…a word about Bristol. Because it’s been killing me not to have been able to weigh in on this sooner.
One can’t sit on a $3,000 sofa overlooking a private, Olympic-sized swimming pool in a Hollywood mansion filled with modern conveniences, paid gardeners and bidets, sobbing into a $900 throw cushion, whining about how life is such a struggle and expect anyone at all to believe it. I’m not an idiot. I know all these supposed reality shows are scripted. But don’t most reality show producers at least try to emulate reality on some level? The only thing Lifetime got right about Bristol Palin’s reality is that she is – in fact – a single mom. But that’s it. That’s where the line between her reality show and reality part company.
Most single moms trying to make ends meet would have been happy just to have the money Bristol spent driving her gas-guzzling Ford F-150 from Alaska to California and back again. For many I’m sure that alone would have represented several months of day-care and grocery money. Are we really meant to believe she earned her car, her gas money, her clothes, a food allowance for three (herself, Tripp and Willow) from a short stint in a dentist’s office? How much are they paying dental assistants in Alaska these days? Maybe we should all move there…
Most single moms I know have had to move back in with mom and dad just to get their footing and when they do move out on their own the budget is tight. So, not everyone can afford $10 an hour for a babysitter to go shopping with a friend or clubbing. In fact, I’ve had more than one young mom tell me it doesn’t pay to go to work full time these days because after you put gas in the car, buy lunches and appropriate clothing and register for day-care, you stand to lose money each week. And I’m pretty sure that’s accurate because I remember once working for a company that paid me $50 less per month than what I needed to pay my bills – and when I quit it was because I couldn’t afford to keep it up.
Not everyone can afford a car. In the real world most single moms have to make careful decisions on which vehicles to purchase because it’s often the case one can afford either the car or the insurance but not both – so when it’s possible, a lesser, older make and model is settled on (usually risking getting stuck on the road when something breaks down, however). In cities where buses and local trains are accessible, a lot of single moms forego the expense of a car altogether and just rely on public transport.
Single moms also lose time from work to nurse sick bubs, rush to school to pick up a child who has been injured in a soccer game, or – and this is considered an extravagance by many – to see your child receive an award at a school assembly. Sometimes one can make up the lost pay by working overtime or taking an extra shift – but mostly it’s just sacrificed income that is never recovered.
And this is just a sampling of what actual single moms in the real world go through to raise their children and stand tall in society.
So while Bristol tries to promote an image of being an average, struggling single mother making ends meet by working a menial job in a dentist’s office, we know the truth: She made a small fortune being a paid lecturer (don’t even get me started on this one) and giving a few speeches and then placing third (or this one either, for that matter) on DWTS and doesn’t even remotely resemble a struggling single mom in America. And she has a millionaire mother who will never let her daughter or grandson be out in the cold. (Even if Sarah wanted to turn her back on Bristol, she has an image to protect and knows the public is always watching.)
So, Bristol, until you’ve:
*spent a frantic hour at your desk talking in whispers so as not to be overheard by your boss while trying desperately to find someone to pick up your sick child from school so you don’t jeopardize your job and/or lose a couple of hours pay -
*had to stand in a checkout line deliberating which food items to put back on the shelf because the docket was more than you had the cash to pay -
*had to go to work sick yourself because you couldn’t afford to miss any more days off -
*had to beg the power company to give you another extension on your bill because your son had a bad cough and you had to pay for a doctor visit and medicine up front -
*had to work co-operatively with your neighbours to arrange shared babysitting so each of you could have the freedom to go shopping or on a date and then have to take care of six kids when it was your turn -
*stood in line waiting to see if you’d qualify for food stamps -
*needed to go through the sheriff’s department to collect child support because you couldn’t afford an attorney -
*worried if the new babysitter was treating your son well or if you’d made the wrong decision and wondered who else you might call to verify this person’s credentials -
*had to pass on a family trip, special occasion or not accept an invitation in the first place to go – well, anywhere – because there just wasn’t enough money this week…
…then sit down and shut the Hell up you snivelling, spoiled little brat.
And the next time you want to claim you’ve experienced a ghetto – get out of the damned car and hoof it.
