Alright, let’s try our darndest and hardest to put politics aside. Let’s…*gulp* put ourselves in Bristol Palin’s shoes for a bit.
You’ve got a famous mom, whose political career is skyrocketing even as she nearly single-handedly sunk her running mate’s last chance for the American presidency. Somewhere in there, you were having unprotected hot teenage sex with your high school sweetheart, and BAMMO, the two worlds converge — your sex life and your mother’s political career.
You keep the baby. Who knows, maybe you were gonna keep him anyhow. Something happens behind the scenes and the father of your child is cast into the Alaskan wilderness, supposedly cut off by your family. He goes off, mouths off about your family, traipses about on Kathy Griffin’s arm, poses nude for Playgirl, and now he’s suing you for joint custody!
Ladies, can we ever imagine what Bristol Palin is going through? But now that I’ve asked you to step into her shoes, what would you do? Does the father of a child automatically have the right to be a father to that very child, despite his actions? If he hasn’t done anything criminal, per se, isn’t that more reason to have the child in his life? Or can someone’s words disqualify them from parenthood?
And of course — if these people weren’t famous, would we feel differently about Levi Johnston’s claims?
Twirlites, sound off in the comments please!
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Comments
granolajoe
November 12th, 2009 - 12:10:05 PM
I fail to understand how criticizing the Palin family or posing with celebrities and in magazines should disqualify Levi from being able to take part in his child's life. The implication here is that fathers should potentially be excluded from their children's lives, simply because they don't get along with the mother. That's simply ridiculous.
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Maria M
November 12th, 2009 - 1:28:05 PM
I agree with granolajoe - Levi is clearly an idiot, but he's also just a young guy who's been caught up in some serious media circus bullsh*t. Granted, he didn't need to do Playgirl, and he should have kept his mouth shut, but realistically, he's probably no worse a father than any other guy his age. I think he has every right to be in his child's life.
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anniem
November 12th, 2009 - 1:59:42 PM
The bigger tragedy here is that a national teachable moment was squandered. The US has more teenage pregnancies than any other industrialized country--and it's not that US teens are more sexually active. 34% of US women have at least one pregnancy before they turn 20. When Betty Ford had breast cancer, media attention resulted in a nation-wide increase in women learning about breast exams and seeking treatment for lumps. Nothing positive came out of this political-yet-personal crisis, though. Back in the day, Betty Ford cancer articles probably all ended with a health message that reminded women the importance of self-exam. Imagine if every Bristol baby article ended with the importance of condom availability for teenagers.
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Christie
November 13th, 2009 - 6:07:00 AM
true dat, anniem!
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