No, it was merely an example. But I guess you knew that already.
Your two year old has the potential to be a person; so does my niece. Neither of them are people yet. I won’t be interested in interacting with either until they are old enough to control themselves at all times, or at least under normal conditions.
Interesting standard. Is a mentally disabled person…er… human…er…flesh-bag, not a person, then? How about someone with Tourette’s syndrome or epilepsy? What about my grandma with Alzheimer’s?
Your standard is not one that is shared by, oh, any other rational human being, by the way.
No offense, but can anybody point to a place where **curlcoat **said that she wants nobody to ever have children, or all children to die, or something to that effect? Because I’m not finding it, and I don’t get that vibe. To be honest, I’ve just been glossing over her posts for the last 10 pages. (I’m not an enemy of mankind myself; people can go ahead and have all the kids they want as long as they keep them off my lawn.)
She has said that it is selfish and that people shouldn’t be having kids. I’m sorry but going back through all of her ridiculous diatribes isn’t all that interesting a prospect.
Went right over your head didn’t it? You said that parents don’t demand these things and I said in my experience I hear them doing just that.
In the case of “kids stay free” they do use beds, water, the pool, towels, etc so the motel has to raise their prices to me to cover that. In the case of children’s menus, this is at higher class restaurants where children used to be unknown but now they bring their baby in and then freak because this place that might see three kids a month (up from three a year) doesn’t have a children’s menu. Or booster chairs, not that they needed it since they hauled the baby in the car seat, whacking it hard into the back of a booth so the kid could start screaming right off. (That’s how I noticed them in the first place - the menu rant was later, and prolonged.) I’m not really sure why they thought the baby needed a menu anyway but I’m not real good at judging kids’ ages.
I understand capitalism. Doesn’t mean I appreciate having costs passed on to me.
No, mentally disabled people are people provided they have some degree of awareness. Your grandma is a person. My uncle Howard was a person, he was aware of his surroundings to a degree and able to interact with people and feed himself, even though he didn’t remember his wife’s name. Terri Schiavo no longer had the capability to think or reason or be aware of her surroundings or interact with them or to care for herself to any degree at all, and therefore she and human beings like her are not, in my opinion, people. Can you say that at the time of her death she was anything more than a shell?
As far as infants and toddlers, I’m going to have to change my answer there. They aren’t able to *interact *with their environment, but they can *react *to it by laughing or crying at positive or negative stimuli. Therefore I can say that by my “standard” here, they do have a degree of personhood. So having expanded my definition, I retract my statement that children don’t count as people.
But that doesn’t mean I have to like them.
Unless, of course, the school system cannot afford to have separate ESL classes. Maybe that is why they are trying to get us to vote in more money next money, so I can pay to teach all these kids to speak English. Goody.
As for cites, I have no idea if there are any online - I’ve read this in the Orange County Register.
Retired people and dead people are not workers. We have workers without jobs, and we always have. Trying to claim that we need to have a bunch of children around so we will have workers ignores the people now who would like to have a job, any job, as well as those who are under-employed.
No, it just isn’t going to happen that these folks are going to realize that having children is a selfish choice, and expecting the rest of the world to pay for that choice and put up with their meltdowns is the height of entitlement. Just can’t get thru to them.
What? That isn’t what you were talking about? Oh…
I’m not really sure what this has to do with what you quoted but anyway -
My ego doesn’t need the massage of having anyone remembering me. Indeed, I seem to be the more considerate one here in that I’d rather there wasn’t anyone left to mourn me when I go, since I don’t like to wish something like that on my loved ones.
I believe what she said was that people who were talking about doing their part to populate the earth were full of shit and that people have kids for selfish reasons, not to help mankind. I personally don’t think that is a bad thing, I think that’s a human thing. The people here who are patting themselves on the back because they are keeping mankind going are full of bullshit.
Even the Duggars aren’t doing it to populate the earth. They’re doing it because they love and want kids. There is nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all, as far as I’m concerned. The lying and sanctimonious “I’m CONTRIBUTING!” stupidity takes away from the discussion on having children as it makes the person who says it look like a stupid prick.