Well there – I feel better. Back to work on Princess part 3 
July 1, 2012 at 3:54 am
You described my life as a divorced mother of 2 very precisely (years ago, but the same as today). Brisdull is nothing but a delusional poseur out for herself, just like Mommie Dearest..
July 1, 2012 at 4:16 am
It certainly sounds like you’ve been there, and since I was a single mom for 11 years, I can relate. But there’s another aspect of single parenting that Bristol will miss as well. My daughter and I have an incredible relationship built during long walks or bike rides when we couldn’t afford to go to the movies, long talks and plenty of games of cards because we couldn’t afford cable, and lots of beautiful time together because I couldn’t afford a sitter.
Bristol has already shown that her needs trump those of Tripp by exploiting him and robbing him of a normal childhood. It must be confusing for the poor kid when mommy is often “acting” as his mother. I can’t imagine that her selfishness won’t damage her son long term.
She’s not a mother – she’s just a breeder.
September 16, 2012 at 12:45 am
And you’re an ignorant, judgmental woman devoid of truth. Grow up and learn not to judge people you don’t know.
September 20, 2012 at 6:21 am
Are you a sock puppet, or just a Git? On what planet is it ok to condemn someone else for committing the same ‘crime’ that you yourself choose to commit?
Throw stones much?
July 1, 2012 at 4:24 am
I didn’t have to endure all of those, but I remember those days well, and if it hadn’t been for the help of my grandparents, I don’t know what I would have done.
July 1, 2012 at 4:38 am
I was three months old when my dad died, leaving my mom with no job, a mortgage and a new baby and when I hear Bristol whining her damn ass off I want to slap her so hard her head falls off. She is not a survivor; she is a taker and a whiner and I don’t think she could manage to keep herself and Tripp afloat on her own if she really had to. She has no clue what difficult is. Put a sock in it Bristol – you are in insult to single moms who have a hard row to hoe.
.
July 1, 2012 at 4:44 am
I wasn’t a single mom but I became the sole breadwinner of our little family when my late husband was paralysed by a virus illness when our daughter was only 6 months old. He was hospitalised for 15 months! Fortunately I was able to sublet our rented cottage and move in with my folks. But I recall the years of scrimping and making do and being devasted when I mislaid a few cents!
July 1, 2012 at 4:48 am
That contraction of ‘devasted’ should be ‘devastated’, LOL.
July 1, 2012 at 5:28 am
Been taking typo lessons from me I see
July 1, 2012 at 5:11 am
Being a dental assistant actually requires going to school, passing a state test, and getting licensed. It was said that she was a receptionist. Amazing that she did all that on about $8 and hour.
July 1, 2012 at 5:27 am
You know, I’d thought she was the receptionist but then I read some interview somewhere that made the distinction of assistant (not technician but a step up from receptionist) and thought I’d give her the benefit of the doubt here without putting any effort into researching it.
And you’re perfectly right – regardless of the title she couldn’t have been making more than $8 an hour – and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t get up at 5am to bathe Tripp before going to work with a bank account full of easy money.
It’s all bogus. This family makes me insane – rofl
July 1, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Personally, I think Bristol’s job at the dermatologist’s office (it’s not a dentist she allegedly works for) is manning the Keurig coffee maker.
She used to be a barista, after all, for about 5 minutes while her mother was still Gov., I’m not sure whether it was in Anchorage or Juneau.
July 1, 2012 at 4:09 pm
There’s so much misinformation out there and when you couple that with all the different stories the Palins themselves like to tell, who knows where I got the dental assistant version… thanks for the correction
September 16, 2012 at 12:51 am
She’s a receptionist and the person who takes down a patient’s info before the assistant enters the room. She describes her job specifically in her book. I don’t think she’d ever try to hide her close relationship with her boss’s family (though everyone in the office is close I see). She’s never denied she’s blessed. But even when she was living privately and working just at her office job, people still criticized her and made up these ridiculous scenarios to make themselves feel better.
So yes, she does deserve her opportunities after what lovely* strangers like you write libelously about her. But at the end of the day, only she knows her truth, and that is no different from the rest of you.
