It takes a village to raise a child - does it?

[Seshat]

Side note: The general philosophy of some people that it's everybody's job to watch their child is, of course, malarkey. The somewhat more prevalent view of many people that we should all care about all children is a load of hooey.

I agree, but I don't take it quite as far as Jester seems to.

If a child is lost or missing their parents, I'll walk with the child to the nearest appropriate authority. (In decades past, I'd have taken their hand - nowadays, I don't dare. But I can at least see that the kid gets to safety, safely!)

If parents ask for help, and ask nicely, I'll probably give them reasonable assistance. Even if they don't, if it's something like helping get a pram off a bus, I'll probably stop and help. It's reasonable, it's an obvious need. Like holding a door open for someone disabled or heavily laden.

When children ask nicely about my disabilities, or even express curiousity at a level of politeness appropriate for their age, I'm happy to explain (except when I'm cranky-tired, but eh). This is likely to help raise children who are understanding of disability.

But you don't get to bear a child and then expect me to do the work of raising it. It was YOUR choice to have the kid, not mine.

[Jester]

My tone in my original post came off as harsh. I was reacting to idiots being idiots.

Keep in mind, despite my comments and my link to the Carlin bit, I actually do love children, and while I don't want to have any of my own, I thoroughly enjoy being an uncle, to my nieces and nephews, to their friends, and to other children.

I will also help children in distress when possible.

My original comments, however, were directed at the parents who think that it is my JOB to help their kids.

It isn't.

My job is to serve my customers, make sure they are happy, well fed, and well-lubricated. If I were working retail, my job would be to sell my store's product, and to help and inform my customers in whatever ways I could. While keeping customers safe IS part of any retail or service job, babysitting someone's child because they are lazy and/or negligent is clearly not part of any of our job descriptions (excepting those who work in day care, of course).

While I may wish some annoying child harm in theory, I never actually want to see harm come to them. Well, very rarely, anyways. Some children are, after all, demonspawn. But most are not.

Now beyond the job description, in theory I do care about all children. In reality I don't. It sounds harsh, but it is a reality all of us live with every day. You ARE going to care more about your children and your loved one's children than those of strangers. Just as you care about your loved ones more than you care about strangers. It sounds horrible to say "I don't care about those children over there," but it is basic reality. Most people care in theory about all the children, but few if any do so in reality. It's just not possible. There are 6 billion people on the planet, and a large number of those are children. (I don't have the exact figures.) It is just not possible to care beyond theoretically about them. It's a harsh truth, but it is a truth.

So it is pretty much ridiculous for people to PRESUME that EVERYONE has to care for THEIR children. The cretins who are cloning and feeding presume too much of their fellow man. Frankly, from what I've seen, the vast majority of the idiots with this mindset don't care about anyone's children but their own....and a lot of them don't even care about their own, the hypocritical shits.

Hope I made my position somewhat clearer.

[anakhouri]

I hear that. If I see a kid who is about to get hurt or destroy something, I will stop them. If I find a lost kid, I will help them. But it's not my job to babysit; I'm not 14 anymore. I am looking after my own child, just like all the other parents should be.

I don't particularly even like children, other than Khan, so no, I don't care about them as much as him. Sorry to be an evil bitch, but he's mine, they're not.

[Android Kaeli]

Jester said it better then I could've, and I actually share most of his thoughts.

When I'm working, I am not a babysitter for any child. Unless the child needs help finding their parents, there's a Code Adam, or the child is in any kind of distress/pain, my job doesn't include raising a child. I have a job to do that pays me to do *that* job, not to watch Customer X's child for ten minutes while they shop for something -- unless, of course, said customer just needs to step away for five seconds then is right back.

I'm just as harsh and bitchy when it comes to children as well, I don't really give a damn about someone else's child. I don't, I really, truly don't. Yes your child is cute and cuddly, I'll say so myself but that's it, don't expect me to care about your child unless I know you for more then a quick passing.

[Panacea]

Well, and Carlin's comments, while not really funny, do hit some salient points.

We do our kids a disservice when we try to protect them from everything.

We do our kids a disservice when we teach them the culture of the blame game.

We do our kids a disservice when we teach them to huddle in caves and only interact through machines.

What strikes me about Carlin's comments were, I left with the impression he likes kids. He just doesn't like the way our society is now choosing to raise them.

[blas87]

Your kids are not my problem. Period.

I'm a mean, evil person, but I really don't care. I'll admit I've window stalked little kids through the window when I've seen suspicious vans parked nearby the bus stops and I've gotten worried seeing children wandering around, but in general, I'm more worried about getting in trouble for doing the wrong thing and reacting inappropriately.

[AdminAssistant]

What strikes me about Carlin's comments were, I left with the impression he likes kids. He just doesn't like the way our society is now choosing to raise them.

He was even a father and admitted that he had a happy family life, despite his addiction problems. I saw an interview he did shortly before his death, and he comes across much differently than his standup. It's available as a bonus feature on the DVD of his last HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya."