Thursday, May 25, 2006

Frightening, Frightening, Frightening

Libby alerted me to this post over at the Huffington Post by Joan Blades, one of the founding members of momsrising.org. Blades discusses Elizabeth Vargas' choice to take time off to raise her child and the pitfalls commonly associated with taking time off from your career to raise children.

The responses to this post are what really frighten me. Here are a few samples:

As a working stiff in a cubicle jungle I have seen people come and people go. It has not escaped my notice that when a young person gets pregnant and has a child it changes them. It changes their body, it changes their brain chemistry, it changes their attitude. These changes cannot be foreseen because each individual reacts to these biological changes differently. In 5 out of 6 cases, a person having a baby assures us all that they will return after a suitable amount of time. They do not. Years of training and much monetary investment is lost. One child, I have noticed, is usually followed by another. The person never returns. The building and maintaining of a society should be our first priority. Parents should be supported by society in this endovor. It is, however, their choice to give birth. Not mine. If it were up to me, I would never hire a potential mother for any serious job. It is a waste of time and money. Biology will not be defeated by law. Mothers have a biological bond with their children that cannot be matched by fathers. Hire the father, free the mother, enrich the child. Face it, nature is sexist. By: Noodle on May 25, 2006 at 11:51am


Actually having a child is a personal choice. Use the pill or not? Use the condom or not? What about non-mothers? Single women suffer as much or more because we're left to pick up the slack, and then we're looked upon with suspicion because "it's only a matter of time".

If you want to be a breeder, great, but people need to take responsibility for their choices (which having a baby is), and not expect everyone else to help them get by. You think we should pay mothers for having kids? What about women who can't or choose not to have kids? We have FMLA for a reason so as to give everyone a chance to take time off, without losing their jobs, for whatever family situations may arise.

Women want to have their cake and eat it too. Therein lies the downfall of the feminist movement. Women say they want equality, but they don't. They want to get treated better. What about paid time off for new fathers? What about paid time off for single people or couples without children after picking up the slack? Are you for those measures too? While I agree that women (mothers or not) are an integral part in business, having a child is a personal choice and everyone else should be beholden to pay someone for a specific choice they've made. By: luaxanaevila on May 25, 2006 at 11:58am


Sorry, no sympathy here from me. I'm very tired of women holding up their children as a silver cross to avoid doing the barest minimum beyond their job descriptions. They can't stay late. (Have to pick up the spawn from day care.) They arrive late and leave early using the kids as their excuse while the single folks in the office are stuck covering responsibilities for them. The workplace resentment too many inconsiderate working mothers create is detrimental to any workplace. Yet, they're the first to whine about glass ceilings and the "Mommy track" when they are (rightly) passed over for promotion.

As my sainted Algebra II teacher used to say, "You pays your nickel, you gets your cup of coffee." By: buckbuck11 on May 25, 2006 at 01:43pm

If these folks represent the left-of-center views on motherhood and work, then we are screwed, people. I hope these are just flippin' freepers who invaded the Huffington Post with this kind of neanderthal thinking. Shit, if left-of-center attitudes on motherhood are: "too bad, it's your choice" and right-of-center attitudes are "submit to thy Christian duty," then the chances of sensible, enlightened policies designed to invest in the future citizenry is a pipe dream.