Wednesday, May 21, 2008

You Breed, They Feed

Today's Bizarro cartoon is brought to you by the American Association of Absent Parents.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of humans as a species and think there are already far too many of us on the planet. In fact, I advocate vasectomies for all males above the age of 16. Radical? Yes. Likely? No.

Obviously, humans will continue to breed indiscriminately, like all other species, not for any grand or noble purpose, but because we are genetically programmed to believe it is the second most important goal of life, next to survival. Given that fact, I can't blame people for wanting kids, but I can grouse about it in cartoons.

My beef in this cartoon, however, is more specifically with those who exercise their "right" to breed but not their "obligation" to raise the little tyke themselves. It wasn't always easy, but I raised my own daughters, along with their mother, and it paid off. Their mother and I are no longer speaking, but my kids, now adults, are terrific little citizens whom you will not be seeing heading to jail on a DUI charge, or leading our country into an endless war based on lies.

For the record, CHNW is childless and is dedicated to staying that way, and I've been the proud owner of a vasectomy for five years. For those of you offended by my comments about not breeding in spite of the fact that I have two children of my own, you may be happy to hear I intend to kill them both, compost them, and plant some trees.

12 comments:

Janta said...

Heehee! I have two children as well, and I agree. Well, don't know about the vasectomies (haven't thought about it), but geez, governments should stop trying to encourage people to breed in places like Australia and Germany. I'm not attacking child benefits, government subsidies for creche places, etc., here; they're very important, as is a child-friendly society in the way families are treated, but all that talk in recent years about needing citizens to have more children seems insane to me given the state of the planet. If they need more young people to pay for the older people's pension, keep the economy going, etc., I am sure there would be many from other countries who would be happy to be invited to come and join the nation.

Eric said...

I too am snipped and loving it, for 5 years as well! Coinkadink! We should start a mutual admiration society of snipped, vegan, cyclist, scooter owners. Russia actually fails to create replacement numbers now (every traditional male-female couple would need to produce 2 children on average just to replace the population)! Many industrialized nations hit that point eventually, especially when they start to slide down economically, but still maintain a fairly high educational standard. Hopefully the USA will start to curb its enthusiasm after the crash. Pardon my doom and gloom, it GW's fault, not mine!

Ociralat said...

Cool - a truly green link

convertibles rule! said...

producing good citizens is more important than making one's children happy. in fact, teaching citizenship actually produces happier kids than indulgence.

Janta said...

A collegue here who is in her early thirties and who has known all of her life that she does not want children was told by a doctor last week that she would not even be considered for a sterilisation unless she'd had at least one child. The reasoning being "she might change her mind". (This is New Zealand) Guys, on the other hand, can go and have a vasectomy any time they like, as I understand it (though I really don't know the policies or legalities). It's that kind of crap I'm talking about (even if it turns out it's was just that doctor's opinion or health district's policy). It's not as if there aren't plenty of people who regret having had children (sadly); a woman should be allowed to make the reverse decision, and if she regrets it later (how likely is that anyway? What studies do they base it on?), so be it. Such is life. We make choices, we live with them. (But apparently, women aren't capable of making important decisions at any stage in their lives.)

Hailey said...
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Lisa Williamson said...

Brilliant, just brilliant... this cartoon is one of my (widely forwarded) favorites.

Janta said...

h, I don't think anyone said children aren't wonderful. Or that anyone is happy about children getting killed anywhere. What Dan said, I think, is that we are too many on this planet, and that's just a fact. And given that, people who shouldn't have or don't want children shouldn't have them, be encouraged to have them, or prevented from not having them. People should be given every opportunity not to have children if they so choose. (Decent sex education in schools and availability of contraceptives would probably go a long way, too... and aren't there studies that show if you raise the status of women, they have fewer children? That would be a good start, as well...) We should all think very carefully about whether we want children before we have them. Easy to say, but the reality is different, of course, for whatever reason (and no-one denies that either). Once children are here, we should treat them as the treasures that they are and hopefully raise them to be decent, compassionate people. Obviously.

arcticcircle said...

Good on you, mate. I'm just sorry that you are two children too late to be part of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. I'm hoping to stay a part of it.

HollyBerry said...
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HollyBerry said...

yea word, yo. my best friend growing up always said she was never going to have kids because she hated them and this and that.. i always said i wanted at least one kid, maybe two just to rid the first one of the 'only child syndrome.' well, she's about to pop out her second kid next month and i avoid children like the plague. funny how things change...

there are so many things that ring true about the above comic. when did parents lose the ability to teach their children proper discipline? it's hard for me to honestly point any fingers because most things are societal problems with not a singular solution, but i blame the baby boomers for a lot of why things are so screwed up these days. and of course, it's impossible to blame an entire generation on our problems, but it's the mentality that was born of the boomers-- if it's broken, get a new one, which then gave rise to the mentality that everything is available everywhere, nicely packaged and ready for purchase, which then introduced today's mentality that this is how everything should be: convenient. people have kids with no prior intentions of being a parent and realize that kids aren't exactly convenient, but they try to make them convenient by introducing instant gratification to them, simply by going through the mcdonald's drive-thru. kids catch on to that! and parents remain ignorant to that fact because it's more convenient.

i want to have kids one day, but with intentions of being an excellent parent and to carry on the legacy of my good, positive nature. the world doesn't need more people, it just needs enough people to care.

Anonymous said...

Funny comic.
I love you but I wish you had not said, "In fact, I advocate vasectomies for all males above the age of 16." I know it is said half in jest. You live in a country were tyranny hasn't happened yet.
In India where I live Indira Gandhi's government carried out a massive sterilisation program in the early 80's forcing people as young as 10 and as old as 70 to get vasectomy and tubectomy. Government officials, police personnel, techers and other public service staff were given bonus on the number of people they could get sterilised. With the entire state mechanism ganging up like that, private citizens hardly had a chance. Indira Gandhi lost the subsequent general election. But the damage had been done. People bred with a vengeance. As a result we are one of the most overpopulated countries in the world. What I mean to say is that you can't deal with a problem with short cuts. Long term planning is required.
Sorry for the lecture. For the record I am childless and intend to adopt when I can afford it.