There were some interesting things afoot in SoCal this week. First, there was the birth of EIGHT babies to one woman in one 'sitting' (can't think of another way to describe this...) Then, there was the systematic offing of a family of seven done by the father/husband. Then there was a ridiculous car chase (stolen U-Haul) followed by a small plane crash followed by another, less-ridiculous and totally tragic car chase. I know I'm forgetting something here...
Anyhow, I have some thoughts on these items. I'll start with the murder/suicide of the family in Wilmington. This was awful, and the first reports were that the parents worked for a local hospital and were fired for related, yet undisclosed reasons. A couple of days ago, it was made known that the mother and father were both x-ray techs. They'd worked at their facility for 7 years before (allegedly) filing fraudulant applications for some type of government assistance. These people had five kids, and they were stretched financially to the hilt. They weren't qualified for the financial assistance because as veteran radiographers, they made too much money. It was a catch-22, and these people decided to kill their children and themselves.
Next, this woman in Bellflower with the eight babies. This was fine and good up until it was disclosed that this woman already has SIX CHILDREN, is a single mom, and lives with the six oldest kids and her parents in a very old, modest home in Whittier. I work in Whittier. I see the neighborhoods where these people live. They are well kept, but definitely not the caliber needed to provide for 17 people (grandma, grandpa, mom, and her FOURTEEN fatherless children). The mother and her parents do not appear to be independantly wealthy and therefore capable of providing for the everyday needs of 14 children.
Now the bigger problem here, with this Bellflower Octuplet thing, is directly related to the Wilmington murder/suicide. The Wilmington couple were both working in careers that provided them a very good salary. I know that from personal experience, in holding the same position(s) they each did. They had babies over the years, and they still worked and maintained their obligations. They worked hard, I'm sure. And ultimately, in these weird financial times, they made rash decisions. These very educated and rational people chose to try and see if they could get a little more help, even though they were beyond the point of rescue. They did some illegal things which got them fired, and they scrambled and laid to waste an entire family.
Almost as soon as they died, the Bellflower Octuplets are born to a single mother with six children who (up to this point, as far as anyone knows) has no job. My anger in this comes from the fact that this woman, without the need for any more children, without the ability to pay for the costs of these children or her existing kids not only in birth, but throughout their lives, has succeeded in making millions of people's lives harder. WE WILL BE PAYING for these kids. Even though I don't want and probably won't have children, you and I are now financially responsible for this disgusting woman who found it necessary to bring 14 unwitting, innocent, and dependent kids into the world. WHERE IS/ARE THE FATHER/FATHERS?
This is NOT a Jon and Kate Plus 8 scenario. Those two are a family, he works, she was a nurse and now is a full-time mom, and they raise their children in their own home, without burdening their own parents and society at large.
I'm pissed.
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