We all live independent lives and only we know the reasons behind out decisions. Decisions are made with emotion and how we feel things need to be to ensure lasting happiness. It’s taken Bristol awhile to forgive certain people and start to trust after being betrayed multiple times by the opposite sex.
None of you know details of that, therefore cannot justify judgmental comments.
July 1, 2012 at 7:22 am
For some reason, I simply do not believe that Bristol drove alone with Tripp and Willow from Alaska to Los Angeles in her SUV or truck or whatever it is. I think they flew and someone from their production company drove the vehicle or had it transported to California. Maybe I feel this way because I cannot imagine anything worse for poor little Tripp than being stuck in a vehicle for days with Bristol and Willow whining.
September 16, 2012 at 12:53 am
I don’t think she’s ever said she’s driven Tripp that far. She drove with a friend to LA for dwts before. She’s driven with her father from AZ to AK. She’s driven from AZ to AK a couple times moving and whatever reasons.
September 20, 2012 at 6:15 am
Mary,
I will refrain from the all-caps yelling that you lowered yourself to do because my Mom taught me manners. Your, er, let’s call them ‘rebuttals’ for politeness’ sake show a few things very clearly:
1 – You assume all the points shown were extreme cases. They aren’t. They are all a daily occurrence for literally thousands of families just here in California. I get that you can’t relate to that. And wow – woohoo for you for never having had to do anything you felt was beneath your dignity to feed your kids. Not everyone is so lucky.
2 – It’s the people who are genuinely struggling just to survive who get offended by a rich kid complaining that she doesn’t have ‘enough.’ Good on her for having a job. It’s an important part of growing up. But i wonder if there isn’t someone out there just as qualified and without rich parents who might need the job more in order to actually feed and shelter her children? But that’s what welfare is for – oh wait, the only people deserving of help in any form are the disabled and elderly – my bad.
3 – Even in today’s enlightened age, with almost 1000 people available for every job opening, many employers have no problem setting unrealistic expectations on their employees. So yeah, most people even in doctors’ offices have to go to work sick and take the risk. It sucks, but it’s many peoples’ reality.
4 – You have never been behind on a bill. Something that tells me one of two things; either your definition of ‘starting out with nothing’ is far different from Ozmud’s (and those who really did start with nothing), or you are lying to yourself that 2 days late doesn’t count. Ok a third option is that you don’t remember ever being late on a bill. I’m inclined to believe by the rest of your comments, however, that the first option is more accurate.
4a – Let’s be honest here – you’ve never had to put something back on the shelf at the grocery store because you had more need than cash, have you? I have been called a penny-pinching witch by the spouse because I made him stick to my list and budget, but I had to feed 6 people on $80/week. I do know the heart-dropping feeling of having to budget in order to make sure everyone gets not only fed, but all the nutrition they need. Did I mention that my youngest has a blood disorder, and my oldest had trouble processing gluten way before it was the ‘in’ thing? Do I complain about it? No. They’re my kids and they’re worth it.
5 – No one stated that Bristol can’t recognize suffering – in others. The question is more one of ‘how can she claim extreme hardship when she has never really experienced it?’ The honest answer is: she can’t. She can claim that what she is going through is the hardest thing she’s ever done. And she does. As is her right. But maybe a dose of reality once in a while might change her perspective.
6 – You seem to think that Bristol’s choice not to jetset around the world despite getting money from two extra sources above her job and family should offset her whining about how tough she has it. I’m not saying she has it easy – with Sarah for a mom, Bristol has a huge disadvantage to overcome every day. Add a toddler, and life isn’t a blissful medley of parties and playtime. But it is in no way even remotely difficult enough to justify the amount of ‘poor me’ and boohooing that she does.
You accuse Ozmud of having gall? Maybe get out your dictionary and look for another word: gall [gawl] noun
1. impudence; effrontery. 2. bile, especially that of an animal. 3. something bitter or severe. 4. bitterness of spirit; rancor.
It applies to the Palins and Romneys of the world far more than the Ozmuds.
If anyone is being hateful here, it appears to be you, Mary. What with the shouting and name-calling.