Also, a cite was given earlier about how the US isn’t reproducing enough to replace ourselves. Well thank God for that because it was called a BABY BOOM for a reason. Too many! It caused a strain on schools, hospitals, social services, and now on the medical community as these people are becoming senior citizens. And before some smartass says “You think we should just get rid of those senior citizens?!?!” No, that’s not what I’m saying, although I’m sure that would be a fun way to try to make more silly accusations and say I hate groups of people. I’m saying that we don’t need to try to replace every single person on our already strained country, communities, and planet.
But IMHO, that’s a moot point because (as I mentioned earlier) people don’t have kids for those reasons. They have them because (I believe for the most part) they want them. Thank goodness. I’m happy for the people I know who have become parents because their children bring them joy. That’s fantastic. I’m also very lucky that the people I know also realize that I’m not a kid person and I’m not really interesting in hanging out with children. They have no problem with this and (lucky for me after reading the crazy responses from some here) realize that not liking to be around kids doesn’t make me a hateful monster. Maybe I just know more tolerant and accepting people.
What can anyone say? Pure insanity. I mean, how can you not realize that all the adults now living will eventually die and need to be replaced? Unless you expect that humanity will end with this generation.
Ed
I’m not exactly arguing with you here, but in my experience people have kids for a variety of reasons besides wanting them. My SIL had a kid because she wanted to trap her boyfriend into marrying her and her parents into supporting them. My mother had two kids by accident. My great grandmother had kids because her husband wanted them. My brother has a kid by accident. My aunt has a kid by accident. All my female friends from high school had kids because they A. wanted to feel grown up, B. wanted their boyfriends to marry them or C. accident and couldn’t afford or live with an abortion. A co-worker has 9 kids and 2 more on the way because her husband wants 12 kids because of the 12 tribes of the Bible. My LDS friends have children because their church tells them to. I only know one person who wants kids for the sake of having kids, and she’s very responsibly putting it off until she can afford a safe car and a mortgage and has a husband to help her raise them.
Oh I don’t doubt there are many, many people who have kids by accident. Ultimately those people have a choice to terminate the pregnancy, give the child up for adoption, or keep it. People who keep them are choosing to do so. Hopefully they end up happy with that decision, but I’m sure many do not.
Still, I really do believe that most people have them because they want to. Maybe the child doesn’t come along at the moment they were planning, but it isn’t an unwanted pregnancy.
Maybe I’m super naive. That’s very possible.
Uh, okaaay. A racist (for example) hates all blacks, not just the children (yes, I know, only the children matter but lets stick to facts here). I in no way hate all of humanity - remember, husband, family and friends? When did I say that humans should go extinct? As for enemy of all mankind, if nothing else I don’t have the energy for that.
As for impotent - well, wrong sex for that…
Me pointing out that having children is a selfish choice, and that people shouldn’t be rushing to have a whole pile of them is hardly the same thing as your claim that I am an enemy of mankind. Only someone waiting to jump to an extreme wrong conclusion would think something like that…
Another one without a brain. I’ll try again, but this concept does seem to be too difficult for most of the people here.
Every generation has had workers who are without jobs, and other workers who are forced to take jobs that bared support them, just to have some income. This happens over and over, so those who claim they are unselfishly having children so there will be workers for tomorrow are full of crap. Obviously, there does need to be some children but for all these folks to be dislocating their shoulders patting themselves on the back as if each one of them is making sure we don’t run low on workers is just stupid.
Because all humans were children and all children are humans. Plus, you’re argument is that it’s no worse than hating another arbitrary group, which is just horrible.
“It’s cool. Hating kids is just like hating Jews!”
Right…but you realize all people will eventually die, right? And that somebody will have to the jobs that the employed people are doing now or society will break down?
Or is your argument we should stop having kids until everyone has a job?
You’ll flummoxed me yet again with your keen insight. I can’t seem to make sense of it.
I’ve actually got a job, unlike your cheerleading squad. You’re irrelevant. Your posts are a waste of space. You don’t count. But stick around a while. We like laughing at you. Ignorant fool.