In response to Wiiliam F.B. O’Reilly’s April 30, 2015 column, ‘Baltimore Mom’, published in AMNewYork, tells a distressing story. I can honestly say that I am taken aback by Mr. O’Reilly’s opinion and observation of the actions of Florence Thompson, the mother who was trying to, in Mr. O’Reillys words, “forcefully herd her teenage son from the riots in Baltimore.”
It’s been the practice of society to look down on single mothers, like Ms. Thompson, who are unfairly judged and labeled ‘Welfare Queens’ and ‘Gold Diggers’ or ‘Losers.’ After reading Mr. O’Reillys comments of compassion and support for single mothers, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone in this harsh and unsympathic world sees single mothers for who they are, which is overburdened, overlooked, underpaid and underappreciated. Mothers like Ms. Thompson fight against stereotypes heaped on them by a society that would prefer to forget single mothers simply because those who sit in judgment feel that they are not productive members of society.
It’s my hope that Ms. Thompson’s action will be remembered and understood for what it is, a mothers love. On behalf of all those single mothers crying out in the wilderness, I say, keep crying and holding on someone will hear you because it certainly seems that Mr. O’Reilly did.
dragthepen 