment for each other. Subsequent statements from the family have indicated that Bristol and Levi had been dating for a year and discussed marriage prior to the public unveiling of her pregnancy. Who knows if that is true? Who knows why they decided to get married? Did the father have a change of heart from his myspace comments about not wanting kids when the pregnancy happened? Such a young marriage might not be what I would choose for me or my daughter, but does it really deserve the screaming judgments and shame in this thread? Everyone seems to have the attitude that a teenage pregnancy is the end of both the young mother and father's lives, that the parents will go on to achieve nothing, live in poverty and raise a child in miserable circumstances. I don't think that is necessarily the case, and I certainly wouldn't want that message conveyed to my daughter if she came home with an unexpected pregnancy.

I got pregnant while using 2 forms of birth control simultaneously. Go figure. The father, my fiance at the time, and I decided to continue the pregnancy. I almost got pregnant again when a condom burst. So maybe I have more than a little empathy for a chick who finds herself unmarried and unexpectedly pregnant. No one knows what the circumstances of the Bristol Palin pregnancy were, but an awful lot of people are prepared to guess and make negative judgments.

I care more about their actions vis-a-vis the time and energy and love they put in to raising their child -- and only time will show those. And whether they can provide a good home for a baby has nothing to do with their age, their mother's political views, her governorship, her candidacy, etc.

All of these views are separate from what I think should be government policy about reproductive health/choices. I don't agree with Sarah Palin's views on sex ed, abortion, etc., I don't think the government should be encouraging teen pregnancy, but nor do I think that the government should be encourage parents of any age with unexpected pregnancies to wed solely because of the pregnancy (the point of a lot of conservative marriage support policies). I'm not going to vote for her, but that doesn't mean that either her or her daughter deserve the judgments and scorn of this thread.