Mama June is NOT a Bad Mom

If you haven't heard of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" you need to stop reading now and spend more time on every site on the Internet. But come back when you are done, because there is a totally great message in this post. I promise.

The TLC show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" has stirred a lot of controversy all over the southern United States. People are very upset that a real life family is shown on TV without being made up and super glitzy a la Kardashian. In fact, the glitzy on the show was their male pet pig...who Alana claimed was gonna be gay cause they were gonna make him a girl pageant pig. When 12 year old Lauren AKA Pumpkin told her he was gonna be gay, Alana proudly stood up for him saying “HE CAN IF HE WANTS TO! YOU CAN’T TELL THAT PIG WHAT TO DO!" Right off the bat, the show is standing up for equal rights...so don't they deserve the same respect?

The dad, Mike "Sugar Bear" works seven days a week in a chalk mine to take care of his family of six. Also, only Alana is his blood daughter. He has absolutely no obligation to the other girls, but calls them his girls and was eagerly awaiting the birth of his first grandchild. Suck it deadbeat dads.

I am sick of seeing all the negative things said about June Shannon. She is not a bad mother.

This woman has not had an easy life. She was a single mother to a toddler AND a newborn at 17 god damn years old. She had 3 kids by the time she was 20. I don't think I could handle one kid now, at 24, much less having three, four years ago. She dropped out of school, got her GED and got her shit together. For the most part.

Recently it has been released that June Shannon was jailed for four days due to unpaid child support she owed for her daughter Anna. FOUR days. She paid the money she owed and all was forgiven. Like your family is perfect? Get over yourselves Internet.

Mama June is often criticized about her looks and weight. She isn't a super model. Get over it. This woman stood on the scale, on National TV and told everyone the number on the scale. When is the last time a celebrity did that? She knows she has "vajiggle jaggle" and multiple chins, yet she is one of the most confident women on TV. She's addressed her appearance in one of the best ways I've ever heard: “Granted, I ain’t the most beautimous out the box, but a little paint on this barn, shine it back to its original condition. Cause it shines up like it’s brand new.”

 

She has projected her confidence onto her children as well. At six years old, Alana has been quoted as saying, "Pretty comes in all sizes."

How can anyone argue with that?

She spends hours and hours a week cleaning, clipping coupons, shopping and preparing Alana for pageants. She was with Anna every step of her pregnancy. Yes, she made mistakes when her children were younger, but I think she's done pretty damn good since then.

She taught her kids to love themselves regardless of what other people, especially the Internet, think. She cooks for her family almost every day. The money the family makes from the show? It has been put into trust funds for the children.

The next time you stand on your soapbox and call this family white trash, remember that real people come from families like this. Guess what? My family isn't perfect. My parents are divorced and my father committed suicide. I can name 10 of my blood related family members who have been in jail. I've had alcoholics and drug addicts in my family. As a matter of fact...the whole reason my family ended up in Virginia is because my great grandfather was running moonshine and wanted to make sure he had an easy escape if shit got hot.

Does that make me a bad person? Would you ever know any of that if I didn't tell you? Does this mean I'm gonna be a bad mother?

Maybe you should spend less time judging Mama June Shannon and more time reevaluating your own self worth if you need to put others down. Wanna borrow a jacket? I heard it's pretty cold up there on your ivory tower.