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Do you want/have children?

Do you want/have children?

  • I am a straight woman, and I want/have children

    Votes: 15 7.6%

  • I am a straight woman, and I DO NOT want to have children

    Votes: 9 4.5%

  • I am a straight man, and I want/have children

    Votes: 122 61.6%

  • I am a straight man, and I DO NOT want to have children

    Votes: 33 16.7%

  • I am a gay woman, and I want/have children

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • I am a gay woman, and I DO NOT want to have children

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • I am a gay man, and I want/have children

    Votes: 4 2.0%

  • I am a gay man, and I DO NOT want to have children

    Votes: 13 6.6%
  • Total voters
    198
rajalot said:
I agree with one thing in his post: he must not reproduce under any circumstances.
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Deeply unkind remark.

és: said:
That's utter nonsense, for a start.

He thinks the world's population should be cut by half. That's 3.5 billion people. He thinks that having children is selfish and people should have their natural right of reproduction taken away from them.

He never mentioned environmental damage, let alone made up some fanciful story about our children taking up a disproportionate amount of resources because they live in the first world. In actual fact he made no separation based on where the children come from.
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My opinions are based on the environment and those that intuited that are correct. I stand by the selfishness remark. How many millions of children die each year from curable diseases or who end up in terribly underfunded institutions. Their emotional and educational development retarded? Further, the animal kingdom and their habitations are being destroyed and many species have been lost and thousands are in danger. When the human population is so vast that you lose megafauna just about everywhere on your continent I think it's safe to say that you have a problem. The world is in crisis due to our demands upon resources and this has to be reduced. Along with technology, I suggest responsible population control. (Through deliberation and discussion of the implications and not through forced sterilisation or a breeding police.)

As for first worlders not taking greater resources I find this so counter to actuality, fact and good sense I cannot believe anyone could be so daft as to think it true.

I've clearly upset a few people here and it wasn't my intention. However, it is true that we have a definitive amount of space and resources and they are being consumed at a great rate. At what point people start to have the same concerns will be different for everyone. 10 billion? 100 billion? My alarm bells are ringing loud and clear. I am certain that with an unfettered population growth you will eventually agree with me. The planet and the dominant economic model cannot sustain us for ever. "Clean up the air and treat the animals fair" as the great Captain Beefheart used to sing is the note I'll end on.
 
Henri Gaudier said:
I stand by the selfishness remark.
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It's one of the least selfish things you can do. In fact, at times, it's quite selfless.
How many millions of children die each year from curable diseases or who end up in terribly underfunded institutions.
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I agree with this and that's one of the reasons that I'd only ever adopt a child. However, it's my right of nature to reproduce.

As for first worlders not taking greater resources I find this so counter to actuality, fact and good sense I cannot believe anyone could be so daft as to think it true.
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It's nowhere even close to being a fact. I urge you to look into these things more deeply.

I don't want to derail this thread too much, but if you want to start a thread in the political area then I'll expand on countries like India and China.
 
Peterkro said:
He lives! It's entirely possible you've resumed posting before and I just noticed of course.:)
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I thought it was decided long ago 'he' was a small army of clones. His post is nothing more than a red herring.
 
I am not interested in having children, for several reasons:
  • I am still, to some extent, afraid of intimacy
  • I do not think I would make a good parent
  • I have traits I'd rather not pass on
 
és: said:
It's one of the least selfish things you can do. In fact, at times, it's quite selfless.


I agree with this and that's one of the reasons that I'd only ever adopt a child. However, it's my right of nature to reproduce.
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Having children is selfish -- not because of population issues, but because you are choosing to have a child.

And satisfying YOUR OWN desires and wants.

The very act of saying - "I want kids", or "It's my right of nature to reporoduce"

is selfish

don't tell me you are doing some great justice to a child by bringing it into the world.

Instead you are forcing a person into life by your will. A life full of hard work, rejection, discipline by your hand.

Now, I love my parents, and I love my life; I enjoy the things I do. BUT if someone gave me a choice to live in the human condition before I was born, knowing that I would have to work as hard as I do for the things I want, I would of said no thanks.

Selfless act? ---- what utter nonsense.
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
I am not interested in having children, for several reasons:
  • I am still, to some extent, afraid of intimacy
  • I do not think I would make a good parent
  • I have traits I'd rather not pass on
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you would be surprised. i was scared as hell also of being a parent cause i thought i would suck.. but it isnt as bad as you think



yeah i wouldnt pass on the "living in solon ohio" trait either... you have my deepest sympathies.
 
revenuee said:
Having children is selfish -- not because of population issues, but because you are choosing to have a child.

And satisfying YOUR OWN desires and wants.

The very act of saying - "I want kids", or "It's my right of nature to reporoduce"

is selfish

don't tell me you are doing some great justice to a child by bringing it into the world.

Instead you are forcing a person into life by your will. A life full of hard work, rejection, discipline by your hand.

