Natalie Portman...is she really a horrible example??

[CW&M Mom]

And if he had spoken in similar fashion about Charlie Sheen or the MTV teen mom's....way less people would of found it annoying/offensive/stupid/irritating ect....

He would of forced us to agree with him.

[meggers]

Well you can officially say you know one. I am a single woman who has never been married and I have a two year old. I have a full time job with health insurance, I own my home, and my child has a college savings acct. NOT ONE DIME from the government. I also coupon clip, buy mostly second hand clothing, and recycle (I just added that to see if you were paying attention).

I read about his comments from our liberal media today - and my first reaction was obviously annoyance. But then I considered the republican "dont do as I do do as I say, I'm a man and I know whats best" source. I also realize that politicians, movie stars, etc have to say things in order to stay in the media and subsequently the public eye. He accomplished his goal - people are talking about him.

However his choice of talking about Natalie Portman only shows how out of touch he is - a much better choice is MTV's Teen Mom. Admittedly I have never seen the show - but I think it is deplorable for MTV to glamourize teen mothers, and then for them to waste the money from their 15 minutes of fame, sad really.

I wanted my child more than anything else in the world but at 35, I had not found the love of my life. Was I supposed to give up all my dreams waiting for Mr Likely Not going to show up... or should I have just married Mr. You'll Do, I want a Baby and Society says I have to be Married?

And dont get me wrong, I am envious of people who fall in love, get married and have 2.5 children and a white picket fence. But I can't discount or put down people for making it work "non-traditionally."

You were 35 though. That's a far cry from a 16 year old high school junior. You were established in your career & made a decision to have a child that you knew you could support. That's you're right & I'm sure you're a wonderful mom.

You kinda took what I said there & applied it to a situation that wasn't even on the table. We still have to face the facts that most single parent situations are not planned out as well as yours & they struggle greatly because of it.

[CW&M Mom]

ahem...again.

Natalie Portman is 29

[meggers]

Natalie Portman is engaged to the father and from what it sounds like they have a very healthy relationship.

She's not alone. She's also 29....not 17 or 18 or 19. Not a teenager..and college educated. Heck not even most of Hollywood have a college degree. She graduated from Harvard and has taken graduate classes as well.

She has more education than I do....and technically has better means to take care of her baby...yet she's the bad one...and I'm the good one for the sole reason that I'm married.


Why was Huckabee not critizie Bristol Palin?. Palin has no real career. Bristol has no real education, no means to actually really support herself other then celbritizing herself and her child. She also has parents that enable her behavior..trying to make it sound better than it truly is.

I don't recall anyone "glamourizing" Bristol Palin's pregnancy, except maybe herself. The problem Huckabee sees with all this is that it's widely accepted by all who see & know. It's being brushed off as just another moment in the life of a celebrity. While having a child out of wedlock is a personal choice with many, he doesn't agree with the choice & neither do I.

That doesn't make anyone a bad mother, but there are still some folks that prefer to see the family unit as God intended it to be. Huckabee & I are 2 of them. It's lookin' like I might be alone in that here though.

[meggers]

When did Huckabee talk about age, Dug? I don't recall that being part of his issue. His issue is in the glamourization of an unmarried woman about to have a child. Something those that ARE 17, 18 & 19 are vulnerable to. Those 17 year olds are the one's getting pregnant with no education to fall back on & no job or insurance. They're the one's seeing fairy tale relationships all over the television & movie screen & finding themselves pregnant with no dad in sight. THAT is what Huckabee is trying to say!

This is her decision & she is old enough to make it. We've established that. That is not the issue with her. The age issue is with those getting pregnant. And although Natalie Portman's pregnancy is not the sole cause of our societal issues, his point goes beyond one person. I, too, wish he had brought up MTV & a few other folks, but he didn't. Let's not miss the point just because he didn't pick the one's you would have though.

[CW&M Mom]

I wouldn't of even realized they were not an regular "family unit" except he brought it up.

If I'm going to focus my energy on teaching my children proper family units...I'm not going to focus on Hollywood at all anyways. The concern can come up...with the tween type media focus that 13ish and up girls see. Natalie Portman is absolutely not one of them.

Remember I was raised being taught extremely strict guidelines on the "family unit" never once did my parents bring up anyone in Hollywood to look at as an example either way.

Between my cousins and I there are over 40 of us. We were all raised in a very similar fashion. Being taught our family value's with religious meaning and works...not via "what would Natalie Portman do". Of all of us...there is only 1 that got pregnant before she got married. So apparently what method that was used with my family and my extended family must work pretty darn good.

[CW&M Mom]

Why do I keep bringing up age.

you said this:


You were 35 though. That's a far cry from a 16 year old high school junior. You were established in your career & made a decision to have a child that you knew you could support. That's you're right & I'm sure you're a wonderful mom.

Giving our HCW a pass because she's 35 and she has an established career. Natalie Portman is 29 and has a BA and has an established career and more money than any of us will ever see. She will probably be a wonderful mom as well.

[Smee]

You know, I'm not outraged or offended, but it does make me roll my eyes that these personal responsibility & bootstrap preaching types are some of the worst at blaming people for other people's shortcomings.

Meggers, I think you're conflating issues. I think there's a big difference between thinking children are best raised by married parents and thinking celebrities or anyone else should in any way be responsible for anyone else's perceived shortcomings. I realize that media influence exists, but I still believe the individual is responsible for their participation in it.

[CW&M Mom]

If he's going to bring up the point...he should bring up the point with people that tweens and teens actually care about and look up to. If he's going to cite that teens that get pregnant have an alarming rate of dependency on the government, no to little education, poor job prospects...then he should at least have the decency to point out an actual Holllywood TEEN that has made the same decision.

He did not. He actually didn't specify teens...he said single moms in general. When you generalize expect people to point out the hypocrisy of your statement. He shouldn't be surprised the flack he gets.

[meggers]

Why do I keep bringing up age.

you said this:


You were 35 though. That's a far cry from a 16 year old high school junior. You were established in your career & made a decision to have a child that you knew you could support. That's you're right & I'm sure you're a wonderful mom.

Giving our HCW a pass because she's 35 and she has an established career. Natalie Portman is 29 and has a BA and has an established career and more money than any of us will ever see. She will probably be a wonderful mom as well.

I never said she wouldn't make a good mom. I was talking about young girls who want to become pregnant because it's the cool thing to do. I only brought up age because those are the kids that are not educated & able to support themselves as Huckabee mentioned.

It was blossomed that came in & told her story & mentioned her age. I then confirmed that she was 35 & made a decision AS AN ADULT. Not 16 & thinking it's cool to have a kid. I was making a comparison by who is & isn't influenced in this particular situation. Of course a 35 year old isn't going to be influenced to have a baby because everyone's doing it. They're well aware of what it takes. A 16 year is NOT.

You know, I'm not outraged or offended, but it does make me roll my eyes that these personal responsibility & bootstrap preaching types are some of the worst at blaming people for other people's shortcomings.

Meggers, I think you're conflating issues. I think there's a big difference between thinking children are best raised by married parents and thinking celebrities or anyone else should in any way be responsible for anyone else's perceived shortcomings. I realize that media influence exists, but I still believe the individual is responsible for their participation in it.

Well sure, but since when has society not played a role in everyone's life at one point or another? Since when has peer pressure not been to blame for some of the dumbest stunts known to Twitter?

We've all got a responsibility to children. While the decision to do or not to do ultimately belongs to each of us, influence is very real. I don't necessarily believe Natalie Portman's decision will bring about a rash of teen pregnancies, but the fact that youth are inclined to follow the crowd, we still have to worry about who & what that crowd is glorifying.