July 1, 2012 at 7:27 am
Not to mention she gets socialized medicine because her father is part native American so she doesn’t have to worry about healthcare
July 1, 2012 at 7:53 am
Getting directions from Google, it is a 65-hour trip and almost 3K miles. The route went through the Yukon and required a ferry crossing. Looking at the route on Google I see nothing out there for miles and miles and miles. I have a real hard time believing that two girls, the oldest being 21, and a toddler made that trip alone. My mom would never have let me do that. Hell I’m almost 50 now and she would have a heart attack at the thought of me out their in the nothingness by myself. I do believe her mom and dad would let her because they are asshats.
July 2, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Add to that gasoline that cost more than $ 4/ gallon, 15mpg, that would make the trip cost around $800 ONE way, NOT including the cost of (five star?) hotels, food and incidentals for three people…
November 8, 2012 at 11:00 pm
The Palins are so full of shit, it’s gushing out their ears! There is no way in hell they drove from AK to AZ or CA; that yehicle was shipped courtesy of SarahPac ( “postage”)! Don’t forget the price of gas is considerably higher here in Canada; on the west coast, in northern BC and Yukon, it is quite expensive – anywhere from $1.25 to $1.60 per litre. (U.S. gallon is 3.78 litres; Imperial gallon is 4.5 litres. That translates to between $5.50 and $7.00 per Imperial gallon in Canadian currency.) The Palins are too goddamn cheap to spend that kind of money; I call bullshit on their tall tales! So we are to believe she has that kind of money and flexibility from answering phones in a dermatologist’s office? Once again, bullshit! By the way “Mary”, whoever the hell you are, I have an older sister who has been working as a receptionist at a local media outlet for the last 38 years; she does not have that kind of flexibility. She is also a single mother who is struggling to put a daughter through college, and made a lot of sacrifices along the way! Her idiot husband abandoned them a few years ago, and swindled everything she worked for, including funds she set aside for her daughter’s education (I’m still looking for that bastard)! She does not own a car, let alone a Hemi Challenger; but she does have brothers and sisters who care for them both, and help them out when needed – money can NEVER buy the closeness of family! So “Mary”, instead of yapping on about how difficult life is for poor little entitled Barstool and her rude brat, consider the struggles that posters here experience daily, and do not whine about it publicly, let alone in books, magazines, or on TV! Shut your trap and kiss my arse!!!
July 1, 2012 at 7:57 am
Make that “there.”
July 1, 2012 at 9:33 am
My husband and I made a 3k mile trip from the east coast to the west in the late 1960′s. We drove almost non-stop with him driving during the day while I drove during the night. Our toddler was a pleasant traveling companion until we hit Lincoln Nebraska where without warning her good-nature gave way to a torrential meltdown. She’d had enough of the car thing and wanted out.NOW MOMMY OUT NOW!
The entire trip took 5 full days plus part of a sixth. My parents thought we were INSANE for making it that fast but we just wanted to get home.
We met a lot of people along the way who showed us kindness after kindness when plans went awry, and every waitress along the route made a fuss over our lovable bub.
I realize today’s speed limits are higher and the roads better but I fail to see how anyone can actually drive 3k miles in only 65 hours – but even if these two girls did manage – where are the road stories? And wouldn’t whoever filmed this disaster have thought it cash-in-the-pocket to get a few episodes worth of .little Tripp seeing some sights along the way? What did he think of the Golden Gate Bridge? Did they stop and look up at Mt. Shasta? The Oregon Caves? An apple grove in Washington?
They made a huge fuss over Tripp looking at a big swimming pool and a few bidets but did they film his reaction to Seattle’s Space Needle?
Did no one recognize them when they checked into hotels for the night or stopped to buy gas?
Please – don’t tell me – this is yet another Fake Palin Travel story? Like mother.like daughter I suppose…
July 1, 2012 at 9:24 am
I became a single parent when my daughter’s father and I divorced when she was five. I can definitely identify with many of the things you listed, OZ. The economic hardship wasn’t a major factor because I had college degrees and was a teacher before I retired. There were some economic hardships, though because I was teaching in a southern state that doesn’t allow public employees to bargain collectively, and I taught 15 years before I earned $30,000 gross, per year. Bristol doesn’t know what it’s like to be a real single parent without all of the perks she has available to her. I think this is what makes her performance on her reality show so unbelievable. People know she has certain advantages that the average single parent doesn’t have and find it hard to believe that her life as a single parent is as tough as she wants to pretend it is.
