I imagine you have seen one or two articles (eg Liz Hunt in today's Telegraph) suggesting that it's irresponsible for Sarah Palin's daughter to be having her child and marrying the child's father.
My mother married my father when she was 21. I was born a year later, and my three sisters were born after me.
When we were all old enough to understand, she gathered us all round the table to tell us that when she was 17 she became pregnant. She wanted to keep the child, even though the child's father (not my father) ran away from his responsibilities. For months she squirrelled away as much as she could save and hid the pregnancy from her own parents for fear that they would not support her decision.
In the end, of course, she could not hide her pregnancy any longer. My grandmother, predictably, was horrifed and put her under enormous pressure to have the child adopted. My mother found no support from her parents for her decision to keep the child and in despair she agreed to have the child adopted through the Church of England Children's Society.
My mother gave birth to a girl one month early. During the birth she nearly died, slipping into a coma. But when she recovered, my grandmother (a) refused to allow the father of the child to visit my mother (he had had a change of heart and was intending to propose - he changed his mind again on being confronted by my grandmother), (b) shouted at a nurse for allowing my mother to hold the child in her arms lest she gather the strength to change her mind about adoption and (c) forced my mother to sign the adoption papers even though she was in no fit state of body or mind.
It was my mother's greatest regret that she allowed herself to be bullied by her mother into giving up her daughter for adoption. She always hoped that she would see her daughter again.
My half sister turned up a few years ago. She is a beautiful and wonderful woman with children of her own, who thankfully was raised by a loving family. Tragically, my mother had died a few years earlier and never met her first born daughter again.
But one thing I do know. She would have wanted her mother to treat her own pregnancy as Sarah Palin has treated her daughter's pregnancy.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
A Moving Tale
A reader emailed me this morning and has given me permission to share his email with you. It is very moving.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
47 comments:
You mean she is happy to get her daughter married at the age of 17?
Surely we are talking polar opposite reactions?
1) adopt said baby
2) get father married to mum so not to have a bastard it seems
what about
3) allow daughter to keep baby, raise her in a loving home and let the relationship with the father/boyfriend develop and if they love each other let them get married if they wish.
Why do things have to be so polarised.
More Palin The Parish Councillor is great rubbish. What kind of mum flies when 8 months pregnant and in labour on planes to ensure she gives birth at home.
Could she be less responsible.
NOT ALL TORIES ARE REPUBLICANS.
Ah Bless !! Of course, we shall now see the execrable Sarah Palin, who wanted to sue the Federal Government for wanting to make cuddly polar bears an 'endangered species' seem really lovely and homely.
This uber:b!tch, who preaches values her own family don't uphold and who opposes strays, gays and funding for education into sex and contraception could never get elected in the UK.
[See Alice Miles' article in the Times..]
Yet we are somehow expected to swallow this bull$h!t that she is fit to potentially be the 'leader of the free world', when we all know she is only there because Joe Lieberman was deemed too politically risky...
Well, I bet those advisers would now happily swap his level of risk for the carnage which Sarah Palin is going to inflict on McCain's campaign to be president. Why do you feel you have to be so loyal to this evil, incompetent harridan?
How different families can be. My mother (unmarried) became pregnant with me in 1960, my father suddenly remembered an important appointment in Munich and disappeared never to return. My grandfather put incredible pressure upon my mother to have the child (me) adopted, but was outvoted by the females in the family. I’m told the arguments ceased when my great grandmother simply stated “We don’t give away our flesh and blood”.
Perhaps the thing at the centre of this debate is that the prospective father in this case is a young ice hockey player who is reported in some quarters to be (a) a redneck and (b) not as willing to marry as has been suggested triumphantly by hockey mom.
Who quite literally has a few shot guns around the ranch ...
Clearly your correspondent's story is from a good few decades ago when even the best cases weren't too good.
And perhaps you also know that Sarah's first Track was, according to sources, born less than eight months after elopement with Todd who also has a drunk driving conviction at around the same time.
