Comments on: Only A Mother Like Caitlin Flanagan Can Know What Real Love Is http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/2009/08/26/only-a-mother-like-catiline-flanagan-can-know-what-real-love-is/ small companies, big science Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:08:40 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: camille816 http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/2009/08/26/only-a-mother-like-catiline-flanagan-can-know-what-real-love-is/comment-page-1/#comment-27 camille816 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:48:20 +0000 http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/?p=115#comment-27 So glad someone else caught that atrocious 'guessing about love' comment. It's not clear if Flanagan meant the comment to apply to non-biological parents or just all non-parents, but I found it interesting that either way, according to her theory, the very kid at whose funeral she was in attendance when this gem of wisdom occurred to her, would himself have fallen into the 'never actually loved anyone for real' category. What a shame that this boy went through 16 years of the trials and tribulations of human life, without ever having experienced REAL love. Oh, and Mother Theresa, too. I myself am 40 and childless, and now I'm wondering if, gee, maybe I shouldn't just pack it in and stop using up natural resources that could be better consumed by someone who knows what life is really about. I also was struck by Flanagan's concluding her 'review' with an 'in case you haven't gleaned that I disapprove of this woman' final grind-down of Rielle Hunter. I guess when motherhood unlocked love's magic door for Flanagan it was with the caveat that love could then only be extended toward her own wonderful family and, you know, other people she likes, but not out toward the greater humanity. After all, why bother trying to imagine an actual person within the dreaded other woman, when everyone knows she can only be pure evil, pathetic-ness and stupidity? I suppose my own sarcastic remarks don't make me exactly a Buddha, either, but then again, I never said I had the answer. And yes, it's totally creepy that she's got a book coming out about pubescent girls when she has two sons. So glad someone else caught that atrocious ‘guessing about love’ comment. It’s not clear if Flanagan meant the comment to apply to non-biological parents or just all non-parents, but I found it interesting that either way, according to her theory, the very kid at whose funeral she was in attendance when this gem of wisdom occurred to her, would himself have fallen into the ‘never actually loved anyone for real’ category. What a shame that this boy went through 16 years of the trials and tribulations of human life, without ever having experienced REAL love. Oh, and Mother Theresa, too. I myself am 40 and childless, and now I’m wondering if, gee, maybe I shouldn’t just pack it in and stop using up natural resources that could be better consumed by someone who knows what life is really about.

I also was struck by Flanagan’s concluding her ‘review’ with an ‘in case you haven’t gleaned that I disapprove of this woman’ final grind-down of Rielle Hunter. I guess when motherhood unlocked love’s magic door for Flanagan it was with the caveat that love could then only be extended toward her own wonderful family and, you know, other people she likes, but not out toward the greater humanity. After all, why bother trying to imagine an actual person within the dreaded other woman, when everyone knows she can only be pure evil, pathetic-ness and stupidity?

I suppose my own sarcastic remarks don’t make me exactly a Buddha, either, but then again, I never said I had the answer. And yes, it’s totally creepy that she’s got a book coming out about pubescent girls when she has two sons.

]]> By: Liz Kofman http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/2009/08/26/only-a-mother-like-catiline-flanagan-can-know-what-real-love-is/comment-page-1/#comment-25 Liz Kofman Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:54:12 +0000 http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/?p=115#comment-25 oops, it should be flanagan, of course. oops, it should be flanagan, of course.

]]> By: Liz Kofman http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/2009/08/26/only-a-mother-like-catiline-flanagan-can-know-what-real-love-is/comment-page-1/#comment-24 Liz Kofman Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:52:21 +0000 http://trueslant.com/eilenezimmerman/?p=115#comment-24 Oh, how I do love a good jab at Flannigan- the ultimate giver of female guilt and fury. Thanks for this fun read. - Astri Oh, how I do love a good jab at Flannigan- the ultimate giver of female guilt and fury. Thanks for this fun read.

- Astri

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