July 1, 2012 at 12:29 pm
I thought she was “working” for a dermatologist? Nice job, time off whenever she wants, bla bla.
July 1, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Another single mom here. Betsy’s lovely post about the depth of her relationship with her daughter reminded me of my own situation with my kids. One summer…many years ago…my two young sons and I would go to the local public beach whenever we could. There was a booth which rented rafts for the day for $5. My kids were desperate to rent a raft, but there was no way I could afford that luxury. So we started to save all of our change..even pennies.. until we finally had the $5. My boys were so excited that day we were going to rent the raft that they invited their cousins to come to the beach with them to share the joy. We packed pp&j sandwiches…brought a camera (my favorite photos!) …and spent the day riding the raft in the ocean. We felt like millionaires that day. Who could ask for anything more? Today…if I ask what childhood memories are the best…the story of the raft is usually #1.
July 1, 2012 at 4:07 pm
My kids and I had more than one lean Christmas but we treasure those memories above all the rest – they would have one gift each and I’d hide them the night before – they’d find clues and have to figure them out and it took a couple of hours to find and open them. And one year, when the girls were grown and it was just me and my son, I wrapped candy bars and tied them together with ribbon, draping them across the television set – with a channel set to people singing Christmas carols around a big tree.
That year I survived a cancer scare and that was the best Christmas ever. That’s the one my son still talks about – forty years later
Thanks to all of you for sharing your beautiful memories
July 2, 2012 at 5:22 am
This is totally off the deep end of the board but totally in line with the economics issue. I recently gave our old van to a mechanic friend to get it running because, in my words, “some needy someone is going to need a good reliable means of transportation for not a whole lot of money”. Lots of parts and upgrades are installed.Vehicle is done ,now just waiting for the matchup to appear……
July 2, 2012 at 6:50 am
That’s brilliant! Please let us know how we can help!
July 2, 2012 at 7:46 am
Find us a family that needs a good reliable means of transportation and can scrape together a coupla grand. This van was too good to send to the boneyard and we had already replaced it. I have an 800# if anyone in the western US would like to call and talk about it.
August 13, 2012 at 4:27 am
Have you found a home for the van yet?
August 13, 2012 at 8:27 am
Yep, Didn’t take long….
September 16, 2012 at 12:34 am
I have a thought for you. Maybe if you took the time you spend hate blogging to your dozen readers, you’d have time to earn your way to a happier life. Very few people start out with money. Most start with a dream and earn their way to being a millionaire. My parents and myself were more than financially independent by age 30 and myself and they had nothing but children and a roof and food when we first started “living.”
So go cry yourself a river. Bristol’s never denied being blessed with a family or above average finances. Her show is to SHOW that parenting is MORE than cooing and having fun. It’s to show a hint of what she experiences with all the hateful people who slander her. It’s to show other teens to rethink their decisions.
DUH. Even Bristol’s friends in Wasilla understand that. if her show stopped just a few teenagers from engaging in risky behavior, it succeeded. The show, if it has just been having fun with Tripp and seeing him ecstatic after having ridden a snowmachine by himself, would have shown young people parenting is all fun and games. That would be wrong. Yes, Tripp is blessed and sublimely happy, but he’s also 3 with a 3 yr old’s personality. He may be a popular kid with many “girlfriends,” he may be adored by all who know him, but he’s still 3 and teenagers need to see that there is another side to the fun of parenting.
