Ellen, a Parents.com blogger, doesn’t seem to think so.
She wrote an article today “thanking” Tom & Katie for their divorce. Immediately following, wives everywhere have been shaking their heads in disagreement. Read the full article here.
Celebrity gossip is a guilty pleasure of mine. I can understand how the divorce between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has been making headlines. But as an avid Parents.com reader, it doesn’t seem appropriate to thank them – or anyone – for their misfortune. It’s not necessarily an attack, but can you imagine if you someone contacted you on Facebook and said, “Hey there, I’ve been reading about your split with your husband, and I just want to say thank you.”
I’m not sure I’d be able to appreciate that kind of comment.
What is it really saying when you thank someone for their misfortune, even if it’s a celebrity in the media? To me, it says you get your kicks on train wrecks, and that’s probably why we pay any attention at all to entertainment news. But I think some things are better left unsaid. If you want to thank anyone, let the media outlet know that you appreciate their dedication to bringing you the latest news – not the couple dealing with the divorce itself.
What surprises me the most is that Parents.com, with its reputation for being a family publication, would back an article like this. To me, divorce is an unsettling subject and it never feels good to hear about close friends or family members who have to go through it. Nevertheless, this story has moms and wives up in arms today. What are your thoughts?
- Ashley
I’ve seen this floating around facebook already. One of the girls at the parents website said it best. Her article is self-indulgent and completely ridiculous. I bet Parents will remove it before long.
I can understand a special needs child being challenging, but how the heck does that relate to someone’s divorce?
Really trashy move on parents part. And seriously who cares what you read to get you through the day? I don’t want to read about it! Sorry you have mentally challenged kids, but what if I said thanks for having mentally challenged kids, it really gets me through my day? It would make you angry to.
I want to start by saying that I am not a military wife and I appreciate everything that you ladies have to put up with. I wouldn’t want to be married to a husband in the military and raise my kids in that environment, but I respect those of you who do.
I signed up to comment because of wanagirl. I don’t think you have any experience with children with special needs. If you did, this wouldn’t be such a big deal to you. I’ve read the blog and I have seen all of the comments all over the place about this women’s blog. I understand how it it upsetting and I don’t completely agree with the entire blog, but so many people are making comments about special needs children and how they aren’t an excuse for this. None of those people really know what it’s like.
If He has blessed you with a child who requires more work, than He also believes you are more capable of parenting that child. Wandagirl, you have nothing to apologize for to someone who has been blessed. Know that right now. It is not a misfortune, it is a blessing. For you to say you would thank her just goes to show how naive some people can be. I do not blanket anyone, we are all God’s children, but if you were on the other end of the comment, your perspective would be very different. If you have kids, and they are less challenging, then God intended it to be that way. It truly takes women of strong will to see their children succeed, and definitly with special needs. Not everyone can do it. Maybe you would have a hart time as well.
All I ask is that you reconsider your thinking when it comes to special needs children. I can’t understand what your life is like being married to a soldier. But you cannot understand what our lives are like as God’s lionesses parenting special needs children.
God bless all, and thank you for reading.
how do I add an image to my thing?
my profile picture?
Goto “My Dashboard” located at the top of the web site. Once you’re on the dashboard page, you’ll see a link on the left sidebar that says “Edit Profile”.
When editing your profile, you can update lots of information about yourself including your profile picture!
Honestly … I can see the humor in it. I laughed when I read it. Does that make me a terrible person? No I don’t think so…. but look Tom and Kate signed-up for terrible press coverage when they became celebrities. It comes with the job! Tom and Kate have always been hot in the press, and many people have put a ticking time bomb on their marriage – just like every other celebrity marriage that end up in divorce, because they don’t appreciate what they’ve got since everything is handed to them and they don’t HAVE to work hard at their marriage. OR Most celebrity marriages are “fixed” or “forced” for press so they can get more roles in movies or their album goes to number one on the charts. I’ve even heard that Tom is gay and their marriage was a cover up.
However regardless, whether or not if their marriage was real … I think the author was simply saying that it was nice to not worry about her problems for a change, and was thanking them for those few worry-less moments as she read her magazine. Her life as a mother to a child with disabilities are REAL unfortunate problems, something she cannot change, something she cannot fix, something she has to FIGHT FOR every single day.
I think the sarcasm of the story is that Celebrities don’t know how lucky they are … Suri is fit and healthy. Katie and Tom have EVERYTHING at their fingertips – even money for a marriage counselor.
To be perfectly honest I think Tom and Kate should read this article and think about what they could do to fight for their marriage, then THANK the author for the reality check, instead of taking the easy route out and ending it in the divorce. What happened to “For better, for worse, for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health”?!?!? Marriage takes work! We military wives know first hand how hard it is to fight for love, our marriages, our families … why haven’t Kate and Tom fought for their marriage?! I think celebrities are the last people we should take marriage advice from!