Click here to read this article
I kind of reeled when I read this article. I understand the idea that single mothers could be a drain on the economy but to attack them as scapegoats is horrendous. Blaming some part of the riots on the fact that single parents were unable to provide a moral background and nurture their child is sick. Single parents do not have the support network that a “normal” family does (at least that’s what I assume coming from a “normal” two-parent family).
The fact that a style of home life can be labeled “normal” is in itself bad; it immediately places concerns and pressures on anyone not from the mainstream.
Perhaps single parents have become scapegoats because Britain does not wish to admit that social mobility is not as simple as the country would like (as the article brings up). So then the misfortune or informed decision of a parent becomes the problem of a nation that does not want to see it as the country’s issue but more as a personal one.
What could be done about this particular scapegoat any if the idea is perpetuated? Will Britain simply stop supporting such a sizeable chunk of its population and watch people die? Not only the parents but also the children they seek to support?
As a woman who one day hopes to have children, by myself or with a partner, I cannot imagine living in a system where my decision was vilified. What does this mean for the single mothers and fathers living in Britain right now? Not to mention their children who are now labeled as part of the issue?
What does this mean for single mothers and fathers living in Britain right now?
ReplyDeleteIt makes their situation impossible. If a single parent cannot afford to send their children to nurseries, they won't be able to take jobs. If they are unable to take jobs, they need state subsidy to support their single-parent families. Moreover, if a single parent were to take a job, they will always have the disadvantage of being the only one taking care of a child. People who don't have kids, and those who have kids and partners will always have more chance of getting the same job, because when the child is sick, someone has to stay at home and take care of them. In case of a single parent family, it's not much of a choice...
-Adrienn Szlapak