Motherscratcher wrote:Lead Pipe wrote:Erie Warrior wrote:
Throw in the money thing, and you've got entire communities of teenage children with little supervision and plenty of chances. Add a dash of dumb, and not only do they have the opportunity, but they lack the knowledge to make any type of informed decision.
The billboards should read: Endangered Species- 2 parent homes.
There's a strong correlation between teen pregnancy and intelligence.
Have you read "The Bell Curve"?
I don't doubt this for a second.
A while ago I worked in an office in Chillicothe where the vast majority of my patients were on welfare. I noticed a few things about the patient base.
1. There was an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Most people had no job and that's just the way it was. That's how they lived. They got their welfare checks and they made it last until the next one. And, they seemed to think they had earned it somehow. That is was owed to them.
2. Most of the "families" had multiple kids.
3. It wasn't unusual (in fact it was normal) for the 34 year old grandmother to bring her 17 year old daughter to an appointment and watch the 3 year old granddaughter in the waiting room. I would guess that well over half of my 16-17 year old welfare patients had kids or were pregnant.
Welfare was a way of life for most of these people and I got very little indication that many people were looking to change. In fact, it almost seemed like it hadn't even occured to these people that they could change anything.
Hell, get a job? No way. Can't risk losing that govnmt check. Another kid? OK then, my check will just get bigger.
Most of my patients were white. That leads me to think that it really is more of an economic issue than an ethnic one.
And, I hate to say it, but like LP said, most of these people didn't seem very bright.
Little story concerning your #1, and sense of entitlement. This story, by the way, was the emphasis for LP to tell his wife not to tell him anymore stories.
The wife is a director of Audiology down at University hospital. One of her cochlear implant patients comes in. (Cochlear implant surgery involves a surgery in which a device is planted basiclly in your skull, and than a hearing aid device is placed on your ear for transmission purposes. Basically, it allows some deaf people to hear) Anyways, the wife notices that the little girl does not have her device.
The Wife: Wher's your Device
Mother: Ugghh, she lost it.
(Pay attention to the line of questioning the wife has to use - not conversing with Einstein)
The Wife; Well, did you look for it?
Mother: She lost it on Monday.....I think
The Wife; Did you LOOK for it?
Mother; Well, it was dark when she fugured out it was missing after school
The Wife: It's Thursday, it's been light out several times since.....
So, you've got a girl, that had a five figure surgery FREE. She had a device, worth another couple grand, FREE. If you go thru life paying for things, and you lose something worth a couple grand, you're on your hands and knees all night looking for it. If you pay for nothing, well, hey, what the hell - no big deal, I'll just stick my hand out again.
And by the way taxpayers. she does get a free replacement.
What is each generation learning from the previous one? In this family...in many families.
When Euclid High School provides a DAY CARE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL, might that tell the 8th grader that had a kid, to go ahead and have another in the 11th - we'll take care of that for you.
By the way, you'd be shocked how many young parents DON'T SHOW UP for their kid's recommended hearing screenings. Think about that for a second, something is wrong with your 6 month old. The Doctor assigns a screening to rule things in or out. Now, it's hearing - one of your five fucking senses. Hearing, balance, social skills, hell. quality of life all in the balance. You think you might want to get your ass out of bed and get your kid in there. Too much trouble for you ? And again, this isn't every once in a while, it's with regularity. If you don't give a shit about your kid, what do you give a shit about - your property? Keeping a job? And most importantly, as it applies to this thread - what the hell do you think THAT kid is going to care about?
With exceptions to be sure, but as a rule, teenage parents are not too sharp, and maybe, as mentioned above, it's not all their fault, but it is what it is.
Bad parenting is the countries biggest problem, and teenage parents are the worst of all.
Clearly.