Friday, April 13, 2012

An open letter to Hilary Rosen

Dear Ms. Rosen,

I understand that you have a few things to say about the opinions of stay-at-home Mothers. I get where you are coming from. You, like some other women who don't have children (or pawn them off on someone else), probably think that those of us who chose to raise our own children are somehow out of the loop. You seem to be convinced that we don't really leave our houses or that when we do we are just going to the gym, salon or spa. And that while we're home we are sitting with our feet up, watching soap operas and drinking our hot chocolate, oblivious to the struggles of "real women".

Let me tell you what a "real women" thinks about all the things that you presume about my lifestyle. While you go home from you job everyday, I wake up to mine, usually a bit earlier than anyone would choose to. My job does not end until I go to bed at night. If I want some time off I usually have to pay someone to cover it for me, there is no paid time off. You seem to be under the impression that only those who are part of the 1% decide to stay home with their kids. I am not part of the 1%, DH and I have simply made the decision that it's more important that our children be raised by their parents than that we have a larger house or better cars. I'm sure we could have bought a larger home (or one that does not need 5 yrs of work) and we could buy new cars if I were to go back to work. You are also assuming that I have nothing to do with our finances. That I don't notice the rising prices in food, gas and just about everything else. That I don't notice that the cost of a college education will be enormously expensive and that I have to find some way of saving or my kids will have student loan payments bigger than mortgage payments. If you want to hear about how the economy is effecting people, you should be talking to us stay-at-home Moms. We are on the front lines of this whole thing, we shop, pay the bills and then have to find a way to make it all come out in the wash. I think that your ideas come out of a true ignorance of other women's situations, and an absolute disrespect for women's choices.

The assumption that those who choose to make unpopular decisions, particularly those with conservative morals, are somehow out of touch with what is going on with the entire country is ridiculous. Frankly, if you are a pundit who is supposed to represent the interests of women, any women, I would prefer if you didn't speak for me.
Sincerely,
Kari Anton

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