She is a wonderful character this one. Whatever happens there'll be movies made about this. Forget the Legally Blond franchise, this is Presidentially Wella Colour.
But if the Magoo/Creationist ticket wins she will also be in poll to take over in 2012, sadly too late for the London Olympics.
I seem to have wandered into the Woman's Weekly by mistake.
That is a moving story. And it is stories like that one that make me pleased that - despite so many who choose to rail against what they see as 'the permissive society' - we live in an age where the stigma attached to having a child so young is significantly lowered and there is help available.
But I didn't read the article as "suggesting that it is irresponsible" for Bristol Palin to have a child. Liz Hunt said
"I just hope poor Bristol had a say in it too and that she isn't becoming a wife and parent at such a young age for reasons of political expediency and her mother's soaring ambition."
given Sarah Palin's stated politics, that is a legitimate hope. And it is not a suggested criticism of the daughter, but of the mother.
While we're at it, shouldn't we 'bigging up' her attitudes to gays and victims of rape who are made pregnant by their violent attackers?
Great pick, McCain...
You know abortion means there's no heartache about giving children away, no long lost half siblings turning up, no need to pressurise children into marrying. Just a thought.
Iain, I'm surprised you haven't blogged here yet on the resignation today of a man whose financial plans it seems were in such tatters that he fell out with his colleagues and his position became unsustainable. Although his team had some supporters, sadly its fans have become a small and often demented minority of late. He had only been in the post less than two years and never saw much success.
Sadly, it's going to be your other blog on which you will need to analyse this, rather than here, as this drama took place several miles east of Westminster.
Iain,
Can you get the Simon Bates music to play when people click on this article? A moving story yes. Utterly irrelevant to whether Sarah Palin is suitable for VP or not. As she seems to be a Creationist gun totin' loon (a typical guns, gays and God republican) who thinks that Iraq was God's work I know where I stand.
"What kind of mum flies when 8 months pregnant and in labour on planes to ensure she gives birth at home."
1. She wasn't in labour;
2. She sought the advice of her doctor before doing so, who said it was fine;
3. The baby was born without ill-effect.
Get out the violins.
I can sense the horror in Chris Paul's post.
"my god, the man's a redneck and he actually owns guns!
A redneck who owns guns in Alaska. I'm shocked to my very core
Chris Paul - although you clearly don't realise it, neither being a redneck nor owning guns is inherently evil. In fact, it is entirely possible to fall into both categories and still be an intelligent, good person
This may not necessarily describe the young gent in question, but the way you smugly write him off on the basis of those two criteria is quite pathetic and reveals more about your character than it does about his
Continuing Benjamin Gray's answer:
4. What on Earth has that got to do with you? Stop being an interfering busybody.
5. What has that got to do with her ability to be VP?
Iain,
Yes a very moving (and sad) story. It is horrifying to think of the countless incidences of pain that are caused by the almost primitive attitudes prevailing up to only recently. Attitudes driven by fear of 'family' embarrassment. And then some, witness the suffering of the Magdalene Sisters in Ireland.
On a diffeent note I had not yet got to Liz Hunt's article, but prompted by your post I have read it. I don't read, as you seem to imply, that she is saying it is irresponsible for Palin's daughter to be having her child. Rather Liz seems to be saying that Palin's daughter has a choice which may have been hampered due to her mother's ambition etc. There may be other articles that do suggest that Palin's daughter is irresponsible, however Liz's does not.
In the piece the mother is denied her right to choose. It's conclusion that Sarah Palin's actions are laudable is disingenuous in the extreme.
Sarah Palin is against a woman's right to choose.
Palin isn't just against letting the woman have a right to choose whether to keep a baby or not. She's actually against giving children the information they need to avoid pregnancy (if they wish to) in the first place.
Sarah Palin's daughter is the victim of her mother's twisted anti-women politics. Not only has Sarah Palin campaigned against the education and rights of women, but it looks to outside observers that she's forcing her own daughter to marry without a choice.
The nightmare of 'A Handmaid's Tale' sneaks one step nearer.
