Althouse: Abstinence... "It has the word ‘abs’ in it."

November 18, 2010

Abstinence... "It has the word ‘abs’ in it."

Bristol Palin and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino do a pregnancy-avoidance ad.

25 comments:

William said...: Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder. Ditto absinthe.; 11/18/10, 10:24 AM
Fen said...: The comments are typical.

Never occurred to these idiots why perps do the lecture circuit to explain why you don't want to make the same mistakes they did.

Wifey wants me to create anti-Palin merchandise to rip off these ignorant hate-filled rubes. Not a bad plan.; 11/18/10, 10:25 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.

We have fallen so far,...

Fen,

Wifey wants me to create anti-Palin merchandise to rip off these ignorant hate-filled rubes. Not a bad plan.

Count me in.; 11/18/10, 10:34 AM
Pastafarian said...: "The Situation" would also be a great spokesperson for abortion. Just looking at him makes me want to run out and get one. And I'm not pregnant, or even female.; 11/18/10, 10:43 AM
traditionalguy said...: My teenagers always practiced obstinence rather than abstinence. I expect that Palin's teenagers are the same no matter how hard parents try.; 11/18/10, 10:49 AM
Drew said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/18/10, 10:50 AM
Fen said...: Condoms fail. Birth control fails.

You choose to take that risk, you choose to abide by the consequences.; 11/18/10, 11:01 AM
Unknown said...: The Lefties have been pushing sexual profligacy since the 60s. When many people who come up against the consequences of being unable to keep one's pants on (baby, disease, etc.) can't cope and, having done all they could to make sure family and community have been destroyed, the Lefties then tell these people who will help.

Government!!! Kell Sir Prize.

The lovely Miss Bristol was undone by a rotter and wants to keep other girls from making her mistake. Good for her! I hope she drives the Lefties as nuts as her mother does.

PS Any woman who can make girls as beautiful as Bristol and Willow must be in good with the Guy Upstairs.

PPS William stole my line.; 11/18/10, 11:02 AM
sonicfrog said...: Usually, I’m not pessimistic about the future of our country. I mean, I teach and have seen some very bright and able young adults in my class-room, some who will surely become leaders of the next generation.

The best... worst thing about this, is she's so totally unconvincing. I mean, really, I hope she dances better than she acts!!!! It wouldn't surprise me if it came out that they were caught boinking back stage just after this was shot... except for the fact that they had absolutely NO chemistry what-so-ever in this PSA! Then again, do you really need chemistry for a hook-up?; 11/18/10, 11:22 AM
MadisonMan said...: traditionalguy's comment FTW!; 11/18/10, 11:44 AM
Joe said...: I don't think Bristol was undone by anything but herself. In her first big interview she kept talking about how girls think it's romantic to have a child, but it isn't. She stated this several different ways. It seemed quite obvious to me that she did what far too many of my oldest daughter's friends had done in high school--she wanted a baby and found a "hot" guy to impregnate her.; 11/18/10, 12:00 PM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: "Abstinence" as a concept fails miserably because the end-point is the only point.

We should be teaching healthy boundaries, "you can go as close to the edge of the cliff as you like, but don't jump over."

To pledge "I'm gonna stay a virgin until marriage" is the wrong approach. I played league hockey for years in Canada as a goalie. The best approach is always "cut down the angle."

In other words, stop the shot far enough in front of the net that the chances the puck goes in are greatly reduced. Nobody does this with abstinence education.

How about -- group dating, I'll never be alone with someone of the opposite sex, and even in a group situation I won't permit touching beyond a full frontal hug or a basic kiss?

All these preliminaries are just that, preliminaries, designed to take us to a baby.

Even as a married man I hold to the 'never alone with someone of the opposite sex' routine. That's partly as a gift to my wife, but also for my own protection in avoiding any manner of false accusation.

This is not prudishness. I lived for thirteen years in a very flirtatious culture, but everyone there understood the rules that flirting was a form of compliment and a rejoicing in sexuality ... but absolutely nothing more.

Would we were able to inculcate that approach in our children.

Girls play at sex, for which they're not ready, in order to get what they really want ... which is LOVE.

Boys play at love, for which they are not ready, in order to get what they really want ... which is SEX.

That's why it's always the girl who gets burned.

The only way to help our youngsters avoid this type of grief is to teach healthy personal boundaries, not "abstinence."

Healthy personal boundaries lead to abstinence, not the other way around.; 11/18/10, 12:01 PM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: Sorry ...

should have been:

We should be teaching healthy boundaries, NOT "you can go as close to the edge of the cliff as you like, but don't jump over."; 11/18/10, 12:03 PM
Phil 314 said...: I appreciate that they managed the dual message of safe sex AND abstinence (though clearly much more volume and emphasis on safe sex)

Is the ad effective; who knows

(but clearly a step up from another female teen "role model", Miley Cyrus); 11/18/10, 12:57 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: c3,

Clearly a step up from another female teen "role model", Miley Cyrus

What in the hell happened to her?; 11/18/10, 1:26 PM
Wince said...: I found the ad crass and moronic with a jumbled message.

Palin was ill advised to follow through on that script.; 11/18/10, 2:11 PM
Titus said...: The Situation is totally hot.; 11/18/10, 2:16 PM
MarkW said...: "I don't think Bristol was undone by anything but herself."

Yeah. Undone. She was totally on track to become a celebrity before that whole pregnancy thing, but look what happened. Her life is really going to suck from here on out. I'm sure her example of how unwed motherhood cripples your life prospects will really cause teenage girls to think twice.; 11/18/10, 2:47 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Titus,

The Situation is totally hot.

That's the first thing you've ever said that grossed me out.; 11/18/10, 3:39 PM
Opus One Media said...: @MarkW..

absolutely correct. all you need is a dull wit mother who wants to be president and by golly the world is your oyster.

ya'betcha.; 11/18/10, 3:40 PM
BJM said...: @HDHouse

absolutely correct. all you need is a lying, intern diddling, horndog former president for a father, and a dull wit mother with a fat ass who wants to be president and by golly the world is your oyster.

There, fixed it for you.; 11/18/10, 4:13 PM
bgates said...: I lived for thirteen years in a very flirtatious culture

Canadian league hockey must be nothing like I had imagined.

"Hey, you really know how to handle a stick."

"Nice slap shot."; 11/18/10, 4:20 PM
Penny said...: "Then again, do you really need chemistry for a hook-up?"

Not if you have a basic understanding of biology.; 11/18/10, 5:06 PM
Known Unknown said...: I lived for thirteen years in a very flirtatious culture

Canadian league hockey must be nothing like I had imagined.

"Hey, you really know how to handle a stick."

"Nice slap shot."

No in-the-crease jokes? You're slipping.; 11/18/10, 5:21 PM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: Canuck digs. Love it. Good on ya, guys. Nothing about the goalie "doing the split"?

I'll tell ya's, Québec is a whole different world. We'd all flirt like crazy, and the girls couldn't get over an Anglo who could flirt in French.

Guys were flirting with my wife and (in French) I'd give 'em kudos for getting her juiced. As a European she also knows the game.

The point is, everyone knows the rules and the limits.

Here in the States we do a terrible job of teaching limits.

Tangential comment: in Québec the functional drinking age is about 12. You can't buy it, but in any one of a bazillion bistros and sidewalk cafés if your parents, or uncle, or grandparents ... or third cousin's aunt ... wants to buy 'em a glass of wine with dinner, who cares?

It's all about context and limits, and in America whether we're talking about booze or sex ... we freak out.

Maybe we're too up-tight, and therefore cannot teach appropriate context or limits.; 11/18/10, 6:25 PM