I don’t like Sarah Palin. I’m tired of writing about her. But Jesus Christ, it’s as if the internet has just discovered that there are women and we have babies. I want to specifically talk about this post from John Aravosis.
1. It is very, very weird that Palin would, after saying that her water broke, take a nine hour flight from Texas to Alaska. Yes. I conceed that. On the other hand, I can very easily understand how, if you were giving birth to a child, you would want to have that baby in a place you were familiar with near your extended family and with the doctors who had been with you all along through your pregnancy. Maybe we can cut her a little slack?
2. I hate to use the word “elitist” but it is fucking elitist to assume that she couldn’t get perfectly fine health care in her own town and therefore should have stayed in Texas. If you are trying to argue that Trig is Palin’s grandson, I will accept you making the argument that it would have been very difficult for her, once her water broke, to not give birth in Texas, but I completely reject the idea that she should have.
3. It would be weird if Palin turned out to have faked her pregnancy, but not without precident. And I’m not sure other than proving her to be a liar about something she should have no need to lie about, it proves any more than that.
4. Who cares if Palin’s daughter is having a baby? Women have babies. (See Obama.)
5. Which brings me to my main bone of contention. Women have babies. We have had babies since the advent of women, if not before that. It’s not surprising or shocking or alarming or any of your business if a 44 year old woman decides to have a baby. It’s also not surprising or shocking or alarming that a 44 year old woman would have a baby and then go back to work.
Again, talk about some bullshit elitist assumptions. A lot of women go back to work right after giving birth. It’s not some unheard of cause for hand-wringing; it’s the truth of a lot of women’s lives. To act as if there’s something wrong with Palin not dropping out of public life and… I don’t know… taking to hear bed for six weeks, is stupid. There are women who have to drop out of their lives and take to their beds after giving birth, but it’s not a requirement.
6. Trig just has Down’s Syndrome. He’s not made of glass. He doesn’t require being placed in a little jar and taken out every ten minutes to be watered and turned in the sunlight. He doesn’t need someone staring at him 24 hours a day to make sure he doesn’t… I don’t know… die, I guess.
Listen, I’m no disabilities rights activist. I’m not well-read on disability rights stuff, but I find there to be something so viscerally gross about this idea that Trig’s situation is peralous and tragic and that the Palins are to be treated with two extra helpings of respect because he’s their son, but also held up to two extra helpings of contempt if they don’t completely turn their lives over solely to his care.
I mean, I don’t want to downplay the stuff that comes with having a kid with issues, but lots of people have kids with issues and those kids are just that–kids. Trig is just a baby. No more, no less.
He’s got a huge family–including a dad who’s unemployed at the moment–and his family has a lot of friends. He will be fine, even if his mom can’t give him 24/7 attention.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m not making myself clear. I just think there’s something really gross about this idea that Palin should be staying at home with her kid because he’s got the “tragic” condition. No, it’s not inherently a tragedy that Trig has Down’s syndrome. It’s just a thing he and his family will have to deal with.
Just like a lot of families are dealing with a lot of things. And it’s not the mom’s inherent job to be the only one who does the dealing.
7. Lots of folks are using the Left’s treatment of Palin as a big gotcha, like “Oh, see, those Lefties are so sexist.” And I just want to say, “Well, fucking duh. Our whole culture is sexist.” It doesn’t let the Right off the hook. But, god damn, Lefties, shape up.
Filed under: Fun with Feminism, Politics and Other Nonsense
Dallas has one of the world’s best children’s hospitals. People literally go there from all over the world to get medical care for their children. It is an elite hospital in that it provides an unmatched level of care and technology, and given that, it’s not elitist to say that Dallas’s hospitals are better than the one Palin went to. Seattle’s hospitals are also better than Palin’s, and so are two other hospitals in Alaska that she drove past to get to the hospital where she supposedly delivered. The one she ended up in didn’t even have a natal intensive care unit.
