Politics and Hot Topics
After the show, Michelle says she did decide to pick up the phone. She's reporting back via Skype™ from a hotel in Savannah, Georgia. The day she called the girl's mother, she says she sat down and thought about what she was going to say. "I was just as sweet as I could be," she says.
Michelle says the conversation started strong as she told the woman that her son was taken with her beautiful daughter. Things began to get tense, Michelle says, as soon as she told the other mother there was something she needed to talk to about. "She got real defensive even before I even said anything," Michelle says. "She said, 'My daughter would never ever do anything like [that], offer those kinds of things, doesn't even know about sex, has no idea about what oral sex is about, so that could have never happened.'"
The mother let Michelle go so she could talk to her daughter and called back to say that her daughter didn't send the explicit messages. "Then she started saying it was my son's fault," Michelle says. "The thing that really was sad was that she took it personally and thought maybe I was personally attacking her."
Still, Michelle thinks she got the message across. "I think she actually really did listen to me even though she was mad at me," she says. "You could tell by the tone of her voice, the way she would stop and listen, she got the message."
Mark applauds Michelle for having such an open relationship with her son. "I think that speaks to your parenting and what a good parent you are," Mark says. "It's not so much about the parent at this point. It's about your relationship with your son."
Ali says she would have absolutely called the other mother. "But I'm wondering if there's a way to do it anonymously because, no matter what, the mother of that daughter is going to be defensive," she says.
Gayle disagrees. "I don't believe in anonymous. I think she handled it exactly right," Gayle says. "[The other mother] didn't want to hear it, but believe me, she will never forget it. And she's looking at her daughter differently."
Michelle says the conversation started strong as she told the woman that her son was taken with her beautiful daughter. Things began to get tense, Michelle says, as soon as she told the other mother there was something she needed to talk to about. "She got real defensive even before I even said anything," Michelle says. "She said, 'My daughter would never ever do anything like [that], offer those kinds of things, doesn't even know about sex, has no idea about what oral sex is about, so that could have never happened.'"
The mother let Michelle go so she could talk to her daughter and called back to say that her daughter didn't send the explicit messages. "Then she started saying it was my son's fault," Michelle says. "The thing that really was sad was that she took it personally and thought maybe I was personally attacking her."
Still, Michelle thinks she got the message across. "I think she actually really did listen to me even though she was mad at me," she says. "You could tell by the tone of her voice, the way she would stop and listen, she got the message."
Mark applauds Michelle for having such an open relationship with her son. "I think that speaks to your parenting and what a good parent you are," Mark says. "It's not so much about the parent at this point. It's about your relationship with your son."
Ali says she would have absolutely called the other mother. "But I'm wondering if there's a way to do it anonymously because, no matter what, the mother of that daughter is going to be defensive," she says.
Gayle disagrees. "I don't believe in anonymous. I think she handled it exactly right," Gayle says. "[The other mother] didn't want to hear it, but believe me, she will never forget it. And she's looking at her daughter differently."
Published 10/17/2008