No Sympathy for This Teen-Age Mother on Welfare

Robin Abcarian’s “Squarely in the Center of the Welfare Storm” (June 25) gushes with feeling and indirect praise for an 18-year-old who graduated from high school while raising a child born out of wedlock two years ago.

Like most of the liberal thinkers who gave us the modern welfare state and its attendant pathology of “defining deviancy down” (Sen. Daniel Moynihan’s term) and refusal to ostracize as improper almost any form of behavior, Abcarian instead makes this out to be completely acceptable justification to take the money of hard-working Americans and give it to others.

KIP DELLINGER

Santa Monica

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I am not going to read another Robin Abcarian column. Every time I do, I want to throw up. This last one on welfare takes the cake. Here’s another teen without morals or the ability to say no getting a whole page while the girl who helped with Habitat for Humanity the day before got a lousy little mention. We find out the girl’s mother is divorced three times and has six kids to support--on taxpayer money. But, as usual, Abcarian’s sorry for her.

Then to make me really sick, we’re supposed to feel sorry for this little brat because her mother asks for help and she’s stressed out? Please, stop. I am the mother of four kids, none pregnant nor on welfare, and I’m twice divorced. Where the hell is my column?

SUSAN TELLEM

Los Angeles