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Well, although I've got these bags under my eyes and I'm definitely tired,
my mood is much better today, thanks. So, when I go out to lunch, I usually listen to the radio. Since it's an am only radio, I'm pretty much stuck with newstalk. At lunchtime, this station plays Dr. Laura. Have any of you ever listened to this woman? I know she's got a following, and sure, I'd heard about her a little before, but I'd never really gave it a good listen. The first time I listened, I wanted to call her up and scream at her. After several days of tuning in, I realize this would be fruitless; they'd never let me through. "Hi Dr. Laura. My name is Allison and I'm my kid's mom." (I'm not quite sure what that's supposed to mean, although I'm beginning to glean that the highest praise for a woman in Dr. Laura's world is something along the lines of "stay at home mom", which is probably what she means by that phrase. That phrase drives me nuts, and I find myself muttering it under my breath, "Hi, I'm Heather Shaw and I'm my kid's mom. Not that I have any kids." Not that if I had them I'd follow ANY of this insane woman's advice. But I digress...) "Hi Allison, very good." "Hi. My dillema is this: I'm a 23 year old with two kids, and I stay at home with them." "Very good, Allison! How old are they? And are you married?" "4 and 5 and yes, I'm happily married. My dillema is this: my husband's parents are taking us on a family vacation, but his unmarried sister is going with her boyfriend, and I..." "Yes. It's wrong, Allison." "That's what I was thinking...so, should I tell them I won't go unless the unmarried sister leaves her boyfriend at home?" "No. As a parent you have to protect your kids. You should tell them you're simply not going, and only if they ask should you tell them why. You don't want to give them a chance to defend themselves. (insert Dr. Laura making fun of those damn free-thinking liberals in a funny voice)" "So, it's wrong." "Yes, they're very wrong. Don't let your kids see even hang around this unmarried sister; she's a bad influence." And so on. I listen (I know you're wondering why I subject myself to this) to remind myself of my roots. Well, ok, the place where I grew up. According to Dr. Laura, having sex outside marriage "is not the action of a smart woman" because you're risking a pregnancy. Nevermind birth control - I haven't heard her opinion on that, but I'm sure it's something along the lines of either "it could fail; nothing is 100%" or "why would you use birth control with your husband? (the old birth control is evil)". In Dr. Laura's reality, any woman who is raising a child in anything other than a male/female marriage is raising this child to be a bad adult. No "it takes a village", no way. It's solely the parent's responsibility (mainly that stay-at-home mom) to care for their child; anyone else is "meddling" or, if they don't subscribe to this model, "dangerous". What. The. Hell. ? I can't even go on a decent rant about this, because she offends me on so many levels! She attacks anyone who has a different religion, different belief. She won't listen to anyone who thinks that maybe, just maybe, having an open mind is a good thing to show to kids. A woman who has kids by more than one man is the equivalent of a crack whore on welfare to this lady. And she's rude! She doesn't listen, but interupts with her own thoughts before the situation is explained, then complains that no one listens to her when people try to clarify. She makes fun of people and calls them names, and is only nice in a self-righteous way to those who call just to hear Dr. Laura tell them they're right! This is the worst advice show I've ever heard - totally predictable, and either you're calling for a yes-man or you're calling to be a scapegoat. And the scary thing is how popular she is! People look to her like Dear Abby! But, I'll tell you this: as conservative as Dear Abby is, she certainly has tried at least to change with the times. And, more importantly: Dear Abby can admit when she's wrong.. I think Dr. Laura is a dangerous, dangerous woman - much more dangerous than any unconventional family or unmarried, co-habitating couple (or triad). If I were Buffy the Vampire slayer for just one day, I'd certainly test my strength out on her first. | ||
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