Thinking Differently About Nadya Suleman

By Alicia Sparks

Ah! Finally! Finally I’ve read an article about Nadya Suleman (”Octo-Mom”) that isn’t telling us how greedy, irresponsible, uncaring, and horribly disturbed she is.

If you read Celebrity Psychings even semi-regularly, you’ve probably noticed I’ve stayed away from Nadya Suleman and her 14 children. In the beginning, this was for two reasons: One, she wasn’t a celebrity (even though she seems to be one now) and two, there really wasn’t any point for me - a mental health blogger who focuses on celebrity issues - to regurgitate the story.

I can see it now:

“Nadya Suleman is a fairly young single mother who chose to have 14 children using in-vitro fertilization. Folks are reporting a history of mental health problems, and now she has a publicist.”

Really.

But, I stumbled across Five Reasons Not to Hate Octo-Mom at Strollerderby this morning and couldn’t resist taking a peek. I’m so glad I did.

Shannon LC Cate, the writer, offers just what the article’s title suggests: Five reasons why she doesn’t hate Suleman (actually, I only counted four reasons - I may have missed one, though). They’re all good, solid reasons, but my favorite are the first three: We don’t know her, there’s no way for us to actually get to know her, and there are too many other forces out there involved in this story to hate.

Unsurprisingly, not every comment left under the article is a favorable one. Every person has his or her own opinions, naturally, and many of the folks who commented made valid points. Still, I applaud Cate for thinking outside the box of common opinions and knee-jerk reactions to point out what not too many people have publicly voiced thus far.

Now, don’t assume I’m a cheerleader for Suleman’s desire to use in-vitro fertilization to have 14 children - especially when she’s a single mom in her early 30s who was already relying heavily on her mother to help with the first six kids. I fully grasp the financial irresponsibility of it all, the emotional toll everyone involved is having to pay, and that the woman probably is still dealing with some mental health issues.

But, I am definitely a cheerleader for Cate’s final argument: The best thing for Suleman would be for everyone to let the story die so that she and her family can get the help they need.

And with that, consider the story dead here at Celebrity Psychings.

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