I don't get any benefits from the US..still people calling me names as if I'm using the system!

then you have selective hearing and vision

the sentiment about 'moochers' who shouldn't have children , whose family should just be left on a street somewhere, as opposegetting a 'free ride' is expressed daily in these threads, and I hear it daily in real time too,,,

also, the world is bigger than the USA,, there are citizens of the USA living all over the world,, it doesn't mean they suddenly don't know about America or shouldn't have an opinion about it,,,

None of that has to do with the original topic of this thread.

it absolutely has to do with the disrespect shown to mothers if they have no man to help with the child and must resort to public assistance or 'free rides'

^^^
I do think we're getting there though.. some countries sooner than others of course. Don't think it was possible to get to the latter straight away. If you have to break free from ways of life that have been culturally ingrained for centuries, you have to go to the other extreme first in order to succeed. Had the women's movement done it hesitantly, subtly, it would've gotten decimated before they even started.
After the upheaval of that settles down, society as a whole will have to find a balance, the right one this time.
I feel this is what's going on at the mo...

The original topic is based on the following post that the OP gives on page 1:

Ops made a comment on a different thread where she stated that " she chose to be a single parent".. her words.. and that is fine. Everyone has that right.

There were no government programs (that she now wants) in place before she made this decision.. but now she complains about not having them.

If you make a life changing decision... you are responsible for that decision.. including financial responsibilities. Not outside entities or people who had no input into your decision making process. (i.e. taxpayers)

When I said I chose, it meant that instead of having my daughter grow up with abuse I chose to take her away from it. Many women are choosing to have children without men for this reason, whereas before children would more often grow up with abuse. I'm working on a complete separation from her father, this choice would be easier if there were more laws to help mothers. I just found out that the US does not offer paid maternity leave like almost 160 other countries in the world do, and I was surprised. Also, single mothers are definitely looked down on in the US. In other countries all that matters is the mother is doing her job, no one blames her for the father being in the picture or not. Not so in America, single mothers are blamed for not 'keeping their legs closed', or for not 'getting and keeping a man', and for getting a 'free ride off the backs of the tax-payers'. It's so funny how screwed up society is in America, the only country who doesn't respect mothers on any level. And, since I am American and I get to vote from anywhere in the world and pay taxes, I still have a say in the matter.

Well, I have to tell you Estelle. We have single Mom's in our company and they are certainly NOT looked down upon.. just the opposite... they are admired for their value to the company and they are admired as being good Mom... BTW.. many of them are managers or above.. well respected because of the hard work they have done.. So I don't buy into your blanket statement

This is true. There are plenty of single moms on this site, and they aren't disrespected because they are mothers.

Besides, the issue of maternity leave has nothing to do with whether or not a baby has both parents in the home.

the original topic is society does not respect mothers

the first post was U.S. does not respect mothers.


all other posts relate to that one

true.





mothers who earn an income are respected as good 'mothers'

but Estelle is on spot about the rest,,,what she said about

all that matters is the mother is doing her job, no one blames her for the father being in the picture or not. Not so in America, single mothers are blamed for not 'keeping their legs closed', or for not 'getting and keeping a man', and for getting a 'free ride off the backs of the tax-payers'.

if the bills are paid by them or a man,, great

if they get help elsewhere,, they are disrespected for it,,,and the insults Estelle mentions are the prevalent rationale behind the disrespect

Estelle cited international statistics about maternity leave in an attempt to prove her claim that mothers in America aren't respected.

The existence of the Family and Medical Leave Act refutes her claim.

she posted a COMPARISON,,

it didn't refute the opinion that mothers aren't respected

(just for being mothers)

Estelle's complaint is that mothers of babies aren't respected unless they are given paid maternity leave for who knows how long.

I believe she had a general complaint about mothers not being respected

one of her examples was a comparison of our maternal leave compared to other countries,,,


she also gave suggestions of some things that could be better, which included longer maternity leave

,,,but that's one of many things relating to the thread and the first post about mothers not being respected,,,

The first post in this thread simply says, "U.S. does not respect mothers."

When people challenged Estelle to support her claim, she posted the following:

Do you have an opinion about that example of disrespect for mothers in the US? Do you think other countries are wrong or do you agree that the US should offer some kind of paid parental leave? (Sick leave is not maternity leave, as pregnant women are not ill)

The U.S is still very considerate regarding those....other nations are not like that so the U.S is still better