I understand that hospitals deliver babies all the time, so her hospital was probably competent, but it’s scary that she would make the conscious decision to spend 11 hours getting there after her water broke without even consulting a doctor in Dallas or Seattle who could have checked on her in person and given her the OK to fly.
Amen. It upsets me to see people revert to Leave-It-to-Beaver mores for the sole purpose of attacking a political opponent. No mother wants to give birth a couple thousand miles away from her doctor and hospital if she doesn’t have to; and I second what you said about Trig just having Down’s and having a large family that can capably care for him even if his mother is vice president. Making assumptions about Palin’s priorities and parenting skills is unfair and fruitless. If someone wants to criticize Palin, do so on the basis of her record and policy positions (as it pertains to the environment, for instance).
I think Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy is more interesting because of what it implies about Palin’s parenting and her positions.
1. We learn, yet again, that abstinence only education does not work, not even when the kid being educated has the strongest incentives ever not to piss off her parents by showing up pregnant.
2. We see a world in which abortion is denied: 17 year olds talking about marriage because that’s the only option (well, ok, she could probably have adopted it out prior to her mom’s nomination, but that would seem heartless now and deny the cameras their due).
3. We arguably suspect that the reason this particular 17 year old got pregnant was that burgeoning new argument about how the pill kills babies.
4. Or, we suspect that the reason she got pregnant is the reason many abst-only people get pregnant: it feels too much like evil pre-planning to buy condoms, and thus one can’t excuse oneself by being all “oh, Satan gripped me in the moment, and I fell.” (I can attest to the truth of this, as can most of the people I knew at Liberty who had sex. Almost none had safe sex their first time, but most were lucky).
So, the attention focused on Bristol Palin might be negative and “omg pregnant?! scandalous!” but I hope it gets focused into a close-to-home case study of Gov. Palin’s destructive personal beliefs. It’s too vivid an illustration of those beliefs to be relegated to the “no nice person will talk about this” bin.
Oh, how I wish that Michael Bérubé was still blogging, or would start again.
Also, when Palin constantly commodifies Trig to make points about how awesomely awesome she is in comparison to those wretched babykillers, I think it’s sort of fair game to be all “so, ok, you had a special needs baby, which sure is brave and heroic, but shouldn’t that choice go a little bit beyond merely refraining from aborting him? Isn’t the essence of a special-needs kid the idea that one changes one’s life in order to care for it?”
Though, I myself did feel a bit guilty for being all like WHOA that kid is LITTLE to have a mom stumping all over the country, so I understand why it’s a hard argument to make without feeling sexist.
Yes, but nf, as far as we know, there’s nothing wrong with Palin’s baby. Babies with Down’s syndrome often have heart defects, but these are usually diagnosed prenatally, and if those defects aren’t present, as far as I can tell (though Rachel should weigh in), there’s no need for the pregnancy to not culminate normally.
I think her behavior is weird, what we know if it, but I also think that it’s understandable–the fetus was healthy and there’s no reason to think it would be a high-risk birth and she may very much have wanted to get home as soon as she could to the people who had been monitoring her pregnancy all along. We don’t know.
And, considering that she had a perfectly healthy baby, she made the right choice.
I would hope that she would extrapolate from that that I also should have the right to make choices that seem, to outsiders, to be weird or inexplicable, when it comes to deciding what to do with my body, but even if she doesn’t, it doesn’t change the fact that, if I believe women should have bodily autonomy, that goes even for Palin. She doesn’t owe me an explanation.
I guess what I mean is, Palin doesn’t want to treat him as just another baby. Palin wants him to be her Grand Symbol of how far she will go for her beliefs. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong to point out one often-neglected aspect of anti-abortion rhetoric: the post-birth baby’s life.
Well, yeah, I’m torn by that, too. I admit, I love a good “gotcha” as much as the next person. But I still think that we should tread carefully here.
