Lara Logan Has Two Small Children At Home. Is She Brave Or Irresponsible For Putting Herself In This Kind Of Danger?
Do you think it’s OK for a mom to take these kinds of risks? We want to know what you think—please comment or vote
CBS News has revealed that their reporter Lara Logan, 39, suffered “a brutal and sustained sexual assault” in Egypt this week while covering the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. Her bio says she is the mother of two small children. So, do you think she’s brave, or irresponsible for putting herself in such a dangerous situation when she has two little kids waiting for her to come home?
Lara is married to U.S. Federal Government defensive contractor Joseph Burkett, and they have a two-year-old son, Joseph together. They also have a daughter from her husband’s previous marriage.
Lara recently said in an interview, “Basically it is in my blood to be there and be in the street to listen to people and make the best story I can. But at the same time, I am also aware that I can put my family in a very difficult situation.”
It’s great that Lara is so passionate about her job and that she loves what she does for a living. And it’s so awful what happened to her in Egypt—there’s no excuse for that kind of violence. But did your feelings about putting yourself in danger change when you had kids? Some people start wearing a seatbelt after they become a parent. Or do you continue to undertake all your professional responsibilities — despite the risks — after all there is a risk in everything in life? Tell us your thoughts.
—Katie Dunn
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BILL FORNES
Posted at 12:58 AM on February 24, 2011
THIR IS NO POINT MAKING A COMMENT,IF THEY DONT AGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAY THEY TAKE IT OFF.
be afraid if your a have
Posted at 2:09 PM on February 20, 2011
What did CBS news think was going to happen a Hot blonde in the middle of a Arab revolt of men? Three weeks of stones and Molotov cocktails. No law what so ever. Five days after being blind folded interrogated and deported. Egypt is not the USA! blame her employer they were warned. I would never step foot in a county under Muslim law if I was a western woman. Traveling women contact me for security counseling and armed protection.
Jessica
Posted at 2:13 AM on February 20, 2011
Wow this is the worst thing I’ve read today and I’ve been on FOX News already. This woman is a victim of a sexual assault, how can any woman blame her for going out and doing her job? She was supposed to have a crew of people protecting her and they didn’t so it wasn’t supposed to be as dangerous for her. If you call yourself a journalist you should be ashamed of yourself. Lara Logan is a real journalist, unlike you, of course she would go to Egypt when there is civil unrest there. I’m not even a feminist. I think you need to reexamine yourself as a human being when you can’t have empathy for another woman who was sexually assaulted.
JJ
Posted at 1:17 PM on February 18, 2011
The comments below are astonishing. This reporter has two very young children and a responsibility to stay safe for their benefit. No one in this world can replace their mother. (Sorry feminists, men simply cannot replace women and their importance in raising children). There are many, many, fulfilling opportunities to participate in the work force that keep you out of harms way. Her choices might very well reflect a selfishness that has no place in parenting. When my wife had our two children, I even changed my job so I would no longer travel and I could be home consistently during their most important and formative years. In a part of the world that subjugates women, yes, it does make a difference and yes, you are safer if you are a man. And as an experienced journalist, she knew this and made a choice that her safety was less important than her responsibility to her children. I am just grateful that they will continue to have their mother in their life. Those children will have to live with her choices long after this story dies down and all of us bloggers with time on our hands move on to other stories.
Liz
Posted at 10:53 PM on April 7, 2011
Hey JJ,
Men cannot replace women when raising children? I’d be interested on your views of two gay men raising a family, since apparently they are unequipped. Sounds like you’re not only a sexist but a bigot as well.
And who are you to say that there are other fulfilling jobs? You cannot possibly know what fulfills another person. What about a woman who wants to be come a surgeon? Will you tell her she’s being irresponsible because she’s spending too much time away from her children during residency, when being a medical technician is just as “fulfilling”? Give me a break. There is a big difference between journalism abroad and writing about the hottest nail polish color at home, just as there is between a surgeon and a medical tech, or even a nurse.
Overall, the main point is this question would NEVER be asked if it were a male journalist. It doesn’t matter what she wore, whether she was deported, etc. Tons of male journalists push the envelope and act pretty irresponsibly (running into gunfire? riding in a convoy susceptible to IUDs? hello! any reporter in a war zone!) She knew what she was getting into, went after her story, and didn’t compromise who she was. I would be proud if I were her children. Why are men allowed to follow their careers to their hearts desires, but not women? I am disgusted with this website that supposedly caters to moms. Clearly there are no women behind the blog.
Sol
Posted at 12:43 PM on February 18, 2011
Kristof is out there right now on the front lines in Bahrain. He has 3 small children at home. If he is harmed while abroad is he also to blame for it? Stop blaming the victim.
jrw
Posted at 12:18 PM on February 18, 2011
Let’s examine this quote:
Is [Lara Logan] irresponsible for putting herself in such a dangerous situation when she has two little kids waiting for her to come home?” and replace it with “Is [a male reporter] irresponsible for putting himself in such a dangerous situation when he has two little kids waiting for her to come home?”
I started as a woman in journalism at a time when such comments were common, and we fought for the Lara Logans to do their job without such ridiculous sexism. The editors of this site, sitting comfortably in their US-based offices, have no idea what risks the working journalists — male or female — face in volatile situations such as Egypt’s political turmoil. Instead, they choose to draw clicks to their website with insulting remarks and saccharine heroism remarks before turning the viewers’ attention back to such big issues as Britney Spears vs. Lady Gaga.
