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Beyond “Childless Cat Ladies”
Let’s Get to the Heart of the Problem
I don’t like, much less agree with, Trump, Vance, or MAGA, but frankly, I’m tired of hearing references about “childless cat ladies” and the couch, aren’t you? They’re everywhere you look! Now, Vance’s wife has come out in defense of her husband and said, “My husband only meant to insult people who actively choose not to have kids, not people who are trying but are unsuccessful.”
Oh. My. God. Does she think that makes it any better? First of all, the fact that he wants to insult anyone is a strike against him if you ask me, although granted, it’s pretty much a given in politics these days on both sides, especially since Trump ran for President the first time, but even before that.
Secondly, her statement suggests that it’s understandable and acceptable to attack women who choose not to have children, as if they’re the ones who are “weird,” another new descriptor being bandied about, this time by the Dems. While society suggests that getting married and having kids is the “normal” way to do things, isn’t making those decisions and other personal choices, well, personal? If anything, I admire anyone who decides to go against the “norms” established by others, which are accompanied by a lot of societal pressure, and I think it takes courage for them and go their own way.
The root of the problem is not Vance or others like him who disagree with the idea of whether or not to have children. It’s not the extremism they attach to this decision, such as allotting childless people fewer rights or deducting from their power to influence or to have a voice. It’s not even accusing them of taking out their misery on others and making bad decisions for the country and the people, which I find ironic, since it’s the Dems who are pushing family leave and affordable childcare for families, that is the problem.
The problem is that Vance and people like him don’t like, want to help, accept, or respect anyone who is different than they are. Indeed, they actively accuse, harass, and persecute them. This includes people who choose not to have children, non-Christians, minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and so many others. When they talk about the “good ol’ days,” they’re largely talking about a time when white, Protestant…