This wasn’t her first rodeo. This was her FIFTH baby. I’d concede her experience and decision making on this topic.
Has the crazy left got a spy I don’t know about? Cause there’s an awful got of conjecture in these comments. We see a world in which abortion is denied? Are you kidding me? Maybe the pregnant girl decided that abortion is not for her?
Or is this another one of those feminist issues where all women have to tow the party line, comrade?
Kooky assumptions, guesswork, and more gossip than a quilting circle. Nice going.
[...] Cat Pants » Oh My God! Did All of Sarah Palin’s Friends and Family Die?Posted 3 hours [...]
As a somewhat neutral (I’m not voting for either McCain or Obama) but nonethelss vested (still a U.S. citizen) observer, I’m fascinated by the whole Palin thing. If I were a Democratic adviser, I’d say ‘damn the torpedoes’ and start the whisper campaign. You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight; the GOP– primarily through its ‘unofficial’ surrogates– has spread all sorts of manure about Obama. Now up pops Governor Palin, who has a litany of problems, and they’re supposed to tread lightly?
I say Georgia is absolutely right, and she’s being kind. The Palin pick was no accident– she’s a hunk of sexy red meat who was vetted solely for the benefit of the Religious Right. Her capability to govern isn’t as important as the wingnut tribal mores to which she subscribes. Her political views have obviously been made public, but the way her personal and professional behavior supposedly jibes with those political views is her main selling point.
You noticed this right away, Aunt B. She isn’t just a pro-gun citizen, she’s also a lifetime NRA member who hunts! Furthermore, she doesn’t just believe in the small government, she has homeschooled her own kids! She doesn’t just believe in the sanctity of all life, she kept a Down’s syndrome baby to term! She doesn’t just support abstinence-only education, she teaches it at home– oops, never mind that one.
I agree that we should stick to points of policy and official behavior in office. By those criteria alone, Palin comes across as a miserable, hypocritical failure. (Her ties to the Stevens syndicate, and her role in Alaska’s Troopergate speak to that.) However, the GOP has been perfecting the politicals of personal destruction for decades. It would be a good idea for the Democrats to give them a taste of their own medicine, as long as they shoot straight. No need for exaggerations and smears when the facts on record make such an easy target.
In short, I don’t care if her daughter is pregnant. Ordinarily, that’s a family matter. However, Governor Palin has trotted out her family as an example of conservative values and polcies (including abstinence-only education) at work, and it turns out her own unwed teenage daughter is pregnant. I’m seeing another potentially genocidal hypocrite vying for a very important office in the executive branch. Again, this may be the least of Palin’s faults, but pointing it out certainly isn’t worse than maintaining whisper campaigns about Barack HUSSEIN Obama being a ’secret Muslim.’
This story is the political equivalent of Barack Obama going to school in Indonesia.
Smoke and mirrors signifying nothing.
Talk about torn…
I’m one that thinks the GOP needs a taste of their own medicine, a total, brutal all-out assault on one of their own, complete with half-truths, exaggeration and good old fashioned fabrication.
OTOH, I have long maintained that candidate’s families should be completely off-limits.
In the end, for me, I say leave the family alone. Maybe, for once, my better angels score a victory.
Exador, it would be impossible to “decide abortion is not for her” if she lived in the world Palin wants, where abortion is not a possible decision to make. The point is that Bristol Palin, 17 year old wife/mother, is a pretty good illustration of the problems with Palin’s policy suggestions.
You guys are just a bunch of crude lesbian femi-nazis angry at the world because God made you women. You need to clean up your act, clean your mouths out with soap and act like the ladies you are supposed to be – not the hostile vulgar asses you try to be.
Exador, are you going to take that from Matt?
Yeah, ’cause Ex really is completely successful at being a hostile vulgar ass when he puts his mind to it. Calling him a wannabee is unfair.
And a crude feminazi? My, won’t Mrs. Schwartz be surprised!
