American hypocrites slam single mothers

Another day, another group of judgmental a-holes trying to make an already maligned group feel badly about themselves. In a surprising (at least to me) poll by the Pew Research Center, seven out of ten American residents say single mothers are bad for society. So go ahead and resign yourselves to visiting the kids in prison, single moms, and plan on being the scapegoat for all of society's ills.

More from The Stir: Is Gisele Bashing Single Moms?

It's your fault we're in a recession! it's your fault Wall Street gambled with all of our money! It's your fault we're in the middle of two wars right now! It's your fault all of our children are fat! Single moms are the worst, right?

Can we just talk about the dads for one second?

When you say the words "single dad" a collective, "awwwww!" can be heard around coffee klatches everywhere. But single moms are bad for society? Jeez louise. How do you think single moms became moms? There's a dad in this scenario, and he's single too. Or rather, he's not married to the single mom. Who knows if he's single or not. If he's absent, he's really to blame for any kind of mess the kid makes. If he's involved, then he's a hero and mom isn't?

I'm all for supporting any single parent -- regardless of his or her sex -- who needs it. While I do know a handful of amazing single dads, I know a lot more kick-ass single mothers. My own mother was single for a chunk of my childhood and she rocked. I'm sure the majority of the respondents either had a single mother, were a single mother, or had some type of relationship with a single mother that was positive in some way. Which is why it's so odd that when answering a poll, people suddenly get all nasty about moms who don't have the benefit of having another partner around to help with the daily tasks of child-rearing.

More from The Stir: Bristol Palin Takes Advantage of Single Mothers

I wish the poll had asked specifically why people found single mothers to be this source of evil. I guarantee you if anyone had to think about their answer for more than the two seconds it takes to formulate a thought, then speak into the phone, the answer would be a different one. Single moms are single for as many different reasons as there are prejudices in America. Judging them all as "bad" is wildly unfair, and much worse for our society than a hard-working mom who is holding it all together on her own.

Do you think single moms are bad for society?


Image via the bridge/Flickr

Written by April Peveteaux for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

More from The Stir:

DNA Doesn't Make a Family

Facebook now Banning Pregnancy Portraits

Should Animal Abusers be Allowed to Have Children?

Sandra Bullock: 5 Tips For a Single Mom