"Aung Sang Suu Kyi should have put her children first"

[blondieminx]

Just heard most staggering discussion on Jeremy Vine (yes i know - but am working from home while poorly, with Radio 2 on!) with overemotional "educationalist and commentator" Simon Waugh who was sadly orphaned age 6 who spent a good ten minutes saying that since Aung Sang Suu Kyi became a mother she should have put them first and come out of Burma to fight the battle from afar.

This is the woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Burma FFS. As the lady from Refuge (didn't catch her name) said, "you woudn't be saying all this if she was a man". Quite.

Just makes me feel very ranty that some men, and specifically "educationalists" think that a woman's place is always in the home. Even in the case of a Nobel Peace Prize winning inspirational woman who has changed the path of her country and been a beacon of light and democracy.

To be fair, someone who was orphaned at 6 might have felt this way about a father doing this too.

She was under house arrest snd if she left she would have not been allowed back in. That's all. She wasn't being tortured or anything.

Sweetgrapes - Came in here just to say that!

Remember ladies, men re heroes and women are pregnant, barefoot in the kitchen.

Sometimes life is bigger and more important than your immediate family. Look at Bruce Willis in Armageddon - leaving his daughter an orphan but saving humankind in the process. Look at Abraham in the Bible who was about to sacrifice his child for the love of his God. You could probably also say it about many previous monarchs of the UK, and of course about Spock in Star Trek 3 - sacrificing himself for "the needs of the many".

You would have to have a screw loose if you couldnt admire Aung San Suu Kyi for her suffering to enable the people of Burma a better life.

Isn't this just the ultimate SAHM/WOHM debate, but what sort of message does it give to your children to say "Well, I had the chance to play a significant part in making the lives of thousands of people considerably better, and to free them from the threat of persecution, but I decided that you, my little angel, were far more important, so don't make mummy upset by refusing to eat your dinner"?

tulips She wouldn't have been allowed back into her own country where she believed that there was important work to be done. She has changed things for EVERYONE in her country.

Fair enough if you wouldn't want to do that - how many of us would?

But it's not that easy to just step away from a cause. How many lives has she changed through her actions? More than one or two.

zippey - I LOVE that you just compared Aung San Suu Kyi to Bruce Willis in Armageddon

I'm also loving Zippey's comparisons - Aung San Suu Kyi - Abraham - Bruce Willis and Spock.

GENIUS

Yes I meant she wouldn't have been allowed back into the country.

Looks like I'm a lone voice on this thread. I'm by no means a precious mummy as my DC's will no doubt attest to. But I very firmly believe mine and DH's first and foremost duty and responsibility is to the 2 children we chose to bring into this world. I will NEVER budge from that view.

Well tulips some people realise that there are bigger issues than their own little unit. That's how things get done.

Never mind the possibly not seeing your children again

If there was a poll of all mothers on if they'd live in a different country to their children, and the children would live with their father. How many mothers would say they'd do it?

How many mothers on MN would do it?

It seems acceptable, in this country, for the father to work away but not the mother. And I believe this would be the view from the majority of people.

It seems to me a deeply ingrained view.

I have just got off FB chat with a former student of mine who comes from Thailand. Aung San Suu Kyi is highly respected, almost revered, there, not just for her work towards freedom in democracy. My student also said it was great to have an Asian woman who was a big player on the global stage.

There's no doubting that what she has achieved is very commendable. But there was a price which her family paid. I would like to know how her 2 boys really felt about her absence but i doubt we will ever know especially as their mother is so heroworshipped now. She was a failure as a parent but a hero on the world stage. I guess it's about one's priorities ultimately.

She has taught her sons that it is possible to stand up for what is right, without selling out your principles and change the world for the better.

It could be said that I "suffered" because of my parent's political activism. I did not. I suffered because I was born into a flawed society where I was not equal to others. I love my parents and am proud of them. Thanks to them and others like them my world is better than the one they grew up in.

tulips, you have chosen your way of parenting. Good for you. I hope you never have to make the sort of decisions my parents had to make. But I would hope that if I had to, I would get strength from my DS to fight for right, rather than live my life hiding behind him, using his existence as an excuse to keep my head down and do nothing.

Good for your parents, Dione.

Good for your parents Dione, and for all other parents who care enough about their kids's future to want to make a meaningful difference to the world we live in!

She was a failure as a parent.

Really? Do you know that?

As I said previously, I imagine that her sons are incredibly proud to have her as their mother. But I suppose I could be wrong.....

One can do plenty to support and further an important cause without sacrificing the needs of your children. I certainly would do so if I really believed in something. But if my children needed me I would make sure I was there for them and if ever there was a conflict of interest my children would come first.

There are many ways to support a cause. I do not think abandoning one's family is the right way and only way.

Dione you are being very derogatory and insulting towards the many parents in Burma who did not support/lead the fight for democracy, presumably choosing instead to hide behind their chikdren. I assume you did not intend to be so rude?

Calling a woman referred to as the mother of Burma and who has won the Nobel Peace Prize and who is an inspiration to women "a failure as a parent" seems deeply churlish at best

tulips I think you are the one being rude.

People do what they can do. Not everyone can contribute in the same way.

Aung San Suu Kyi's father was the head of the pro-democracy movement. She was involved in it from an early age. She carried on the fight and now people in Burma have a better life.

To suggest that none of this matters because she left her children in the care of her father is deeply disrespectful.

Rude and derogatory to Burmese parents? What rubbish!

We, living in the West in the 21st century are privileged. But those privileges were not gifted us. They were hard fought and hard won by people who sacrificed much. Few of our rights were granted simply because we asked for them. None were won by perfect people. Superman is a fictional character.

We should applaud those who fight for right, not stand on the shoulders of giants and sneer.

I can't help but be reminded of that scene from the life of brian by Tulip's comments: He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy.

Its sexist all round. (a)to assume that a woman's place is in the home (b) to assume a father can't be a good single parent (and in this case, not even that as presumably they had her support by letter etc). Did these boys turn out terribly or something?

I think it's wrong for either parent to abandon their children for years for what they see as a greater cause. So it's not sexist at all. If the children didn't want her back why did they call her whilst their dad was dying and beg her to come home?

As I've already said she has done a commendable thing for her country. But whilst her country gained her family lost and in my opinion that's the wrong thing to do. I am absolutely sure that Burma would have found it's way to democracy sooner, but most probably later, without her sacrificing her family for the cause.