No two situations are the same: it is impossible to know whether or not Bristol Palin and her boyfriend really want 1) to get married or 2) to keep the baby. All we do know is that their decision to get married seems to have followed on very quickly from Ma Palin's nomination as VP.
Here was me thinking that "forced marriages" only went on in "traditional" cultures. Mind you, Alaska seems to be very traditional. And there's certainly no shortage of shotguns, several no doubt currently being pointed in young Levi's direction.
I never cease to be amazed by the vicious nasty second rate diminutive scum that represent the mediocre liberal left.
I suppose dross is all one can expect from people who have the Clintons as moral exemplars.
I seem to be missing something here. Is it the point that the girl was forced to have her daughter adopted? Has Palin jnr been so forced?
Is the point that the father does not want to marry her (whilst being under pressure from the Republicans so to do to meet their 'ideals')?
'Motherhood and apple pie' - if only life were so simple.
LiberalHammer said...
As she seems to be a Creationist gun totin' loon (a typical guns, gays and God republican)
She may seem so to you, which tells us more about you than about her.
And, by the way who was elected governor of Alaska, which is more than can be said of Broon as PM of the UK
I don't understand. What's the problem with an amply funded 17 year old having a baby in America? It's the 14 year olds on benefit in this country I have a problem with. The fact that the father is a redneck is incidental and the family's problem not ours. The kid will have a far better start in life than many in this country.
This talk of the Palin's is totally off the mark - the reason why so many people see it as an issue is because of the dogmatic beliefs held by Sarah Palin - she supports federal spending on abstinence only sex education (which clearly doesn't work) and opposes contraceptives. She even cut funding that is used to help teenage mothers.
She's a joke. But it doesn't matter, the election is about McCain, and he's an even bigger joke.
I don't care how much people try to sell SP as being a living saint. Her politics are still rancid.
It's not about her daughter > it's about Sarah Palin's policies and views. Typical Republican sexual hypocrisy ...
Alan Wolfe:
>>>The depth of the culture war should be apparent from this New Republic essay by Alan Wolfe:
"Sarah Palin's nomination is a public service. No longer will we hear lectures from the likes of Newt Gingrich telling poor women on welfare how to conduct their sex lives. Focus on the Family will have to focus on a different kind of family. William Bennett has no virtues left to write about. At long last our national nightmare over sexual hypocrisy has come to an end, and we can all thank John McCain for that.
"And that is not all. In rushing to Sarah Palin's defense, the leaders of the Christian right have made it abundantly clear how they define a Christian. We don't care if you sin. We are not bothered if you put your ambition ahead of the needs of your children. If you have lied or broken the law, we will look the other way. It all comes down to your stand on guns and fetuses. Vote the right way, and you have our blessing. If any proof were needed that James Dobson is a political operative rather than a spiritual leader, his jumping on the Palin bandwagon offers it."
McCain's judgement is in question....
Palin is a huge embarrassment.
Are we talking about the girl's first pregnancy, or the second one?
Either way, course she should marry him if she wants to.
Talk about vitriol. If this is a measure of the reaction to every Palin related thread, then God help blog comment threads if she delivers a strong and successful speech tonight. I wonder if there is an element of fear buried in there somewhere...
I think the general suggestion is that she shouldn't have allowed her daughter to go around getting herself impregnated at the age of 17, not that the baby should be aborted.
Was Chris Paul's reference to a redneck meant to be derogatory? Personally I think the guy's pretty hot...
**sniffle** **weep** etc ad nauseum
All this derogatory comment is a bit rich from inhabitants of a country with one of the biggest rates of unmarried teenage pregnancy in the world, implicitly sanctioned and encouraged by policies of the liberal left.
So the VP nominee's daughter is single and pregnant. Assuming the age of consent is 16 in Alaska, no criminal offence seems to have taken place. BFD
The sons and daughters of pliticians behave no differently that the rest of the populace. How many children of Nulab ministers have been single and pregnant? Answer- WHO CARES!! Its not politically important.