Now, I love my parents, and I love my life; I enjoy the things I do. BUT if someone gave me a choice to live in the human condition before I was born, knowing that I would have to work as hard as I do for the things I want, I would of said no thanks.

Selfless act? ---- what utter nonsense.
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Ha!

Even if you didnt mean that as a joke, that is one of the funniest posts I have seen in a long time! :p
 
PowerFullMac said:
Ha!

Even if you didnt mean that as a joke, that is one of the funniest posts I have seen in a long time! :p
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How is he wrong? The vast vast vast majority of parents who chose to be parents made that decision mainly because they themselves wanted to have kids. Most did not give nearly as much weight in thinking about would the child be more happy than unhappy about living the life he most likely would have if we created him.

How is that NOT selfish?
 
motulist said:
How is he wrong? The vast vast vast majority of parents who chose to be parents made that decision mainly because they themselves wanted to have kids. Most did not give nearly as much weight in thinking about would the child be more happy than unhappy about living the life he most likely would have if we created him.

How is that NOT selfish?
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Never said it was wrong, its just funny!

Coz you always hear people going on about the miracle of life then you got people saying its selfish! Although technically it is true, its still funny reading something saying having kids is selfish.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and what raggedjimmi said in his next post! :D
 
motulist said:
How is that NOT selfish?
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How is spending 18+ years helping, supporting and generally putting yourself out for your kids selfish?

I count myself lucky when I think about the kind of lives my parents could have lived should they have chosen not to have children.
 
raggedjimmi said:
How is spending 18+ years helping, supporting and generally putting yourself out for your kids selfish?

I count myself lucky when I think about the kind of lives my parents could have lived should they have chosen not to have children.
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THEY CHOSE that life

it's not your fault -- and you shouldn't have it held over your head

people who believe they are doing the world and their childresn some great justice by having them need to get off their self riotous horses and get there head out of there asses
 
Henri Gaudier said:
The world is overpopulated and there are so many children without parents to make more is both selfish and absurd. I'm in my early 40's and my GF is in her late 30's and fortunately we see eye to eye on this issue. (No pun intended) We don't have any yearnings for children and find it difficult to be with other peoples children. Moreover, I think within 20 years, strategies about reducing the population will enter the political arena. 40 years too late but ... better late than never. I think the world population needs to be 50% of what it presently is.
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I'm sure you've adopted several children by now. The world of the future will need intelligent and educated people to deal with the problems that, as you say, will be faced. I'm doing my best to create those people. I'm sure you are doing the same in your own way... right? Or perhaps you think the overpopulation problem will be better solved by intelligent machines culling useless humans... or what?
 
PowerFullMac said:
Although technically it is true, its still funny reading something saying having kids is selfish.
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Oh- I'll be the first to admit the reason I don't want kids is because I'm a selfish pric*. That's absolutely true. But at least I know it would be a dumb move on my part. I wish a lot of other people could figure that out.
 
raggedjimmi said:
How is spending 18+ years helping, supporting and generally putting yourself out for your kids selfish?
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Because that's something YOU wanted to do because you thought raising a child of your own would be fulfilling to YOU. Why do most people go to work? It's not because they like the work itself, but because they think the payoff from the work will give them more of what they want than what they invested in time and effort. Same with having a child. No one wants to put in all the time and effort into raising a child, but they do so because they think that all the time and effort put into having a child will be worth the reward that THEY THEMSELVES will get emotionally and personally by raising the child.
 
Quite frankly everyone going on and on about the sanctity and joy of giving birth should pause and think of the future world their precious little darlings will grow up in.

The world in 10…20…30…40 years time? Not a pretty sight.

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Anyway. To answer the original question:
No thanks.
Can't stand children… same reason I dislike dogs. Attention seeking, slobbering and incapable of taking care of themselves.

Me? I'm more of a cat person. ;)
 
revenuee said:
Having children is selfish -- not because of population issues, but because you are choosing to have a child.

And satisfying YOUR OWN desires and wants.

The very act of saying - "I want kids", or "It's my right of nature to reporoduce"

is selfish

don't tell me you are doing some great justice to a child by bringing it into the world.
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To procreate is the whole point of our species.
 
revenuee said:
Having children is selfish -- not because of population issues, but because you are choosing to have a child.

.
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Of course, if choosing to do something is enough to make it selfish, then anything you do must be selfish. That would include charitable acts and every other voluntary "good work", since those are typically "chosen". Unless you are a slave and being forced to do things, in which case you might not be selfish. Personally, you must lead a very sad life, given that you believe nearly everything you yourself do is selfish. Personally, I couldn't live with myself if I had such low self-esteem.

Perhaps you should do the most ultimately selfish thing and see a psychiatrist. Unless you don't want to... which would make it unselfish.

Edit: Oh, I just noticed, you are "supreme emporer". That explains everything.
 
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