I’m really just glad to see an outsider acknowledge that my hard work of turning everyone who reads me just a little bit feminist has worked!
Brilliant!
And why is it so hard to imagine that a *father* would be taking on some additional responsibilities while his wife brings home the Moose bacon?
Hearing this criticism of Palin makes me all confused — which is the party of “traditional” values again?
IMHO, the idea that Palin should have delivered in Texas or stayed home for more than 3 days after the birth of her last child is sexist. It makes her an irresponsible parent…but that’s a different argument.
Most politicians put their families second to their careers. To expect Sarah Palin to be different doesn’t make sense. I think she should have turned down the VP nomination to spare her daughter the humiliation of being living proof that her Mother’s policies don’t work. But I’m a mom, not a politician.
I, for one, have always liked “Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS”.
I think she is fine to be out and campaigning. I’m glad that her husband is taking care of their kid, that is a wonderful thing. As much as special needs kids need help and watching, lets not fool ourselves here.
1) This is a baby. All babies need astounding amounts of energy and care.
2) The Palin’s aren’t exactly hurting for cash, so I’m sure that they are able to hire all kinds of help that a normal family in this situation might not be.
3) 17 year olds have sex. Astonishing I know. The only reason I care about her daughter being pregnant is the fact that they are trotting this out as a “See! I didn’t have an abortion, and neither is my underaged unwed daughter! Give us a cookie!”
4) Ok, I’m also interested in it as a snarky example of why abstinence only sex ed is a complete and utter failure, but thats not nice, and you won’t hear me say it. … Ok yes you will.
The left wing has really better stop with the name calling. If you want to talk about why Palin is a horrid choice for the US, there are plenty of good reasons that aren’t sexist or bigoted in some other way.
I know plenty of folks in college, where we had condoms and Sex Awareness galore, who got knocked up. Hell, the entire week of Valentines in our dorm was “Love and Lust Week,” where condoms were literally pinned up to the bulletin board.
I know I had one scare senior year.
And honestly, how do we know that a condom was or wasn’t used, but maybe slipped? Or how much about what Bristol knew and didn’t know about Birth Control in general?
I think this talk about supposed abstinence-only comeuppance is merely an excuse to engage in… wait for it… Slut Shaming under the sheep’s clothing of legitimate public policy debate.
I mean, you’re not revelling in the family problems of a political rival. You’re merely pointing out hypocracy.
As Jon Lovitz said, “Yeah, that’s the ticket!”
@ Lee: “condoms were literally pinned up to the bulletin board”
Well, there’s your problem right there. Condoms don’t work as well with pinholes.
@polerin: “The only reason I care about her daughter being pregnant is the fact that they are trotting this out ”
Unless I missed another statement (and I very well might have), all I heard was “she’s pregnant. We love her. She’s getting married and keeping the baby.” Into those facts people insert much more out of a desire to expose hypocrisy. In this case, I honestly don’t see hypocrisy. I see perhaps only a sad irony.
MIke S.: To paraphrase Auguste, it ain’t about the teenage mother, it’s about policy.
Lefties warn up and down about the dangers (or at least uselessness) of pushing abstinence-only ’sex’ education; righties talk about morality and Jeezus and such. Who’s right? The facts show that lefties are right, unless perpetuation the very problems you claim to be fighting is your goal. Now, lo and behold: up pops a VP candidate who publicly pushes for abstinence-only, and her unwed teenage daughter is pregnant. She has publicly stated that she will not support abstinence-only education. While it’s nice that her family is willing to help mitigate the effects of their “sad irony,” not everyone is going to have such flexibility.
This specific issue, of course, then dovetails with the rest of Gov. Palin’s right-wing, anti-choice platform. If people (especially 16-17 year olds) with less options and less support have a “sad irony,” will a VP Palin support universal health and child care so that these at-risk mothers can have the support they need to safely ‘choose life’? Or will a VP Palin just tell them that they should have done what Jeezus said and kept it in their pants (unless their familes are rich and can afford to subsidize a shotgun wedding)?
