The Humble Condom's News Page

Some "brave" souls in government are stating that the reason why teen pregnancy, and now abortions, (and let's not forget AIDS!) are soaring in the UK has something to do with all those mums out there who are not fit to raise children; parents, afterall the first line of defence in teaching children the rights and wrongs of behaviours.  Rocket science!! How interesting that this is some kind of revelation, when in fact, for the last fifteen years, it has been known (by those who bother) that the UK now has a permanent underclass...why?
Policies that include poor or non-existent sex education (sorry, a few hours in the life of a child is NOT enough!), government policies that make it easier for the bored or unhappy 15-year-old to have a baby, which "gives" her a free flat, weekly benefits, free bus passes, free meds, and on! But does not  teach that same kiddo just what the long term consequences will be (to herself, but let's see, how about the poor little mites she so casually, and with so much assistance, brings into the world!) Nor does it teach her how to raise a child, A to Z, OR provide her with the maturity it takes to raise a child (on her own or with that ubiquitous "partner"!), clearly something that only time and experience can provide.
But what's up with all this? Why have the numbers gone up? All of the above! But what is amazing is that people like the  physician who argues that he would rather girls have abortions than be teen mothers, is being lampooned, and the voices saying "hello, we need to fix this, back to front!" are also being vilified!  Voices of all those women who say, "oh, what would MYlife be if I had not had a baby at 16..."  How unselfish!
Perhaps the real answer is what some  brave souls point out: that it may be that the numbers are up because of better and more practical attitudes toward abortion: make it clean, make it available, rather than pretend everything is "ok."  Whatever the arguments, babies having babies is just NOT ok!

I do dispair!!!!!

No, I'm not talking about street crime, rather cultural crime, especially that which is committed by men against women, in the name of religion, faith, culture, family name, whatever you care to call it...I call it abuse, cruelty...and stoppable.Perhaps the worst part of the horrors of what is happening in the UK (and other so-called "civilized" Western societies), that thing called FORCED MARRIAGE, is that it breaks so many established laws. The whole thing makes my head hurt. 
     Over 3000 young British (Asian) women, many under 15, are literally abducted by their own families to be shipped off to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other parts of the Mostly-Muslim world, to be forcibly married off to some shirt tale relative, or other guy who represents "something" to the family.  But is this really about religion, faith, or family ties?  Not on your life!The majority of these abductions happen so that the man can, after "marriage," be shipped off with his new British (or other) bride and gain instant UK citizenship.  This opens the path for yet more of these folks to head on in, and many (many!) of them end up on the dole, do not learn English (or so you would notice), and represent the highest proportion of un- and under-employed groups in the country.  Their children, in turn, are increasingly found in extremist groups, and even in our borstals...But illegal?Yes. 
     The law states that any child who disappears from school for more than a few days, must be checked up on.  Local councils, however, are reluctant to follow through with these checks on the young girls who simply "disappear," because, I quote, they are "afraid their concerns may be construed as racist"!   WHAT??? Is it not RACIST to NOT check up because of where the child's parents came from?  Talk about reverse logic!!Then there are those little items called legal age of marriage, abduction, rape, and slavery.  Take your pick!The answer?  Yes, I think there are lots of remedies, but I'm still most frustrated with the first step - we know the first line of defence is through the schools, places that are empowered to both teach and protect!!  But the other really frustrating part of this is this this weird "fear" of doing what's right, in our own country, out of fear that it will appear "un-pc." 

British newspapers have been talking about a new import from the US...children's (read girls) pamper parties.  When a BBC commentator discussed the meaning behind this strange new birthday party fad, she surely hit the nail on the head.But first, what is a pamper party?  Born in the States, it is when a mother books a beauty parlour and invites her little darling's friends to come and have their hair done (to include dye jobs!),  and toenails done, (cake included).  This has led to a trend in mothers taking their daughters to do the same, just the two of them, as a sort of girlie bonding.  But what is the message behind this strange and very expensive girl-only celebration?As the BBC commentator put it so well (a mother of four, I will add), the message being sent, and the practice itself, is all about marginalizing girls/women, objectifying them as every-hair-in-place Barbie dolls, instead of thinking beings.   Afterall, is the little one whose just had her nails done likely to "go outside and digs for worms," like normal children?  Probably not. How about library parties? No?  Well, at least, how about parties where the kiddos have a chance to be children AND all genders welcome?  Better yet, how about junking forever this expensive drive to continue to teach girls that they need, above all, to be "pretty."
Just when I think we have 'come a long way baby,' I get a wake up call!!