Owendonovan wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 12:47 am
Isn't it possible that she has made damn sure she's stable and ok to embark on becoming a parent? I'm not gushing over her being pregnant, but it feels you've already decided she can't handle it. I think a fair concern for a person with Naomi's history would be post partum depression, which can be treated/managed. I agree a parenting test would be great, we all know too many who have had no business having children having too many of them, but the subjectivity would be too hard to narrow. As we inch ever closer to 8 billion people on the planet, I'd love a 4 or 5 year moratorium on people procreating.
Like anyone, I can only assess anything based on my experiences and observations. I've mentioned my experience with troubled people having children - most of the time, the outcome has been negative. And based on my observations of Osaka, she is not ready for this responsibility.
Of course, I don't see her every day... I don't know her. Nor do you or anyone else here. And so my perspective that I don't think she's ready for parenthood is not radically different from your perspective that she
may be ready for parenthood - the difference being that our perspectives are opposing - but we're both going by what we've observed.
You say that I've already decided that she is not ready for parenthood. Yes - based on what I've seen of her. You say that you think she
may be ready for parenthood. And so I ask you: What have you seen in her comportment that tells you that she may be ready for this enormous responsibility?
Sure... concern about post-partum depression. Ok. Of course, there's no guarantee, if this occurs, that it will be treated successfully and that she'll be fine. That's always a crapshoot. But what about concern for the child? Surely you aren't only concerned with Naomi's well-being... there will be a very precious and fragile child here, as well.
People have a tendency to believe that 'famous people' and 'celebrities' are somehow superhuman... People put them up on a pedestal believing that they are somehow 'better' that the rest of us not only at their chosen profession, but 'better' at ALL elements of life. That's not the reality, though. 'Famous people' are still human beings - and, as such, they all have weaknesses and defects just like the rest of us.
Being ready for parenthood is far from being an inherent trait in people - including (and often especially) in 'celebrities'. I'm sure you know that, as I believe you work with children, and, as such, you've surely seen the products of bad and deficient parenting. And you probably know, as I do, that having significant difficulties and troubles in life is quite often cyclical - that it is passed from one generation to the next, to the next, etc.
Osaka may well be ready to be a parent. Now that she's pregnant and there's no going back, I certainly hope that she is ready. But I haven't seen anything from her which indicates that. And I, personally, would advise against it, as a child's well being is not something to gamble on, merely
hoping that the parent is competent. What I've seen from Osaka troubles me.
Remember, this is a young woman who has had numerous public breakdowns/meltdowns - and has surely had several more in private. The first evidence I personally saw of it was when she won her first U.S. Open. During the trophy ceremony, she pulled her hat/visor down over her eyes because she didn't want people to see that she was crying. Her tears were not tears of happiness, but they were the tears of someone who felt she didn't deserve what she had just accomplished. And, based on my experience, that is a sign of a person who is deeply troubled. (Of course, Serena's classless antics during that match played a role in Naomi's post match reaction, but it was still troubling to watch.)
And she has had several breakdowns since then.
Naomi is an extremely sensitive person. And very intelligent. I love hearing her speak, because she's so brutally honest. She's one of my favourite players to hear speak. I hold her in very high esteem. But I also see that she's been very mixed up, confused, and depressed, and has had significant trouble trying to figure out who she is. And based on that - and not much time has passed since I last observed her being emotionally unstable and troubled - I am concerned about her readiness for the huge responsibility of parenthood.
I agree with the rest (non-blue part) of your post.