Honey Boo Boo's Mother

I'm tired of hearing people call Honey Boo Boo's mother a bad mother. Here's why.

(Note. I haven't actually watched the show. I'm basing this entirely on Facebook posts and Internet headlines I've read. If the woman is actually abusing her child, please disregard this blog. But judging from what I've read, she's not a child abuser. She's just a redneck.))

POINT NUMBER ONE
Fat + Redneck does not = bad mother. It just doesn't.

POINT NUMBER TWO
Yeah, the pageants and TV show might be questionable parenting choices, but is that really enough that we can label her a "bad mother"? I reject that notion.

POINT NUMBER THREE
Most of the judgment I've heard revolves around the fact that she allows her kid to drink soda, specifically Red Bull, which she calls "go go juice".

Look. I'm sure your mothers fed you nothing but organic kale which you grew and harvested yourselves in your backyard, and which taught you a lot about nutrition and sustainable gardening practices. Great. But here's a secret for you. Most parents let their kids eat junk food. Is it good for them? No. But if you're going to get all pissy about it, you might as well just accept that you're going to be pissy for the rest of your lives. Cause it happens. All the time.

POINT NUMBER FOUR
Why does the mother get all the blame? She has two parents. It's misogynistic and stupid to talk about how awful her mother is, when her father is equally responsible for all of these decisions. I get tired of "mother blaming" when there is a father in the picture too.

CONCLUSION
I think most of the harsh judgment I hear comes from people raised in upper middle class homes in blue stares. I don't think they're trying to be mean, but I think they are disassociated from the way lower class Americans actually live. They don't understand it, and so they judge it to be "bad". I wish they would try to temper their judgment with a little kindness and understanding.