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Sep

19

Rage against the Michelle Malkin: doesn’t speak for me & thank God she isn’t my mother or my kids’ mother


I’ve read Michelle Malkin. I’ve watched Michelle Malkin. I’ve even tried to write Michelle Malkin, to no avail (several months ago, maybe even a year ago) and I hate that she doesn’t allow comments; obviously she’s worried that if everyone followed her be ferocious beliefs, well – who would want to face nothing but ferocity in their comments post after post after post? I stand corrected. It’s been a while since I’ve visited her site and it appears that comments are now open. Good for her. I like that.

But just as she says that Sally Field doesn’t speak for her when it comes to the sorority known as Motherhood, Malkin sure as sunshine doesn’t speak for me.

Watch Field at the Emmy’s Sunday night.

Now, first thing, Michelle – get a grip. Field is an actress. Second, she was giving a speech. Third, she is facing cameras, on a stage, that go out to millions. Why on Earth do you think she was even talking to you in particular? She was, you know, generalizing?

Second thing, Michelle – you are dead wrong about all the black and white lines you assert exist:

“There are sheep moms. There are lion moms. We know which kind Sally Field is.”

Garbage.

“Our maternal instincts supposedly lead us to shun fights and coddle bullies instead of disciplining them”

More garbage.

Third thing, Michelle, what you say here is not garbage. It’s very true:

Motherhood and peace-making are not synonymous. Motherhood requires ferocity, the will and resolve to protect one’s own children at all costs, and a life-long commitment to sacrifice for a family’s betterment and survival.

But aw, here? Fourth and final thing: here’s the biggest pile we need to haul and chuck into the garbage heap:

Conflict avoidance is incompatible with good mothering.

As I wrote on Nixguy (who gets the hattip for this post) in pertinent part:

Malkin is also wrong on the conflict avoidance being incompatible with motherhood. That’s just pure BS. Motherhood relies on knowing when to hold em and when to fold em and an intimate knowledge of and excellent facility with conflict avoidance will get a parent a lot farther in raising good human beings than simply being ferocious….

Now, Michelle, I’ve written more than a few mother-centered columns. Even won top awards for this one and this one.

Sure, nothing like your books and all. Congrats to you on your success. But over the last four years, I’ve gotten a nice number of emails and pats on the back from mothers who tell me I speak for them. I haven’t yet had someone tell me that I don’t, but then, I don’t project that I speak for anyone other than myself. If someone finds my tales to resonate, that is icing on the proverbial cake. If not, well, then, you know – not.

Look. I didn’t even watch the Emmys, Michelle. It was a school night. I have to conserve my energy for things that matter. Somehow, watching Sally Field get an award, let alone beating up on Sally Field – of all people – just doesn’t rank for me. If I was going to beat up on anyone, it would be whomever beat out Aidan Quinn (wow – is he really that gray now!?).
He’s one of the very, very few figures in anything whom I’ve ever lusted after and I wanted him to win, but that was only because of this Sunday Weekend Edition piece that was done with him that morning (I didn’t even know the Emmys were on or that Quinn was still acting (in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which I couldn’t have watched anyway since we don’t get HBO)) until I heard the radio while I was driving to the CVS from dropping my kids off at Sunday school because I had to get a new bottle of Gummy Vitamins and a bottle of Tinactin for one of my kid’s foot fungus – such a sheep, I am).

But I’m very appreciative that you wrote what you wrote, because it gives me fodder for my next Mommy Matters column about the space between…well, everything.

Feel free to let’er rip on anything I’ve written, but, if I were you, I’d wait until October gets posted. It’s fashioned after this post about lice, which I titled, How I Know I’m Strong. Cuz honey – until you’ve battled those ferocious little PITAs, you ain’t no lion or lioness in my book. If either of your kids have had lice, Michelle, then I am sure you know what I am saying!

Oy – I could go on and on, but I have to stop. My daughter starts cartooning class today and her younger brother decided that he wants to take it too and there is room in the class but I have to go over and sign him up in person and then go over to his school and fill out a permanent bus change slip so that they know that he has an after-school class and not to put him on his regular bus and then make sure that they let him know about the change because I wouldn’t want him to miss the class that I’ve now put him in.

The life of a sheep in lion’s clothing, or is it a lion in sheep’s clothing? Well, whatever it is you thought you were saying about mothers and all? It’s never dull, whether you’re being ferocious or avoiding conflict.

By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:10 am September 19th, 2007 in Parenting, Women 

Comments

3 Responses to “Rage against the Michelle Malkin: doesn’t speak for me & thank God she isn’t my mother or my kids’ mother”

  1. 1 NixGuy.com » Michelle vs. Sally on September 19th, 2007 10:20 pm

    [...] at WLST where there is much, much more along these lines: Now, first thing, Michelle – get a grip. Field is [...]

  2. 2 Plunderbund - » Lion Mom Michelle Malkin on September 20th, 2007 2:24 pm

    [...] Jill at WLST has a similar take (though less [...]

  3. 3 Events centering on Women: global, breast cancer, geeky | Writes Like She Talks on September 29th, 2007 5:59 pm

    [...] – will these women be lion mothers or sheep mothers? I don’t know, but Michelle Malkin has not written about the event from what I can tell. [...]

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