why don't you kick a puppy

I'm so sick of hearing people bash the octuplets mom. Obviously she isn't quite in her right mind, who is that would do such a thing on purpose? Why are people so inflamed about one person who did something kind of stupid? Don't we have other things to worry about?

I'm not really sure what fertility treatments have to do with this at all; a fertile woman can still irresponsibly have fourteen children without a job or a partner helping raise them or any visible means of support. Having eight at once does increase the risk that they will end up with no parent at all, and is very likely to cost a small fortune in not only immediate medical treatment but lifetime care needs. But either way, haven't we seen parents act selfishly and irresponsibly for a very long time? I don't vilify this particular woman, the cold hard facts are that she couldn't have done this without the help of a not very wise doctor. If you want to hang an irresponsibility label on someone, well, there's the culprit as far as I'm concerned.

In my not so humble opinion, we are a whole country of instant gratification junkies with poor judgment. What's extremely off putting about this particular situation to me is the whole "kill your parents, then cry Orphan" aspect. Jon and Kate have CHURCHES sell tickets on their behalf for speaking engagements. The octuplets' mom now has a website for begging. Who can blame the public for being a little miffed about paying for her manicures? I can't remember the last time I had a leg wax. It would be more cost effective to become a lesbian. And holy crap, has anyone seen Jon and Kate's new freaking mansion?

And who defines what responsible means? I was in a very low risk category, my husband and I had two college degrees, two incomes and everything still turned out crappy. My health was obliterated by pregnancy and birth, my baby turned out to have autism, and my husband had to take off six months of work to care for both of us; we ended up declaring bankruptcy despite careful planning and supposedly good health insurance. We would likely have ended up in a homeless shelter without the charity of our families. But never once would I have considered asking them to house and care for my fourteen kids. The person I feel sorry for is octuplets' grandma. Followed by the kids, I guess, who I just can't imagine aren't going to be neglected in some way.

But whatever. Why not care about something that matters instead. You know, like finding a cure for autism. Or the lack of housing for adults with disabilities. Or the lack of decent housing for low income families. I mean what the h do we pay taxes for city planners for? Or offering rehab for pregnant persons. Or insisting that neutral third party agencies create I.E.P.'s, not the schools who have a financial conflict of interest that have to execute them. Or reducing prescription drug costs for seniors. Or the millions of unemployed people who are becoming homeless. I could go on for days about the things that we should REALLY be indignant about.

Sigh. I didn't think my blog would turn into a "rant only" zone. Something positive coming next time, I promise.