One thing really annoying that I’ve noticed working in the white collar industry is that some people get a free pass all the time on important things, just because they have kids. For example, in a different team who often has to step away during business hours and becomes unreachable, simply because they have kids. There’s always some sort of excuse with them. Have to go pick him up from the bus stop, have to go pick him up from school because they got in trouble, dance recital during the middle of the day, always something. But when it comes to ordinary normal people who don’t have kids, it feels like there’s a lot more scrutiny. Why do you need a doctor’s appointment in the middle of the day? Why do you need to go pick up a prescription at lunch time, like why can’t you work through lunch?

But also, when it comes to employment, it feels like there’s a lot of preferential treatment for people with children. Oh that person has kids / children! They need the job a lot more. They have a little girl! Clearly they need it more than the the person who has a disabled spouse, because kids are way more important than an adult dependent! We can’t fire this person, they have kids! Let’s choose someone who doesn’t have a family. Like, stuff like this. Why is there so much preferential treatment to people who have children? Is this some sort of utilitarian thing? The least number of people affected?

  • @leftzero
    link
    44 hours ago

    Having a child is morally equivalent to aggravated murder (you’re intentionally directly causing that person’s death, as well as decades of pain and suffering), so no, breeders shouldn’t be treated differently than any other murderer (though they probably aren’t more likely to murder an already conceived person than the average citizen, which isn’t saying much).

    Of course some people might adopt, and therefore are merely enabling murderers, but they’re statistically insignificant, so I’d say it’s safe to assume that anyone who has children is either a murderer or a child trafficker.

    In any case, no, fuck them, they might deserve to be treated differently, but definitely not in a positive way.

    • @[email protected]
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      fedilink
      74 hours ago

      Dude I think you need a hug. No one chooses to live or die. But I’m glad I’m alive. Billions of years of physics have made us self perpetuating machines. There’s nothing wrong with not having kids. By the same token there’s nothing wrong with having kids. I’ve been through some pain in my life, less so than others I’m sure, but if I had to endure a thousand years of torture for five more minutes of petting my dog I would.

      Both pain and pleasure are all temporary; but if we consider that our lives are on average less violent and longer than those who came before us; it seems that the good parts of life are winning. No all wrongs are righted, there are new evils and old evils.

      Would you deny the hunter gatherer the joys of seeing their children’s first steps though in contrast we know their life will be short, uncomfortable, and painful? If not then I do not see how one can justify denying a modern family the same. We can argue about population control, but on a macro level it is not wrong to have children.

    • Dragon Rider (drag)
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      fedilink
      English
      24 hours ago

      Asking the big questions. Drag disagrees, but appreciates the energy you bring to the table. You make some good points that drag can’t argue with.