Again, it ain’t just about the individual case; it’s about public policy.
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Ya see, you could call her a hypocrite if she encouraged her daughter to have an abortion.
Kind of like the left hating America. You may not like their choice but at least they’re consistent.
Oh, yeah, the Left hates America. That’s why we’re the side armed to the teeth against it.
Oh, wait…
I didn’t claim it was hypocrisy. Even in ranting with my wife did it I even think to call it that. It is good that her family is supporting her decision, if it was her decision, and I wish her a good life and a healthy pregnancy out of the media spotlight. What I was talking about is the spin the republican machine has been putting on this.
This would be a perfect time to have a frank and honest discussion about sex education. There are plenty of statistics about what kind of education programs are most effective in lowering the number of pregnancies in at risk populations, but instead of talking about this we have the republican talking heads repeating over and over how this shows Palin’s Pro-life credentials.
There are women who have to drop out of their lives and take to their beds after giving birth, but it’s not a requirement.
It ought to be. At least for someone like Palin who can afford to take a few weeks off without the family going hungry. I realize the governor of a state the size of Alaska is going to have to do a little work, but from what I’ve read on the subject she probably could have spent a little more time at home.
I think any parent who has the ability to take the time off should do so. I judged my oldest friend in the world pretty harshly for only missing 2 days of work when his son was born.
To me it says uncomplimentary things about her priorities. A new baby needs both of his parents. And she decided work was more important. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s pretty bad.
Who’s to say she didn’t take it a bit easier after her son was born. All we know is that she went to this one meeting 3 days afterward – and it was a pretty important meeting. Maybe she went to the meeting and went straight home – maybe she pared down to the events she really had to be at. You gonna kick a mom who goes to the grocery store 3 days after giving birth? It’s not essential for everyone, but maybe she just wanted to get out.
Blecchhh.
My mom missed a final exam because she was in labor with my brother, but she’d studied for it and took a make-up a week later. Want to bitch at her? How ’bout all those fabled pioneer women who got right back to plowing? Wanna bitch at them?
If I were Governor, I’d a been back at work. As it was, if I went back to work too soon during my maternity leave, I’d lose out on thousands and thousands of dollars. So I didn’t. But I live in the UK.
Well, W, she’s a politician. Her priorities are going to be geared towards that. It’s just that, if she were a guy, far fewer people would be judging her harshly on that account.
This is exceptional entertainment watching the kvetching from this quarter about what a mother’s role is.
This is exceptional entertainment watching the kvetching from this quarter about what a mother’s role is.
I couldn’t agree more.
@W “I judged my oldest friend in the world pretty harshly for only missing 2 days of work when his son was born.”
Oooh – can I play? I judge you pretty harshly for likely raising judgmental, pig-headed, cold-hearted little twerps.
Vol Abroad, sure, you’re right there are a lot of shades of gray in what she may have done. I was just basing it on what little I’ve read about her activities. From what I saw it was a little more involved than just attending a meeting. The stuff I read was pretty much bragging that she was back to work full time so soon after her baby was born. But it’s pretty irrelevent to the chances the Republicans have of getting my vote.
@ Mike Like I really give a shit what you think? They might turn out to be judgmental, pig-headed, cold-hearted little twerps but it won’t be because they didn’t know know their father. Nice of you to criticize me for being judgemental when you’re making shitty comments about what I’m ‘likely’ to do. Hypocrite.
Why are people being called sexist regarding Palin when a lot of the comments against her are from women. I am a female Republican and I have read many opinions where people think this is so great that this kid is pregnant, but I’ve heard no one talk about the sexually transmitted diseases these kids can get from not using protection. I guess no one cares about all the other poor american teenagers, with no money or power behind them. When they see that this type of behaviour is ACCEPTABLE, Bristol will have more followers than the welfare system and doctors (FOR THE DISEASES) can take care of.
