I'm an Anti-feminist

How on earth does this make sense? A woman gets $40 million in a divorce settlement after she cheats on her husband. Seriously, check it out.

I've been accused of setting the women's movement back some 50 years or so with my opinions but I'm going to give them to you anyway. Judge me if you wish but you're not going to change my mind - the law is outdated, overly general, and wrong.

When my parents got divorced my mom got half - of everything. Years later I'm still pissed off at her for it too. My dad asked for the divorce on the grounds that he didn't feel like he could find happiness with my mom and that life was too short to live a miserable existence. (Ok, so he was having a bit of a mid-life crisis but that's a subject for another day). Anyhow - this divorce was a good ten years in the making. I think we all would have been a lot happier if they had gotten it over with sooner. So when it finally hit, my mom was the only one surprised. She likes to live in denial.

My mom is a physician assistant. She has a lot of experience and is good at what she does. Most of the time she was in clinical practice she was smarter than anyone else she worked with, nurses or doctors. She makes a decent living and has a good income potential.

My dad works for a biotech. He too has a lot of experience and is good at what he does. He, however, makes more money and has a much larger income potential than she does. Not because he is a man, but because of the industry that he works in.

My mom is no dummy. She knew my dad could afford to pay her and was too much of a sap to turn a blind eye when she cried. They kept it out of the courts and negotiated with a lawyer. She asked for half straight from the beginning. She was set on alimony. She pushed her luck on things but my dad let her. He just wanted things over as quickly and painlessly as possible. To him, only a few heirlooms mattered, the rest was just money. That's just how he thinks - and I like that about him.

From where I sit, my mom didn't deserve half. She didn't put in half. She should not have asked for alimony. She didn't make any huge sacrifices in her life because of the marriage. She wasn't slighted in the marriage by an affair, abuse, or neglect. She wouldn't have been left without a source of income. Why should she continue to collect a portion of a paycheck from a man she is no longer married to?

Her answer? Because she deserves it. Because he made a commitment and he broke it. Keeping her in the lifestyle to which she is accustomed is the price he should pay for that.

My answer? She shouldn't. As a strong, capable, independent woman you should be ashamed to take money you didn't earn. Divide what was gained during the marriage and be done with it.