South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint is catching heat for a position he took in 2004 saying that openly gay individuals and single mothers who are involved in a sexual relationship should not be allowed to teach in schools. He did not weigh in on whether unwed men should be allowed to teach, however.
Speaking at a church rally in Spartanburg, DeMint on Friday, October 1, DeMint, who is facing a re-election bid against Alvin Green in South Carolina, told attendees that people quietly told him he should not back down from a position he took in 2004.
While I find this stance reprehensible, I think it is endemic of the type of scapegoatism that is rampant and common among the rhetoric in politics these days. Further, for those against the NoWeddingNoWomb initiative that I took part of a couple of weeks ago which is challenging the normalization of the “baby daddy” and “baby mama” -ism in Black communities, DeMint’s position is additional evidence that mainstream society does not value single mothers and that they have a tougher uphill battle to fight by the simple nature of their status as a single mom. Is it fair? No. But is it a reality? Yes?
Unlike racism and sexism that are hard to escape because you are born a certain gender and in the skin you come into this world in, however, you can lecture your children against the additional challenges they will encounter by voluntarily placing themselves into another, yet avoidable, class of “ism”.
That is all.
Jay Jay Ghatt is also editor at Techyaya.com, founder of the JayJayGhatt.com and JayJayGhatt.com where she teaches online creators how to navigate digital entrepreneurship and offers Do-It-For-You Blogging Service. She manages her lifestyle sites BellyitchBlog, Jenebaspeaks and JJBraids.com and is the founder of BlackWomenTech.com 200 Black Women in Tech On Twitter. Her biz podcast 10 Minute Podcast is available on iTunes and Player.fm. Follow her on Twitter at @Jenebaspeaks. Buy her templates over at her legal and business templates on Etsy shop!
