The Ladies of The View Browbeat Nadya

When I first heard that Nadya Suleman was to appear on The View, I wondered why. Hasn’t everything about her already been covered by the media? I can only hear about one topic so many times without wanting to rip my hair out. (Other over-reported topics are: Tiger Woods, Sarah Palin, Jon or Kate Gosselin, Kate Gosselin’s hair, etc.) I bemoan today’s technology when I hear any of these names.

I tuned into the show because I still wondered how Nadya was fairing with all those kids, and I wanted to know how she got her figure back after giving birth to nearly a whole baseball team in one squat.

One thing we know about Nadya: She isn’t spending money on a stylist, and she could use one. Her dress was too tight and too short. But her body looks great. I wonder how she can find the time to exercise, but I give her props for looking so terrific, no matter how she did it. I won’t show the “before” picture, because it frightens me. Let’s say that I’ve never seen a pregnant stomach that large. And I couldn't find a photo of the dress she wore on The View. But here's her Star Magazine cover photo:


Have you ever tried to play catch-up with a group of old friends, and people talk over each other (like they do on The View)? Women are good at jumping in before someone else's sentence is finished. It’s partly a cultural thing that is acceptable among women, unless you happen to be one who loses your train of thought easily, and then getting interrupted can ruin your day. True to form, the ladies of The View didn’t mind interrupting Nadya to ask her a thought-provoking question while she was still trying to answer the previous question.

Nadya tried to keep track of all the questions the ladies asked her and to answer them in the order they were asked. In addition, she wanted the opportunity to set the record straight about old news items that had been misreported. The ladies of The View were relentless at butting in, even when they could see that Nadya was getting flustered. She exhibited what Sherri referred to as a maniacal laugh as she became stressed, but they still did not let up. While sandwiched in between the ladies, she looked to the left and then to the right, repositioning her body to see the person she was addressing while her interviewers kept tripping her up with new questions. Here is the first part of Nadya's appearance.

I was able to glean the following from the 15 minutes she appeared:

• Three nannies help her during the day.
• She sleeps an average of two hours a night (sometimes more; sometimes less).
• She got paid for her photos in Star Magazine.
• She’s writing a book.
• She’s was one year away from earning her Master's degree before the last eight babies were born.
• She had a career plan that didn’t include welfare.

Nadya was paying for embryo storage and decided to use the last eight embryos before finishing with her Master's degree. Previously, the implantation of eight embryos had resulted in one set of twins. It was not a stretch for Nadya---and her doctor to believe that embryos would result in the birth of one child.

Nadya Suleman is a highly energetic person who thought she could handle having a seventh baby. When she found out she was pregnant with eight babies, letting some of them die was not an option.

Sometimes the ladies of The View turn into a bunch of bullies. Whenever the guest is a social pariah, each member of the panel takes her turn to pounce on the guest in the name of good journalism. Because the panel is a group, I find them egging each other on, in the name of good journalism. For example, the panel asked Nadya Suleman several different ways if she is crazy. Here is the second part of Nadya's appearance.

I don’t mind them bullying the obnoxious Ann Coulter because Ann makes her career via controversy and antagonism, but other guests have remained shrouded by rumors because the hosts don’t look past media-manufactured images to find out who their guest really is. They seem to care more about ratings than uncovering the truth. Examples of interesting guests whom they slaughtered are: The ladies from The Girls Next Door and former Miss California Carrie Prejean.

I do not understand why a single woman would want a seventh child (that became eight more children), but with Nadya’s high energy level, she thought she could handle one more--not eight more. She says she may have been in denial about raising more kids. I do not agree with what she did, but I can understand her reasoning.

The ladies went on to snap Nadya into reality by reminding her of how bleak her situation is. How will she financially support these children once the media is no longer interested in her and her family? This line of questioning was extremely rude and disheartening. The co-hosts were judging and lecturing with their questions. Judging and lecturing. Letting the viewers know that they will not put up with this type of behavior.

Would any of us like to be constantly reminded that we have horrible hurdles to go over in order to survive? Nadya says she is thinking about how she will take care of her children 24/7. She says that her ability to find ways to take care of all these kids, instead of breaking down and caving in show that she has no mental illness; she is fully functional. If she is in some kind of denial, I vote that we let her be. She copes with her life better than I cope with mine sometimes.

Does anyone know just how much public funding Nadya has received or is receiving? People criticize her for not being able to take care of her children; but then they criticize her for finding ways to money. She says that she was paid for the photos of herself in her bathing suit--showing her weight loss; she is open about this. Getting paid for bathing suit photos must have helped motivate her to get back into shape, and she put food in her children’s mouths with this money. Nadya has a book deal. Until I saw her on The View, I assumed every stone had been uncovered on the Nadya story. But I’m here to say that I will buy her book, and here’s why:

• She’s extremely bright with a good command of the English language.
• I’m betting the writing will be reader-friendly.
• The media has been so awful to her that we know very little;
• Six of the babies are walking! The other two can stand while holding onto something; and
• What a story she has to tell.

Do I think Nadya was out of her mind to get pregnant this last time? I clearly wouldn't want to raise a seventh child without a husband. But the relative stupidity of her decision depends on the financial situation she was in when she got pregnant. I believe she was covered by insurance; she has tons of energy and she requires very little sleep. She loves kids and thought this was her last opportunity to have ONE. I'm not sure how one meets the emotional needs of all those children, but if only one baby had been born, instead of eight, Nadya and her family may have gotten by with little help.

Are her values the same as mine? No. But I can stretch myself to understand how she thinks. I’m curious to see how she deals with having all these children in the long run. Nadya Suleman is an extremely resourceful woman. I believe she can do things that the rest of us cannot do. I don’t think that loneliness is the reason to have children, but if she is happy, she may very well raise happy children. I hope that somebody besides me is encouraging her to succeed.