Poor Single Mom

[Pheonix23B]

You also lose health care for your children, you get no help with day care, and lose your food subsidies. We need to fix Medicaid and welfare so that people who need it can still receive help while working.

I doubt we will see such changes in our lifetime.

 

[FreeWorkVest]

Sad but true. Republicans only seem to care about life in the womb. After birth, well, thats when the death penalty comes into play.

 

[Pheonix23B]

This thread has actually depressed me.

 

[HisHoliness]

This thread has actually depressed me.

:homo:

 

[GraceAbounds]

doesn't doing the right thing depend on how you were raised and what you were shown to believe on what is the right thing to do.

Imo, no - doing the right thing does not depend on how you were raised. At some point you have to step up and take responsibility for your own actions regardless of the cruddy home life you may have had. 'Generation Pass The Buck'. But regardless, everyone knows that it is illegal to sell drugs. I stand by my previous statement.

 

[dt3]

Well Mom #2 wouldn't be a very good mother if she ends up in prison, would she?

 

[GraceAbounds]

Yes, superb.

 

[FreeWorkVest]

This thread is seriously lacking in...

DANCING KITTENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GraceAbounds]

In the US, we still carry the Puritan/Calvinist idea that poverty is punishment for not being right with god. We treat poor people like they somehow deserve what they get, and throw stumbling blocks to them getting out from under it.

Someone actually told me (a christian no less) that it was a sin to accept public assistance, and that it was better for the children to go hungry. I told him maybe he bought a joke bible, take mine. I was stunned. He was in a position of leadership to.

Sorry ... couldn't help myself.

Good on you FWV for trying to educate him on the true heart of Christ.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Doing the right thing 99% of the time usually tends to be the harder thing to do, but in the long run pays much higher dividends in all aspects of life.

huh? what?

I think that was her way of saying that mom #1 is doing a better job than mom #2, all other things equal (which I think you implied)...

ditto to what grace said

I have to agree that while mom #1 may be working harder to make ends meet in the mid-long run she'll be better off. Mom #2 may be making faster money but soooner or later the odds are that the illegal activities will catch up with her and then she and her family will be the worse off for it.

 

[Pheonix23B]

but is mom#2 a BAD PERSON/MOTHER for trying to feed her children in a not so conventional way?

 

[SRC]

I hope i didnt word this wrong. i typed it out and hit 'post' i have a friend of a friend of a friend..etc.. who is living off the system and selling drugs and other illegal stuff to support her children, she isnt a bad mother. she doesnt abuse them, neglect them, she doesnt even do drugs, but she does this in order to provide for her young children. why is this ok? because life dealt her a shitty hand? why is my other friend struggling with 2 jobs just to provide just the same for her children

 

[Pheonix23B]

That made me chuckle. Thanks.

 

[GameCrazed]

I think they're both good Mother's.

Though personallyy, I like Mom #2 better, cause she's a strong multi-tasker. She's supporting her children while simultaneusly fucking over the system.

God Bless the drug dealers. Every one of them.

 

[GraceAbounds]

I think they're both good Mother's.

One is not being a 'good' mother. She is breaking the law and putting her children's future in jeopardy.

Though personallyy, I like Mom #2 better, cause she's a strong multi-tasker.

She is a criminal is what she is.

She's supporting her children while simultaneusly fucking over the system.

She is teaching her kids to lie, take the easy way out, break the law, be a criminal, a non productive member of society, etc. etc. etc.

God Bless the drug dealers. Every one of them.

Blessings. Curses. Choices.
Yeah, this is not the type of behavior that is going to get spiritual blessings.

 

[Natasha]

but is mom#2 a BAD PERSON/MOTHER for trying to feed her children in a not so conventional way?

YES...b/c by doing so she's putting her children in harm's way.

One is not being a 'good' mother. She is breaking the law and putting her children's future in jeopardy.

:homo:

She is a criminal is what she is.

:homo:

She is teaching her kids to lie, take the easy way out, break the law, be a criminal, a non productive member of society, etc. etc. etc.

:homo:

Blessings. Curses. Choices.
Yeah, this is not the type of behavior that is going to get spiritual blessings.

:homo:

 

[skyblue]

YES...b/c by doing so she's putting her children in harm's way.



:homo:



:homo:



:homo:



:homo:

:homo:

 

[thatguyjeff]

but is mom#2 a BAD PERSON/MOTHER for trying to feed her children in a not so conventional way?

Yes, she is a bad person. And convention has nothing to do with it.

Engaging in an illegal occupation is inherently dangerous to the family. Prison? Killed in a drug deal gone bad? Now the children are left without either parent.

Unconventional sources of income are fine, so long as there isn't unecessary risk that would indirectly impact the safety and welfare of the children. Of course, how one defines "unnecessary risk" is another matter entirely. But I think most would agree that illegal activities add exponential direct risk to the parent and the trickle down (at the very least, if not directly) impacts the children.

 

[Pheonix23B]

so if she loves her children just as much as mom#1 and simply wants to provide for her children as much as mom#1, it makes her a bad person. i think shes a good person for doing what she needs to do to feed her kids, but i also think she can do it in a better and different way.

 

[thatguyjeff]

so if she loves her children just as much as mom#1 and simply wants to provide for her children as much as mom#1, it makes her a bad person.

No it doesn't. That's not what I'm saying at all.

Loving and providing for your children are good things that good people do. Putting your children at risk by engaging in an illegal occupation is not something that good, loving parents do.

I wonder if it's even possible for mom #2 to love her children as much as mom #1 (assuming love is even measurable). What I mean is, how can a parent who loves their children and truly has the children's best interests in mind put them at risk like that? The answer is they don't have their children's interest in mind. Parent #2, by engaging in such an occupation, is being selfish.

It's reasonable to assume that drug dealing is a quick, relatively easy way to make money. If it wasn't, not so many people would be doing it. Mom #2 could work hard by keeping a legitimate job (or two jobs, or three jobs), but instead she chooses to take the easy way out. Choosing the easier route has nothing to do with loving the children. It's all about mom #2 and her own selfish needs. Selfish mom = poor parent by choice (not ignorance) = bad person.

I'll add that my opinion is based on the assumption that we're talking about two similarly situated mothers here. Both have equal physical and mental abilities, equivalent education, are of the same race (because racism still exists and different races could give one an advantage over another - not the way it should be, it's just the way the world is), same age, and socioeconomic status/background. When all else is equal, mother #2 is a bad person IMHO.

The problem is it's difficult to find two mothers who have the same background as I have described. Being that this is a hypothetical situation, it's easier for me to be more objective.

I am in no way saying that anyone who does anything illegal is a bad parent/person. And I'm not saying that bad parents are bad people. There are plenty of parents out there who make bad decisions due to ignorance. Ignorance does not make someone a bad person. And everyone makes mistakes from time to time as well. What I'm saying is that people who knowingly make decisions for their own selfish reasons that have (or have significant potential to have) a negative effect on others (particularly children who aren't capable of protecting themselves) are bad people.

The unfortunate truth is that not all of us are in a situation where there is a clear choice between illegal and legitimate occupations. Good people are sometimes forced into doing things they would rather not do due to circumstances beyond their control.