War on Single Mothers?

Folks, there’s a terrifying group of people infiltrating our society. These shady, slutty people are reproducing left and right, eating up all of our country’s resources, contributing to child abuse, and breeding criminals. Oh, and they’re also ruining society in general. Gasp! Who are these horrible people? According to conservatives, this group is composed of none other than single mothers. According to Rick Santorum, “we are seeing the fabric of this country fall apart, and it’s falling apart because of single moms.” Riiiight.

Did I mention that there’s also a conspiracy among single mothers to avoid marriage in order to collect welfare benefits? You can’t make this stuff up, people! Watch out, single mothers on welfare, because Santorum has figured out your game!

“I’m sure everybody, a lot of folks listening here tonight, are gonna know people who are, who father and mother are living together, but they’re not married, for the reason they’re not married is so they, mother, can receive welfare benefits to help support that child, those children.”  – Rick Santorum

Senator Glenn Grothman recently introduced a bill that would force the state of Wisconsin to consider single parenthood as a factor contributing to child abuse, which is complete bullshit. Childwelfare.gov notes that single parenthood may increase the risk of child abuse, but that’s not even close to saying that it causes child abuse. This law is obviously an attack on single mothers, as women are more likely to be single parents than men, and the campaign will reach out to men to be part of the solution.

Sen. Grothman, hopping on the conspiracy bandwagon, stated that there’s a liberal agenda to increase the number of single parents, “the Left and the social welfare establishment want children born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government.”  I’m not sure how that makes sense, as most liberals support family planning, accessible birth control and abortions, sex education, etc., which is kind of the opposite of Grotham’s accusation. But what do I know? I’m just a dumb single mother!

Conservatives, stop sipping on haterade. There is no single mother conspiracy, and single mothers aren’t causing the downfall of society.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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