Granted. This is not a very OI post. But it’s my blog – and so I figured, where better to spout my opinion?
First of all, I’m tired of people making Nadya Suleman out to be a horrendous villain. Have you watched Jon and Kate Plus 8? No wonder Nadya thought she’d get a little love from the public – the Gosselins have made a living out of having multiples!
And it’s not just the free tummy tuck and hair plugs that Kate and Jon received either. It’s the free trips…to everywhere! It’s the free Gymboree wardrobe. At least the Duggars still shop at thrift stores! I’m using a lot of exclamation points, I apologize.
Kate is also – well, how shall I say it? Not very nice. Jon, I thought, was whipped in the beginning – now I think he’s just whiney. And neither one of them holds a job!!! (there I go again) The Duggars at least rent out properties and make their living that way. I also know that the Duggars would be able to support their kids without their TV show and book deal. The Gosselins? Not so much.
Before the Gosselins got their show they put up a website seeking donations. In fact, from what I understand, they put it up before the babies were born – asking for things like: a house and a 15 passenger van.
And they got them.
What makes Jon and Kate so different than Nadya? The fact that they’re married? The fact that they only had two kids (twins) before the sextuplets were born?
Further, why is OK for some women to have abortions and exercise their “reproductive rights” that way, but it’s not OK for Nadya to exercise her reproductive rights to have all of her embryos implanted? If we want the government to stay out of my uterus if I want to kill my baby – why are there so many “liberally” minded people suddenly calling for restrictions on how many children I can have? Back off.
It’s absolutely appalling.
No wonder Nadya is confused. Jon and Kate are heroes. They don’t have jobs. They might not get government funding – but they don’t need it. They didn’t have a media frenzy forcing companies to not support them. At $10 or $20 a pop for an autographed picture, who needs food stamps?
Let me add too, that Kate was also warned not to have so many embryos implanted – and they too were not in any financial position to have so many children at once. And yet Dr. Phil and Oprah put the Gosselins on a pedestal while simultaneously kicking Nadya Suleman repeatedly while she’s down.
Personally, I think they should all support themselves – give your money to charities for children suffering with cancer or something else you believe in.
I’ll put in a plug for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, since I have a son with Type 1 Diabetes!
For a great in-depth article on the real Jon and Kate read Jon & Kate + 8=$$$
Leila says:
Thanks Mish for this. I also read the article you linked to at the end of your post. Very nice.
Oh. and reproductive rights are, as you imply, misunderstood. Most think that it’s all about the abortion but it goes beyond and encompasses keeping babies, location of the birth, etc.
5th March 2009 at 3:20 pm
Nicole says:
I want to respectfully one of your facts. Kate didn’t have in-vitro, but rather artificial insemination after taking clomid. Therefor, she didn’t have control over how many embryos would result.
5th March 2009 at 10:44 am
Nicole says:
Oops, I meant to write “respectfully correct.”
5th March 2009 at 10:45 am
Mish says:
Thank you very much for that! I appreciate the correction!
Best,
Mish
5th March 2009 at 10:49 am
Jon and Kate Plus 8 to return for fifth season « Large Families Today says:
[...] My distaste for the Gosselins is not new, as evidence in this piece I wrote: http://organicallyinclined.org/2009/03/05/jon-kate-plus-8-vs-the-octomom-nadya-suleman/ [...]
5th March 2009 at 9:15 am
AZ says:
I totally agree with this!! I am so glad to read that someone else feels like I do!!! Well written!
5th March 2009 at 8:14 pm
lea says:
Nadia…you have been “so called” running from the media but, you wanted to be left alone. You didn’t take anybody’s advice or help. Now you are going to be on a reality TV show. The comment you made to Kate about need attention…you should not throw stones in glass houses. Seems like you need attention too maybe??? Kate…..who ever did you tummy tuck should be sued… it looks horrible. I can give you my surgeon’s number…he’s awsome.
5th March 2009 at 11:03 am
Lesley Schnarr says:
WELL, I was most intrigued at the very end of this ARTICLE!!! Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation…..my son also has Type 1, and the disease gets put on the backburner all the time. More support there would be better than all this hype on Celebrities. KUDOS to you for that great article. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!
5th March 2009 at 12:12 pm
Ralph DeMattia says:
Here’s a different opinon on thses “litters”. I might have believed 20 years ago that people like the Gosselins and the “LitterMom” simply loved kids and wanted a large family. Not any more! And especially since those clowns in Iowa with the 8 kids have had everything handed to them on a gold platter in the past, what, 7 or 8 years: A house with it’s own zip code; 2 large passenger vans; every major and minor appliance in creation, and all of their kids have pre-paid college educations because some wealthy moron felt sorry for these bozos. And I just LOVED the wife’s comment on why they didn’t selectively abort a few of them so the remainder would be healthier. Shr said something to the effect that God gave them the children and they wouldn’t consider aborting any of them. YEAH, RIGHT!! They wouldn’t consider it because then they wouldn’t have had a (then) record-setting litter and the offers might have been substantially less. And unless God had sex with her, her husband was the one who impregnated her. It’s all about moeny, as the lucrative offers that have been pouring in to Litter-Woman now indicate. I feel sorriest for all those children, especially the Duggars, because it is NOT POSSIBLE to properly love and care for 8, 10, or 19 children as well as you could 3 oe 4 or 6. I know you can’t tell people, insane or otherwise, how many children thwey can have, but I hope someone starts looking for an answer.
5th March 2009 at 2:59 pm
Mish says:
who are the people in Iowa? I am just curious to whom you are referring. As for the ability of people to care for that many kids – well, I have 7. And I believe they are all quite properly cared for. They are all interesting people with interesting lives of their own. We have a great time as a family. That being said, mine are all very spaced out – 18, 17, 14, 12, 5, 2 and 9 months…so it’s not difficult to attend to them all. Also, my older children do a suprisingly small amount of babysitting – usually just enough for me to get a quick run to the store or to take one or another to a dr. appt or activity. I don’t know that I could manage 6 or 8 at once. That does seem like too many at one time!
5th March 2009 at 2:41 pm