Jacqueline S. Homan
Levi Johnson, the nation’s most famous deadbeat dad, landed a windfall for posing in Playgirl amounting to over $100,000. Not bad for a high school drop out from a less-than stellar family who made headlines for drug use, whose only claim to fame is impregnating and then abandoning the teen mother of his baby — after he said he’d marry her (of course, that was when the girl’s famous mother was a contender for the vice presidency).
He made a bundle and has not fulfilled his obligation to his child. He paid $4,400 — less than $340 a month, not to mention the ten months that he paid absolutely nothing during which he probably spent plenty on himself. And the only reason his name is known is because he got the teenage daughter of Alaska’s then-governor Sarah Palin pregnant.
Regardless of what anyone thinks of Sarah Palin, Bristol Palin — like any other abandoned young single mother — only wants what she is legally entitled to from a sleazy ex-boyfriend who saw her as a meal ticket to the Vice Presidency quarters in the Capitol, and then bailed ship — leaving the teen girl who endured the pregnancy and gave birth to his baby high and dry. And the status of Bristol Palin’s mother has nothing to do with the father’s obligations. Sarah Palin did not get her daughter pregnant — Levi Johnson did. But Levi Johnson doesn’t seem to believe he should have any responsibilities when it comes to supporting her and his child that she bore him, after he only used her to get laid and then used her family name for his own publicity to “earn” what he’s got.
Forget the names and political affiliation of those involved here for a moment. This is about a ‘father’ who needs to take responsibility for his child. He has income that he’s selfishly withholding because he is the one being greedy.
Levi Johnson had a choice. He could have chosen to wear a condom. He could have “kept it in his pants” rather than only care about himself and his wanting to get laid without any concern for his bed victim.
Bristol was underage at the time of her pregnancy, and therefore could not very easily obtain contraceptives or an abortion without parental consent. And given her mother’s staunch pro-life position, it is unlikely that Bristol would have been able to get on birth control in the first place, never mind get an abortion. Yet, people criticize her for going after Levi for child support that she and that baby are entitled to.
Thoughtless comments abound all over the Internet, castigating her as being greedy and “just wanting the money.” Well, let’s talk about that.
Since a lot of judgmental people missed the memo: It takes money to raise a child. Children have two parents, and deserve and are entitled to support from both. If Bristol is raising Levi’s baby by herself plus providing economically for the child, she is contributing far more than half already. She cannot compel the co-conceiver, nor can any court in the world, to actually be a father and help raise and nurture the child, or spend time with him.
And “time” does not buy things like diapers, clothing, baby formula, food, medical care, shelter, or other needs that all require money to obtain. When you were a child, your parent(s) had to spend money for your necessities in order for you to live. Unless there is some remote corner in the world where someone can live and get what they need in order to survive without the use of money. Bristol Palin’s claim, reflective of countless abandoned single mothers across the US (many who are a lot poorer), is not about “just wanting the money” — but needing money to survive. Single mothers need money to support themselves and their children just like the rest of us need money to live, too.