November 22, 2012 at 9:46 am
Bristol’s show wasn’t designed to show other teens to rethink their decisions. She’s done nothing but glamorize the life of a single mom who often pawns off her child to a third party so she can jet set to different states attending book signing events, convention appearances and visits to estranged siblings in Arizona, there the two enjoyed a trip to have additional elective cosmetic surgery. Bristol was more focused on her relationship with Gino than she was on parenting her own child. Life’s a Tripp was nothing more than a way for Bristol to rake in a boat load of cash at the expense of her son. It would have been impossible for the show to portray Tripp as ecstatic after riding a snow machine because Trip was ultimately traumatized by the snow machine incident, most people will remember him screaming and wailing, tears streaming down his cheeks the day Bristol forced him to enter the silly contest against his will. She obviously did this intentionally because she needed drama for her silly reality show so she intentionally inflicted stress onto her toddler. Viewers would have no way of knowing if Trip is actually a popular kid because he was never seen interacting with other children his own age. He was often seen throwing temper tantrums or cursing at his aunt Willow and neglectful mother. He’ll always be remembered best for yelling, “I hate you! You f***t!!!” That’s not something a mother would be proud of, Bristol not only lies about it and denies it ever happened, she uses it play into her ongoing victimization. It’s too bad for Bristol Palin her life’s a drip. In reality her reality show flopped, people are tired of the Palin family BS! Her ratings were so bad the networked pulled her out of prime time after the second week and did not renew the show for a second season. Her exit after only the 4th week of DWTS is further proof that America is sick tired of the Palin brand of hogwash!
September 16, 2012 at 12:44 am
Here are my comments to your bulleted points:
*spent a frantic hour at your desk talking in whispers so as not to be overheard by your boss while trying desperately to find someone to pick up your sick child from school so you don’t jeopardize your job and/or lose a couple of hours pay – TRUE, BRISTOL IS CLOSE TO HER BOSS’S FAMILY AND HER COWORKERS ARE ALL FRIENDS SO HER WORK ENVIRONMENT IS EASIER THAN MANY OTHER
*had to stand in a checkout line deliberating which food items to put back on the shelf because the docket was more than you had the cash to pay – WELL, SHE DID WAIT BEFORE SHE TOOK FANCY OPPORTUNITIES SO THIS MAY HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE, THOUGH SHE’S ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGED SUPPORTIVE PARENTS
*had to go to work sick yourself because you couldn’t afford to miss any more days off – YOU CAN’T SAY THIS HASNT HAPPENED, THOUGH SHE WORKS IN A DRS OFFICE SO IT PROBABLY WOULD BE FROWNED UPON TO WORK SICK
*had to beg the power company to give you another extension on your bill because your son had a bad cough and you had to pay for a doctor visit and medicine up front – I MUST SAY EVEN WITH MY STRUGGLES, IVE NEVER FALLEN BEHIND ON BILLS SO I CANNOT RELATE
*had to work co-operatively with your neighbours to arrange shared babysitting so each of you could have the freedom to go shopping or on a date and then have to take care of six kids when it was your turn – BRISTOL DOES OFTEN VOLUNTEER TO BABYSIT AND OFTEN COMPLIMENTS HER FRIENDS WHO ARE SINGLE MOTHERS DO IT ALL THEMSELVES. SHE’S NOT BLIND TO PEOPLE WHO STRUGGLE
*stood in line waiting to see if you’d qualify for food stamps – I WILL NOT GO HERE BECAUSE I BELIEVE THESE PROGRAMS DO NO GOOD FOR SOCIETY. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE DESERVING OF HELP FROM THE MASSES ARE ELDERLY AND DISABLED. I WORKED MY WAY UP FROM NOTHING WITH NO BABYSITTER AND PARENTS 9 STATES AWAY.
*worried if the new babysitter was treating your son well or if you’d made the wrong decision and wondered who else you might call to verify this person’s credentials – BRISTOL’S NEVER DENIED HAVING GREAT PEOPLE TO HELP HER AND SHE GIVES BACK TO THOSE WHO NEED A HAND IN CHILD CARE, EVEN IF IT’S BECAUSE SHE LOVES BABYSITTING
*had to pass on a family trip, special occasion or not accept an invitation in the first place to go – well, anywhere – because there just wasn’t enough money this week… NOTICE HOW EVEN WITH MONEY RECEIVED FROM RAGS AND DWTS, BRISTOL STILL WORKS AND DOESNT JUST JETSET AROUND THE WORLD.
YOU LITERALLY JUST TOOK THE EXTREME CASES ON ALL THOSE SCENARIOS AND TREATED THIS GIRL AS IF SHE DOESN’T RECOGNIZE SUFFERING. GALL.