Some people come in here and castigate the readership for not
wanting children -- for having a quality that provides this
forum's whole reason for being.

I, on the other hand, wasn't in misc.kids to get on people for
merely being parents.  There's no reason I would've been, since
despite not wanting children myself, I have nothing against
parenthood per se.  I was reading the newsgroup out of curiosity
when I saw someone display a self-centered attitude that I
disagreed with rather strongly.

As I'm in the habit of doing, I expressed my opinions and
explained my reasons for feeling the way I did.  Those reasons
were based on simple common courtesy, and transcended the other
person's parental status, so they were hardly an attack on the
mere status of being a breeder.  But the breeders immediately
circled their wagons; they were so hyperzealous about the very
idea of parenthood, that any assertion that everything parents
could possibly do wouldn't automatically be right and proper
was enough to send them into low Earth orbit.

One of the things I remember suggesting was that parents should
be thoughtful and considerate enough not to inflict their progeny
on the rest of the world (at least, in places like restaurants
and movie theaters) until such time as the children are old
enough to behave themselves and not disturb other people.  So
someone asked, incredulously, "Do you mean you'd expect me to
just _stay home_ for awhile, simply because I have a kid?"  Yup,
that's about the size of it, I said.  I wasn't consulted about
my point of view re: your wanting to spawn, so why should I
have to suffer the results of your popping some crotchfruit?

Geoff

--
"It's a naive domestic burgundy without any breeding, but I think
 you'll be amused by its presumption." --James Thurber