The background is this is a dilemma many families find themselves in every day. Most cope after some adjustment and get on with their lives
And what do all the sanctimonious posters have to say about the fact that Barack Obama's mother was pregnant when she married and gave birth to Barack aged 18? Come on now - all you hypocrites, own up. If this was a Democrat story about a black family you'd be loudly denouncing the repressive morality of the American right and no doubt call it racist too.
I don't see the problem here. Sarah Palin is standing on a ticket of abstinence-only education, and making abortion illegal. And, true to her beliefs, she didn't tell her daughter about condoms, and when Bristol got herself up the duff, wouldn't let her terminate.
Consistent :)
anon 3:41pm said
"I never cease to be amazed by the vicious nasty second rate diminutive scum that represent the mediocre liberal left.
I suppose dross is all one can expect from people who have the Clintons as moral exemplars."
And this comment is what? enlightened, humane and first rate?
what do all the sanctimonious posters have to say about the fact that Barack Obama's mother was pregnant when she married and gave birth to Barack aged 18?
in my case nothing. Because Obama's grandmother isn't standing for vice president. So I couldn't care less about her political views, and whether she thinks abstinence-only sec education is the best way to combat teen pregnancies, despite manifest and personal evidence that it doesn't work very well.
But if she were, believe me, I would have something to say. Although I'd probably have more to say about the fact she's been dead for 16 years.
Goodness Iain, why don't you just recruit a team of these 'socialist' posters as 'witch hunters'. They've got all the qualifications, psudo moral-panic, mass hysteria, made up evidence, and they are all ready for the witch burning, where they will put up a big cheer.
Personally, I'll listen to Sarah Palin when I get the opportunity and make a considered judgment. As I've also done with Obhama - who is no 'messiah' in my estimation.
Iain, you cannot win. The email was sincere but the responses from the Brown Bunker Boys and Girls show them to be the marriage hating, abortion loving crowd of lefties they are. Their day is over.
I am actually laughing at the way the british media are trying their best to make everything about Mrs Palin a doomsday story.
WHAT ABOUT dear old Bill...'I NEVER had sex with that woman!!' That is okay because he is a leftie! Their morals stink. absolute gutter snipes.
The email was a lovely story and one these people could never comprehend.
Well even if I do say it myself, yet it is humane, I would not drag children into grubby politics, for the same reason it is enlightened.
Yes I'd say first rate, but any comment not from second rate Democrats is first rate, so that’s not saying much
My God, I've never seen so many liberals (or as Sentamu calls them, illiberals), get so sanctimonious and censorious about another person's mistakes. Palin is even being condemned for eloping. And her husband as a young man, God forbid, got drunk!
And since when did believing in the bible and owning guns make one a loon?
And it's really disgusting that people would dig out a kid's profile on my space that he would've written ages before his girlfriend got pregnant.
How about Barry's ridiculous assertion that running his campaign gives him more executive experience than running a state in a federal republic.
Carry on with your anti-Palin attacks, Obamabots, you're achieving something I never thought was possible. A lot of his previous supporters now can't stand the sight of him or the sound of his affected wannabe Dr King voice.
September 03, 2008 6:15 PM
Bravo jilted john - you're clearly a master of the disingenuos, mendacious, entirely not getting the point response.
Miranda, Strapworld and africanmum - couldn't agree more.
sockpuppet - i like your style !!
yes, very sweet. and utterly irrelevant.
she's still nowhere near qualified to be vice persident or president of the united states.
I was a bastard. Still am.
Sehr geEhrter Iain
Vielen Dank to you and your Correspondent for sharing this moving family episode with us
It is good that the various Children have come to know each other
Alles Gute
G Eagle
Perhaps people would like to see Palin’s Berlin speech, a la Obama.
Sorry, link don't work.
Try this if you can be arsed. http://www.nanamouskouri.net
What's all this bullshit about "She made the right decision to keep the baby!"
These people want that decision to be made by the state, and backed up by prison sentences for those who decide they own their bodies, not the state. They don't want this choice to be possible for anyone.
Post a Comment