Ashley
Posted at 11:14 AM on February 18, 2011
I have a serious issue with this claim. There is this double standard that says a woman has to completely change her life because of a child, but men do not? She has a dangerous yet incredibly important career that puts her in the biggest hot spots in the world. Nearly every male journalist beaten or attacked has a child or a family, and yet, not a word about their “irresponsibility?”
And what about female soldiers? They repeatedly put themselves into dangerous positions, and yet it is seen as incredibly brave because they are “serving their country.” Well, Lara Logan is serving the people, too, not with a gun but with the truth. Yes, soldiers do not choose where to go, just like Logan. She does not decide where the stories are – they are where they are, and she dutifully follows them.
If I were Lara Logan’s daughter, I would be incredibly proud of her. She is a modern woman that young girls need to look up to. Don’t undermine her courage with this outdated outlook on a woman’s “responsibility.”
jen
Posted at 11:01 AM on February 18, 2011
its not like she’s taking them with her. people hire nannies when they are in the same house for less noble reasons then this. get off the hate train!! she’s beautiful, brave and smart, get over it. you write gossip, how noble is that.
Rosy
Posted at 8:48 AM on February 18, 2011
Yeah, she should get back to the kitchen and stop taking jobs from more capable, better suited MEN.
This story is unfair and backwards in its views towards women. Shame. I will never visit this site again.
jojo
Posted at 6:45 AM on February 18, 2011
Betty Botox- well said! could not agree with you more
Jamie
Posted at 8:26 PM on February 17, 2011
Seriously? If this was man who was injured, the same questions would not be asked.
Seriously? You have lost a reader.
Betty Botox
Posted at 8:07 PM on February 17, 2011
I have to be careful how I word this because I do not want to sound insensitive to Ms. Logan’s pain. Been there in the 70s. But this was long before Twitter, Internet, Face Book. I have to ask the question: What if it had been Katie Couric instead of Ms. Logan? I am sure Ms. Couric is saying, “Thank god it wasn’t me!” As a retired photo/journalist I look at reporters with a different eye than the average American who has never been in a war situation. The photo published of Ms. Logan just moments before her attack show a very pretty young woman in the middle of a riot with a string of pearls around her neck!!! What was she thinking? Yes, the revolution WILL be televised so make sure you accessorize properly! No real war zone reporter would have dressed as she did. Very inappropriate! She did not deserve the beat down she received, but she wasn’t thinking about her husband and family at the time. She had been kicked out of Egypt a day or two before and came right back to Egypt to report! Her employers should shoulder some of the responsibility in this attack on her. What were THEY thinking?!
jessica fields
Posted at 7:52 PM on February 17, 2011
klnw
Anonymous
Posted at 7:14 PM on February 17, 2011
This woman was just doing her job so she could make money to support her two kids. How is working irresponsible?
BILL FORNES
Posted at 6:12 PM on February 17, 2011
I WROTE AN ARTICAL THAT SHE GOT WHAT SHE ADVERTISED FOR,WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THEES TYPE OF JOBS WITH SAFTY IN OUR COUNTRY. IN ALL THE COMBAT COUNTRIES EVERY TIME A (VIP)OR NEWS CREW COMES OVER TWENTY OR MORE TROOPS ARE PULLED OF THE LINE TO PROVIDE SECURITY FOR THEM —IT,S A PAIN IN THE ASS.THEES NEWS AGENCIES SEND OVER THEES YOUNG WOMEN WEARING SHORT SKIRTS ETC.THEY WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE A MOVIE STARS.—-THE FIRST ARTICAL I WROTE THEY TOOK OFF I JUST HAVE A DIFFERANT OPINION—IN THEES COUNTRIES IT’S NOT A GAME—-NO PROTECTION STAY HOME.
Jessica
Posted at 2:19 AM on February 20, 2011
Writing in caps and spelling things incorrectly doesn’t help make your point valid.
BILL FORNES
Posted at 5:03 PM on February 17, 2011
WE NOTICED YOU DIDN,T HAVE THE GUTS TO PROVIDE YOUR FULL NAME EITHER
Michaela
Posted at 4:54 PM on February 17, 2011
WTF kind of article is this? Where do YOU get off…”Hollybaby”…who, by the way, is AFRAID TO PRINT THE WRITER’S NAME…saying that Lara is an irresponsible mother?! I find this site to be disgusting, and I can only hope that Lara sees this and takes you to COURT for SLANDER!!
josette
Posted at 4:49 PM on February 17, 2011
JJ & john said it all…Praying for her and all reporter doing there jobs..Hats off to all Parents that have to leave there children for jobs..Thank You God for all Jobs around the world..
JJ
Posted at 4:35 PM on February 17, 2011
There are risks to any job. This article sounds heavily biased already when you say she is an irresponsible mother if she wanted to pursue her job as a journalist. If it was up to Bonnie Fuller, women would just be barefoot and pregnant ALL THE TIME. It’s the 21st century. She’s allowed to work. How are women ever going to achieve equality when you write such disgusting articles?
john
Posted at 4:03 PM on February 17, 2011
im sure if the dad was the one who was away from their kids no one would care…people need to grow up!
women work – get over it!
