Messages By: kleesun

I'm shocked by the number of teenagers I've had tell me that "the doctor said I couldn't get pregnant" for whatever reason.  What kind  of GYN would tell that to a 15-year-old??  Are these doctors from Mars??  Hello--do you really want them to go out and test that theory?

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I think the issue for me is that some people are good parents, period, regardless of age.  However, if they were good moms at 15, 16, 17, isn't it likely they would have been even better moms at 25, 26, 27 after they'd finished school and had some work experience?  I would never say that teens *can't* be good parents (not as a blanket statement, certainly), but those that are surely would be even better parents if they waited until they were adults.  I would have been a good mom at 18, but I'd be a FABULOUS mom now at 31, with a college education and a solid job.

Babies deserve to have mature, stable parents, and do not need the "job" of straightening out footloose teenagers. 

And I agree that we need better sex ed in this country.  My mother made sure I knew all of that, including what happens to your body, what health risks can be involved, and what can happen emotionally.  In spite of what some in the religious Right would have you believe, it definitely did NOT tempt me to go out and have sex.  If anything, it made me want to put it off.  Kids need to know the full story and parents need to quit being squeamish about it.

 "Most recently, I’ve come across a red light photo blocker. You can spray it onto your license plate, and if you accidentally went through a red light, it would overexpose the film, and they can’t send you a ticket. I thought I was led by the Lord to do this business, but so far I’ve only sold two cans.”

Wait--so he was led by God to sell a product that helps people break the law and endanger others' lives by running red lights?  Somebody please explain the Christianity in that one to me, because I don't get it.

I guess, though, if they were logical, they wouldn't be on the Dr. Phil show in the first place . . .

 I'm not very religious, but I do believe that God helps those who help themselves, and the only things these people are helping themselves to is her parents' money.  I wanted to shake that guy--get a clue!  Feeling like doing something and being led by God to do it aren't the same thing; I feel like being a freelance artist and musician but reality is that I need a day job to pay my own way.  I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if I was mooching the way these people are mooching.

There is nothing wrong with homeschooling or with being anti-materialist, but you have to provide for your family and you have to have a realistic view of your life.  Getting hand-outs from your inlaws doesn't count as "providing".  And you know what?  My mother felt the same way; that she couldn't deny a life, until economic reality hit and she figured out she and my dad could never support the four kids she wanted (they had two instead).

So, their laziness is because they're college graduates?  i don't know where they went to school, but I busted my backside in college (and that includes working kitchen help and dishwasher jobs).  Oh, and I've worked since I was seventeen (full-time since I got out of college), as have virtually all of my friends, except a few who have very small children.

Apart from that, though, I do agree with you:

I'm not religious (I'm one of those infidels we've just been warned about).  I don't care what religion someone is--you have to support your family.  I don't care what it says or does not say in the Bible, common sense and decency require it.  I couldn't face myself if I was mooching off my parents (apparently Carol and Rich are the Gods that will provide?  Except they sound like they're sick of being the gravy train, so that all may end soon) and abusing their trust and goodwill.  I suppose those kids are happy enough, considering, but I'm about 99.8% sure that if you asked them if they'd be happier as they are, or with running water, regular baths, and better food, the answer would be the latter.  How can you keep a newborn baby and its clothing clean enough without running water?  Where in the heck is child services?

Likewise, whatever your religion says, I strongly believe that one has a personal responsibility not to have children one cannot afford.  I am single and do not make a lot of money; therefore, I do not have any children.  I love kids and would love to have a family, but I am not in a position to provide a stable home and all a child needs (both materially and in terms of time and attention, since I have to work full-time).  Sometimes self-control is a real kill-joy, but that's part of adulthood. 

Susan keeps saying, "I don't understand.  I don't understand the mind of a pedophile."

Um, she caught him performing oral sex on her nine-year-old daughter--WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW??




I mean, isn't that enough?  MORE than enough??

I'm a straight female Christian and this just makes me want to cry.

I just do not see how any straight couple can possibly think that gay marriage "cheapens" their own union.  That's the equivalent of thinking that your neighbor's lousy eating habits are causing you to gain weight.  If you feel that same-sex couples make your marriage somehow "weaker", doesn't that really reflect an insecurity on YOUR part?  Shouldn't you be looking inward to see why you feel so threatened by something that doesn't actually have anything to do with you?

If your sons are asking if it means they'll "have to marry a boy", then they are confused, but the answer they need is not one of hate and alienation.  The answer is, "No, of course not.  It just means that other people who feel differently can marry the people they love."