it s work first, but for middle class and wealthy women, we tend to say, family first. and the whole point is, so, if mommy at home is good for kids, if that is your theory of the world, then why isn t poor mommy at home best for her kids as well? because she doesn t deserve it. that s sort of the attitude because she has to be punished for having more kids and for being poor. and the misogynistic turn of welfare, where it started targeting women. so not just it s being on welfare is shameful, if you re a man or a woman, but women in particular, and mothers. victoria defrancesco soto, judith levine, who is also the aunt of one of our team members, my graphics p.a. here, which is where i first got the book, and also to daniella gibbs, and also nina turner, who is going to stick around a little bit longer. how could we let her go? up next, an exciting announcement about a new msnbc project and a nerdland road trip. stay with us. do you have any plans to look
single mother, or, i shouldn t say single. i mean, as a busy mother, when you ve got a husband, who is president, it can feel a little single. and he s there, and as a busy working mom, and before coming to the white house, nii was in that position as well. working, driving kids to practice, not having enough time to shop or cook, not having enough energy. and the very fact that the first lady, who is obviously in a loving partnership, understand that empathy, it s part of why mama robertson lives there, because you need time. she gets it. and what we hope happens with this report is that we start a new conversation. you know, demonizing women for being single moms or for the choices that they make, that hasn t gotten us anywhere and it won t in the future. we need to figure out what women need to move forward. i m hoping we can have a great conversation around this report and judith, your report, and i read the book, and i have to say, it suggests that we have
good morning. i m melissa harris-perry. nerdland, today i want to talk about empathy. not just the empathy all of you should be having for me right now because of that new orleans loss last night, but, no, empathy in the biggest sense. the ability to put yourself in someone else s shoes. to see what life might be like for them. to understand how your actions affect them. it seems like it should be a controversial thing, empathy, but we have seen otherwise. do you remember back in may of 2009, when supreme court justice, david souter, announced his retirement. here s what president obama said that he would look for in a replacement. i will seek someone who understands that justice isn t about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people s lives, whether they can make a living and care for their families. whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation. i view that quality of em