Ah... yes, I have decided to throw my hat in the ring of people talking about the poor, 12-weeks pregnant, 16-year-old sister to the infamous Britney.
In her interview with OK! Magazine, Jamie Lynn indicates long time boyfriend Casey Aldridge as the father of the baby. A good boyfriend, he tries to be around her whenever possible, even driving out to the studio during filming of her hit Nickelodeon series
Zoey 101 to see her and watch her work. He tries to impress her family whenever he can, and has done a great job - they embrace the 18-year-old as a member of their family.
There have been talks about Casey being charged with statutory rape. This is not the case. He is in the three year age range where it is okay to be having relations with Jamie Lynn. Seeing his closeness to her family, I doubt that would've happened anyway. The Spears family would have to have pressed charges for anything to happen to him.
There are varying opinions on her pregnancy, her television career, and her decision to keep the baby. Here are my answers to these ponderings.
Certain people have taken the stance that the Spears family is terrible, that Jamie Lynn should've learned from her sister's mistakes. First off, since no one making these statements knows the family personally, attacks on the family are not from a reliable source and merely crap, really. I don't care who the family is or what they've gone through, you do not simply blame the family. Secondly, Britney - although she's probably a terrible mother - did NOT get pregnant at age 16. Since they were not in the same position and situation, Jamie Lynn would not have learned anything from her sister, except maybe how NOT to parent.
Despite the "mistake" Jamie Lynn has made, as others have been calling the little bundle of joy to be, I am sure that she will not follow in her sister's footsteps for a few reasons,
- Although only 16, she has a relatively good head on her shoulders.
- She has not enjoyed the same level of fame as Britney, and therefore has not gotten into the same problems with the same addictions and same bad group of friends.
- She has a well-mannered boy at her side, who seems to love her for who she is and not for the money and fame she has, unlike K-Fed
How would everyone be reacting if, instead of hearing all about her being pregnant and keeping the baby, we were hearing about her
alleged abortion? I know that everyone is worried about how children are going to react to this, but how would
they react to her abortion? Instead of merely explaining pregnancy, then parents would have to explain the art or ridding oneself of a child in the most painful and gruesome way. None of that takes into account the young Ms. Spears' health.
Parents are all worried now, because they actually have to parent their tweens and teens a bit. Instead of ignoring sex, now it's getting pushed into their faces and they have to talk about it with their youngsters. Those who were counting on their children's faith to defer them from sex now have an example for their children, but they need to speak on more than the abstinence-only stance of the U.S. government. Children are going to do what they want to do, what their bodies want to do, what feels good. As someone who has recently come out of the teen stage of life, I can speak to that more than most adults can. The biggest thing with teenagers is that they defy authority - if your parents say you can't do something, then it's obviously because they don't want you to have fun, they hate you, or they just don't understand the situation. The "Just Say No" method never has worked, isn't going to work. Fear is not the way to rule, but education is a different story. Teaching kids how to protect themselves will go much farther in reducing the rates of teenage pregnancy and STIs. Comprehensive education is what we need, taking models from other countries like the Netherlands and Germany. The rest of that point will be made a different day.
A lot of people have been pulling for Nickelodeon to pull the remaining episodes of
Zoey 101. Here's what I don't get with that.
- All the episodes for this season have been filmed, and will not feature an obviously pregnant Jamie Lynn.
- This is the fourth and final season.
- The studio would be losing money if they did that - D'OH!
The first two reasons also apply to people who are choosing to tell their children the show has been canceled. The other thing about that is your kids are going to find out that the show wasn't canceled, and are gonna watch it eventually, whether at a friend's house or when you're not at home. Sorry folks, ignorance once again isn't the answer.
To those who are bashing little Jamie Lynn:
Let me paint a picture for ya.
You're 16-years-old, going steady with an awesome boy. Like almost all teenagers, things get a little heavy and sex ensues. Let's even say a condom was worn and didn't break. It feels so good and is so much fun, the two of you continue to have sex protected.
Statistically, 1 in every 100 women gets pregnant with a condom, due to human error or minor imperfections in the condom.
You find out, after missing your period, that you're pregnant. Your best friend, who was with you while buying the test and taking it, is the only one who knows. You have a career in show business and know that this could just be that nail in the coffin that sends you back to unknown parts of Louisiana forever. You know that your family will be so disappointed in you, especially since they regard you as the good daughter.
What would YOU have done in that situation?
Would you have taken the easy way out and gotten an abortion? After all, only you and your best friend would know...
Or would you have called your boyfriend that night and told him, then told your family at Thanksgiving? Scheduled an interview to publicly announce your pregnancy and your decision to keep the baby?
Although I'm pro-choice, it makes me happy to think that this young lady, despite all she has to lose, is stepping up and taking responsibility for her actions. And I'm very proud of Casey for choosing to stand by her, despite all that he has to lose as well. I will not say it is heroic, as some are describing it. I will say, however, that it is so noble, so loving, and so selfless of the two of them to make this venture into parenthood together at such a young age.
And to Jamie Lynn:
I highly doubt you will read this, but I want you to know that I support your decision and I am behind you 110%. I never was a big fan of yours before, but I will not stand by while people are ridiculing you and your decision. It is your life, and not a part of television or the lives of children all over the world.
Do what is best for you and for your little family to be, sweetheart. Good luck.
Pretty bad right? My theory is all the pressure that had built up in my knee got released into the bruise, because my knee is 100% better now.