Because as Bristol Palin goes, so goes America’s youth.
Gwyn: because women can be sexist too. That being said, I do agree that this would be a great opportunity to discuss abstinence only sex-ed, but it’s not going to happen. The stunning display of Roveian framing which the media has fallen into is partially to blame here. From the moment it came out, this story was narrated from the point of view of “look at these evil liberals attacking the Palins!” and positioned in such a way that she is used as an anti-abortion icon, and any mention of her other than a pat on the head then, “ok go be a pregnant girl now.” is virtually impossible to phrase in a way that doesn’t seem to besmirch this newly confirmed saint’s honor.
People make such unwarranted assumptions. According to reports I heard, she doesn’t want the State Sex Ed. That does not mean that parents don’t teach their children. Sex Ed today is not just about contraception and STD and how pregnancy occurs. Check out the various states and county programs and there are a lot of indoctrination on masturbation and pro gay stuff in the programs that offend a lot of parents.
Also she believes in contraception so why do you believe in your stereotypes that contraception is not taught or available in the household?
Plus the hatred directed at Palin by people on this site because she was glad her child decided to have the child and marry is not a wrong opinion. Do people here believe that the child should be forced to have an abortion or that marriage is wrong?
She did not say anything to say she was superior because her child’s baby is going to term. But that is what I am hearing. Many believe that a child is a gift and should be cherished no matter how it was conceived. Is that so bad? Why such hatred to those who believe that? Do you really think that abortion will become illegal? I don’t. That is enshrined by the Supreme Ct.
I am not against abortion but I do not like to see it used for birth control.
Personally I have nothing against sex ed in schools like it was taught in the 1970’s but it is quite different today. Beside I am perfectly capable to teach that to my children. I told my son’s Catholic girlfriend to get birth control and not depend on a condom since that is not perfect. My son is for abortion and would encourage that if a child happened,since he does not want to be responsible. I am not sure that is a good attitude to encourage in our young men.
Once teens get to 17 and 18 they will usually indulge in sex. It is impossible to prevent that as parents.
Gwyn, if you want examples of sexism and double standards among both men AND women in the media covering Palin, here are a few: http://www.dis-equilibrium.com/
I agree that a discussion on the role of sex ed in schools and homes is appropriate. I just wish the media would stop trying to tie national policy to a single anecdote, especially without telling us what sexual education policies are implemented at her school.
I think we have a fine line to walk here between justifiable criticism of her judgment and sexist criticism of her lifestyle.
Just my opinion, but WRT to the birth of her youngest child:
She was having her 5th child. Almost all women go through labor faster with each child. Most women, by delivery #5, pop the kid out in under 6 hours. Her own doctor advised her not to go to Dallas because of the risk of premature labor (higher in older women and with Down’s babies), but she went anyway. When her water broke, she gave her speech and then headed back to Alaska, despite her doctor’s advice to go to the hospital. What this says to me, and what I feel is an appropriate criticism of her in this context, is that she doesn’t listen to her advisors if their advice runs counter to what she wants to do. Another legitimate concern would be about how she really feels about Alaska becoming its own country, because if Trig had been born in Dallas, he would not have been a “native-born” Alaskan – was her decision to go back to Alaska driven by ideology? Finally, as long as she was in good shape following the delivery and felt she could go back to work, good for her – the only possible criticism of this decision IMO that isn’t sexist would be if she was so drugged up on painkillers or so punchy from lack of sleep that she was unable to function well at the office, which by all accounts does not seem to have been the case.
As far as her daughter’s situation goes, I think the only thing that can be legitimately criticized without going into slut-shaming territory is how she allowed the campaign to put her family on parade. While it is important to see a candidate’s family sometimes, I think she should have put her foot down about the exposure. I believe Chelsea, Jenna, and Barbara were pretty much in the background except for a few pressers when they were minors.