General Chat

Peter, My best friend has been a single parent most of her life, why?? because she was let down by WEAK men. She has raised 3 wonderful children,all are a credt to her,she had 3 jobs at one point in order to give them what they needed. NO,hand outs for her, I respect her so much. Her 2 sons are both officers in the royal marines now and her daughter is at university,they are respectful children,I often wonder if this would be the case if she had stayed with either of her partners, I doubt it,like I said both of her husbands were WEAK!! she however is a strong woman, her children have shown me just how strong.

Felicty I was not saying that every child brought up by a single parent was a scally. However what is clear is that most scallies and whingers in trouble today are probably from a single parent faimily..

Peter, thats so untrue!!

Peter, you seem to be making a whole host of sweeping assumptions here. Public schools have catchment areas and therefore a geographically limited number of applicants and the criteria for applying for faith-based schools have additional restrictions. The school may be over-subscribed, but this discussion would be more fruitful if based on fact and not mere conjecture.

Both the Blairs have Oxbridge degrees, I think the likelihood is that their children are going to be brainy as well. I imagine any school would welcome them. Gwynne

Peter, that's as clear as mud!! But, if you want to go down that route, then who is really to blame for that? The single mothers who struggle to bring up their children alone, and in your view fail miserably, or the absent fathers who abandon their families? Widowhood apart, for every single mother there's an absent father - one who by your estimation is the only one who is able to discipline boys (and I don't dispute that many boys suffer for the lack of a father), but one way or another fails to do what is necessary.

Gwynne I think you will find that the Blairs kids are quite thick,. Perhaps also what you don't realise is that the 'Oxbridge' education of our dear Cheri is causing serious concern at the moment with the human rights legislation that she made her dear Tony force through Parliament against the will of most of us.

And the basis for those searing comments, Peter, is...............?

Peter, Resorting to sarcasm and personal abuse of the Blairs and their children is not an adult way to debate. Your last sentence made absolutely no sense, I have no idea what you were trying to say. I see no point in discussing this with you further. Gwynne

Felicity, Absent fathers? I don't think this is the problem What I am talking about is the huge, yes huge, number of girls who get pregnant purely to get social security payments and a roof over their heads. They have no permanent man nor do they want one. Their children are a means to a meal ticket for them and no more. Not surprising that they grow up the same way. Don't get me wrong. there are many many single parents that bring up their kids perfectly normally and they have my greatest respect for this.

Peter, It takes two to Tango - and to make babies. Girls get pregnant as a meal ticket? They get pregnant and are tied down. If the male of the species is innocent in all this, why didn't he wear a condom - and help stop the spread of clomidia and other STD's while he was at it!!! maggie

Ah, Peter, another hoary old chestnut. I suppose I should be used by now to the idea that most of the ills of the world can be laid at the feet of wanton women and feckless girls. Men hold the majority of the power, money and influence on the planet and yet they are responsible for little or nothing. Wasn't it George Eliott who said, 'I wouldn't have a man's consciousness for anything.' ? To get back to the initial thesis of Len's very interesting thread - who's to blame? Perhaps those holding most money, power and influence!!!! perhaps!!

Gwynne I realise that you hold the Blairs in quite high esteem, however, our perception of them is not quite the same as yours. We make no bones about the fact that we think they are no more than fortune seekers, out to make their name in the history books, before their little world collapses about their ears. Sadlly Tony Blair or Bliar or what ever you want to call him is sinking fast. His days are numbered. He is in serious personal debt, not just for his contributions to the school his kids attended, but for the £15M or so mortgage he has on his properties. Clearly his salary as PM can not supprt this sort of debt so presumably Cheri has covered the mortgages with hers.

I have to agree with what Peter is saying about a CERTAIN TYPE of single mother. There are single mothers who are single through no fault of their own, who tried to do things the 'right' way, in a loving longterm (they thought) relationship. There are other single mothers who made one 'mistake' and are dealing with the consequences, often unhelped by the father, or their families. But there is definitely a third group of women who 'find themselves pregnant'. Find themselves pregnant? What, they werent there when it happened? They then make the most of this situation and go on to have many children, often by different and sometimes completely unknown fathers. This does not bode well for their parenting skills. And we frequently see on these Boards the misery that results when young adults have no idea who their birth father was, because, frankly, their mother was a careless slapper. Yes, men should take responsibility for their actions, use condoms etc - but if the women allow these men to act in a totally irresponsible way, then, in my book, the women bear the blame and the rest of society bears the consequences. I am not a moralist, I dont care what anyone does, I dont care if a woman chooses to sleep with 12 different unknown men every night. But I do care when the consequences of this behaviour result in the birth of another human being who is going to be dragged up fatherless and probably inflict the whole cycle on us all over again. OC

Yes it is a meal ticket for certain types.. Sorry, but you only have to sit on the bus to town to realise this.

Peter, Who are the 'we' you speak of? Do you presume to speak for the rest of GR or the rest of the UK? How very rude of you. I hold in high esteem anyone who takes full advantage of their education and achieves success in their chosen field, whether or not I agree with their politics. Yet again you make sweeping statements with absolutely no evidence to back them up. Gwynne

Gwynne The 'We' is me and my wife and the many members on this site who have had just enough of TB and his antics. Lets face it, his time is over, he is dead meat, and he needs to get out now before he is pushed out. Those of us who have seen through his charade know that all he wants is to make a name for himself in the history books. Not doing too well at present though.

Peter, you are indulging in rhetoric which does not impress but tends to annoy, as you must be aware. It would be appreciated if you could keep to substantiated facts. len

Well. I must live a very secluded life. Yes, I do know of two, what could be called 'serial pregnant' women. I also know of at least 5 unattached 'men' who have children by more than 2 women (6 in one case). We never hear them being slated and all of life's ills put at their feet do we? No doubt in Peter's society the women would be at fault - the poor men had no say in the matter!! Oh, and as I don't drive, I ALWAYS have to get the bus maggie

I have got no time for Tony Blair and never have had. Sadly, I cannot see anyone waiting in the wings, who is capable of putting the ills of society right without causing civil war. I am glad I am no longer young because I despair of what is going to happen to this country. OC