Conservatives Outraged By MSNBC Mom Talking to Daughter About Gay Marriage

[William769]

One commentator described this conversation between a mother and daughter as a form of "child abuse."

Conservatives are outraged by an MSNBC host who talked with her daughter in an online segment about whether it's OK if gays and lesbians marry the people they love.

Krystal Ball is co-host of MSNBC's The Cycle, and the conversation with her daughter stuck to the basics of who is legally allowed to marry who in their home state of New York. It could be similar to how parents in that state have explained life in New York state.

Glenn Beck's website, The Blaze, labeled the moment "Cringe-Inducing." The headline on conservative blog, "Liberty Unyielding," claimed, "MSNBC’s Krystal Ball exploits own 5-year-old daughter on TV to promote gay marriage."

Writing for conservative firebrand Michelle Malkin's website, Doug Powers called Ball's questions a form of child abuse. "Flip the subject being pushed on the little girl to something like pro-life values and MSNBC would be reporting it as child abuse," Powers wrote. "I’ll say this much: At least in this example it’s her own kid instead of a room full of other people’s children."

http://www.advocate.com/politics/media/2013/04/06/conservatives-outraged-msnbc-mom-talking-daughter-about-gay-marriage

[tblue]

1. I can talk to my kid about anything.

If I don't make a subject a big deal, it becomes not a big deal for my kid. These people are kurayzay!!! If you get all hush-hush about something, your kids learn bigotry and fear and maybe even shame. So much simpler to keep those lines of communication open, to teach them that all people are good as long as they have a heart.

[William769]

4. That's what Conservatives are hoping for.

"If you get all hush-hush about something, your kids learn bigotry and fear and maybe even shame."

They are pissed because it's not working.

[tblue]

14. I know, right?

Ick. Puritans.

[calimary]

6. Exactly! I always figured that NO topic of conversation was off-limits.

That way, your kids learn that they can talk to you about all kinds of stuff, and don't have to be afraid that something bad will happen or you'll get mad if they bring up something they think you're not gonna like or for which you'd judge them harshly.

Besides, as a parent, wouldn't you want to have an opportunity to weigh in, and put YOUR spin on it? And help your child to understand some of the finer or more complex points to whatever question comes up? For example, when I was a kid, I got my early sex education from my friends, so I believed all kinds of odd things before my mother FINALLY got around to telling me some stuff, and most of that didn't come til after "that" class in fifth grade for which we all had to bring a note home to get a parent's signature of approval, in advance.

[tblue]

11. When you raise your kids like that

you will find they involve you in their lives. If you make a big deal out of what they ask or tell you, if you gasp and say, "You did WHAT?!" that's the fastest way to shut down communication, and your child will have parts of his/her life that you won't ever be privy too.

At least your mom had "that talk" with you. Mine never did. I still don't know where babies come from! Haha!

[amuse bouche]

2. What do they think about

indoctrinating children to the parent's religion?

All that malarkey about hell and sin.

Shouldn't that be labeled as child abuse?

[William769]

5. Bingo!

[Rex]

7. I love it when conservatives inadvertently point out their own shortcomings.

Like not being able to have an open and honest conversation with their children. It is one reason their party is so extremely fucked up and living in denial. It is why a huge portion of the planet laughs at them and treats them like jokes.

[MellowDem]

8. The real child abuse is childhood indoctrination...

and the rightwing religious fundamentalists engage in it every single day.

It threatens them to see people that can educate their children instead of indoctrinate them, and it threatens their own indoctrinated children with learning things from others.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

9. Error: headline/post title does not match contents.

The man quoted in the article very clearly does *not* say that this is a form of child abuse; he says that if the subject were pro-life values then MSNBC would say that it was, which is a completely and utterly different claim.

[FreeState]

13. That's the subtitle of the article n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

10. Why do so many conservative parents want to keep their kids ignorant

about any viewpoint that they disagree with. Do they really think that their kids won't hear about these issues anywhere else?

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. They're losing this issue thanks to the very consistent and hard work of all LGBT activists and

others.

Every time they complain about something like this they look stupider and stupider to all manner of demographics. OMG, a woman told her daughter what is the LAW OF THE LAND in New York State. Not some radical, wacko position, but the established and duly constituted marriage laws in her home state. That anybody would be "outraged" by that is, of course, ridiculous. But now it's widely seen as ridiculous, which makes it even sweeter.

[William769]

15. +1

[csziggy]

16. For Republicans being beaten with a belt is OK but not TALKING about

Same sex marriage?

This just reinforces in my mind how sick GOP "family values" are.

[winter is coming]

17. Do these twits really think kids are unaware that gay couples exist?

Or is gay marriage supposed to be so irresistable that the very mention of it will turn our kids gay? (As if that were a bad thing.)

[malaise]

18. At least she's telling her daughter some truths

Said commentators don't mind the annual lies about Santa Claus, tooth fairies or Easter crap.