Jun 122006
 

Remember that fantastic woman who went out of her way to give me her unsolicited opinion on the day that I had miscarried our angel? Well, she's still in a less than respectful (on her side) email discussion with my dear friend Breanna. Bre has been attempting to tell this woman that her issues as an adoptee are not her child's issues, firstparents are not inherently evil and, you know, dispelling other myths that this woman tried to sell on my blog.

Well, she made this comment in her most recent email exchange with Bre:

Adoption is the most blessed childbirth experience there is. Having your own is easy.

Anyone else cussing or scratching their heads with me? I'll tackle the first sentence first; attack her blatant stupidity in chronological order.

Adoption is the most blessed childbirth experience there is. First of all, don't end sentences with "is." Moving on from grammatical stupidity, the sentence itself is contradictory. Let's even look past the fact that the actual legal adoption of a child and childbirth are two totally separate entities which happen months, sometimes years apart. While adoptions today allow for the potential adoptive parents to be present for the birth of the child if the Mother agrees to it, the adoptive parents are still not giving birth. So, therefore, to state that adoption is the most blessed childbirth experience for the soon-to-become firstmother is simply ludicrous. I do not know one firstmother who, upon delivering her baby thought, "Wow, that was awesome! Just take my baby away! Woo-ee!" For this woman to claim that "adoption" is the most blessed "childbirth" experience not only makes her seem even more uneducated, both on adoption and in general, but shows that she is trying to justify something in her own life. What about her two other biological children? Were their births not special? Is her adopted child more special than those who came before, from their Mother's body? The answer should be no. Children should be equally special in the eyes of their parents no matter the way in which they entered the family.

Moving on…

Having your own is easy. First of all, we have a pronoun without an antecendent so, just in case you're joining the conversation mid-post, she's referring to children. Having your own children is easy. Really? Ask the majority of my adoptive parent readers and friends. I bet they would argue that point. Ask both of my Grandmothers who suffered multiple miscarriages. Ask my dear friend K who, due to a kidney disease worse than my own disorder, would be putting her life and the life of a child in jeopardy should she decide to have a child of her "own." Ask me. Ask this woman, standing right here, who just had a miscarriage. Ask this woman, right here, who, due to a kidney disorder, had a rough time keeping both children in her womb during pregnancy. Ask this woman, right here, who had multiple bouts of preterm labor, one of which included an ambulance ride. Ask all of the women who have responded in the past few days to my posts regarding my miscarriage if they think having "their own" is easy.

More over, the post on which she originally commented, ironically titled "Own," spoke of how I believe that adoptive parents should love all of their children, adopted or biological, because they are their own. The fact that she used "their own" in the statement is further proof that she is uneducated and insecure regarding adoption issues. Your children are your own; refer to them all as your own, not just the biological ones. I don't know why she chose that particular post to attack when it was, in essence, supporting those adoptive parents who do love the child that has been placed in their family because that child is their own. It is those parents who understand that two sets of parents are not confusing. It is those parents who are secure in their place of Motherhood or Fatherhood and are not threatened by phone calls, emails or visits from firstparents. It is those parents who will truly benefit their children; not only for showing the child unconditional love, but for showing their firstparents compassion and, likewise, unconditional love.

Easy? Take a trip to the bathroom with me in a bit and tell me if having "my own" is easy.

 Posted by at 6:28 pm
May 212006
 

I didn't mean to tackle the same subjectry as Mia today. I just accidentally happened upon some statistics that made me want to toss my computer out the window. However, that would be a bad move. I'm at work. They might frown upon that. Might.

Statistics never cease to piss me off. They're often skewed to prove whatever it is the argumentative whiner is trying to prove. (Though, it angers me even more when people don't realize that the average age for a firstparent is not in the teenage realm. Wake up to that, folks.) I mean, even Homer Simpson understands what statistics truly mean:

"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything. 14% of people know that."
Homer Simpson

I mean, if Homer knows that, what the heck is the problem with the rest of the world? If you want a more intellectual being to say the same thing, let's take a trip through some quotes:

"There are two kinds of statistics: the kind you look up and the kind you make up."
Rex Stout - American Writer

Or, how about:

"Definition of Statistics: The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures."
Evan Esar – American Humorist

And, yet another:

"There are three kinds of lies – lies, damned lies and statistics."
Benjamin Disraeli, commonly misattributed to Mark Twain because he quotes Disraeli in Autobiography.

Statistics are basically crap. For example, I'd like to take some of the statistics listed on this page and laugh them out of the water. Now, honestly, some of them are adoption facts rather than statistics. It is not a statistic how many states disallow adoption by same sex couples, it is just a fact. Now, if you want to make a statistic on how many people within those states are fighting against the laws and how many are fighting for them, that would be a statistic. Simply listing states is fact, not statistic. Because:

A statistic (singular) is the result of applying a statistical algorithm to a set of data. In the calculation of the arithmetic mean, for example, the algorithm directs us to sum all the data values and divide by the number of data items. In this case, we call the mean a statistic. To be complete in describing any statistic, one must describe both the procedure and the data set.

From Wikipedia on Statistics.

Moving on, I found this bunch of stats (not just facts but stats from the US Census Bureau) to be not only vaguely interesting but highly disturbing. Which one made my red flags fly all around?

$56,000
Median income for households with adopted children under 18, higher than those with biological children and stepchildren, $48,000 and $51,000, respectively.

Really now? Does anyone else find it disturbing that many a firstparent that I know, in real life and online, make more than this average? (Note: I don't make more than J and D but we make more than this average.) How then do we continue to perpetuate the "fact" that adoptive parents are rescuing children from poverty (not speaking of international adoption), from a life where they could not possibly be provided for on the same level and.. so on. I just find it quite alarming that agencies continue to tell expectant women considering adoption that the adoptive families that they are looking to place with are so much more financially stable than these women could EVER hope to be. It's a load of bull. Don't believe a word of it. Trust me. Two years later you could be far more successful and far more financially stable than the above mentioned statistic.

And so, to expectant families considering placement, I give you this tidbit of advice: Do NOT let an agency, a lawyer or your best friends' grandma's cousin tell you that because you're dealing with a rough financial time now that you can NEVER come out on the other side making more money than any Tom, Dick or Stanley.

Basically, stepping down off of my angry soapbox regarding the fact that I make more than the average adoptive parent yet I was told that I could NEVER provide for my child, the fact still remains: do NOT let statistics make your decision to parent or place. They can be skewed to say whatever the person offering them wants. And, sadly, agencies are highly adept at skewing just about everything.

It breaks my heart on a daily basis that nothing is being done to help these expecting families see through the lies.

So is that anger or just heartbreak? I can't tell.

 Posted by at 2:10 pm