Somewhat of a fan of Matt Walsh, a total troll but good for the interesting.
Saw a reaction video of his (thanks, Tubes of You) whereby he felt outraged and righteous indignation at a subreddit “r/regretfulparents.” MattyDub basically concluded that the forum should not exist, that people choose to be happy or unhappy, and that regretting one’s children makes a person evil, immoral, and wrong.
Umm.
Ever tried reading the room? Bit of a moron, that. The posts are mostly women/moms who did not factor in/bargain for/fully grasp the day-to-day burden of small-child rearing, and if forewarned, would have taken a completely different path … the joyful journey of the childfree.
His perspective is comparable to podmate Ben Shapiro, who methinks is a very sharp dude but nevertheless missed the ENTIRE point of the support embracing my guy Luigi, voicing his opinion that those indifferent to or (at worst) celebratory re the UnHealth CEO execution (extermination?) were horrible, ethically bankrupt people who should be ashamed.
Umm. No. Don’t feel bad. At all. And can’t make me. Neener, neener.
Ben, huddled under golden umbrella insurance, blissful in unawareness and lack of understanding. Medical debt drives people into financial ruin. A broken foot can cost $40K. A complicated, traumatic birth? Easy $100K. And normal, ordinary folks simply do not have that (or any) as extra cash.
There’s no “there” there.
Same with Mr. Walsh. Even in his diatribe he recounted how he works howevermany hours, sits in a 45-minute commute to return home to a wife and six kids. He is a father. A man. Not even the vaguest glimmer of clue, no concept of a plan, as to what mothers endure as mothers. He decided that, like parenting, happiness is a choice, to suck it up and get it done. Way to mansplain motherhood.
Umm. See, this is where his stupidity is showing.
Society makes a very clear, conscious, and deliberate decision to not inform women of the realities of motherhood. That, as a mom (regardless if wife), that female will spend a formidable part of her (re)productive years in total service to another, possibly ungrateful human. Or, worse, humans.
In … middle school? high school? there was this program designed to discourage teenage moms, whereby the girls are given either raw eggs or cybernetic babies that they must care for, for a set period of time. The eggs cannot be broken, and the cyberbabies (was called “Baby Think It Over,” now rebranded as “RealCare Baby”) had keys to simulate changing, feeding, general tending to an actual infant.
Lots came back dead, or cracked/shattered/broken. And the vast majority of girls? No kids, no thank you. Maybe not as a permanent life decision but certainly postponed for the foreseeable future.
And why is that program not required in every US school? Because it works. {Psalms 51:5}
Thoughtful, reasoned contemplation is the antithesis of modern parenting. Particularly motherhood.
A woman cannot know what kind of father a man will be until she makes him one.
And a person cannot fully comprehend the impact of parenting until it is too late.
For them, and for the child(ren).
In a similar vein, after his review of a NYT piece re the “unspoken grief” of never becoming a grandparent and the comments related thereto, MattyDub further ranted against the latest generation of folks deciding to let it all end with them. No kids, no thanks.
Despite his claim of “it’s always been hard,” his argument that eternities of prior generations had kids with bad economies, high inflation, difficult socio-economic conditions, yadda-yadda-yadda, so the current complaints of the modern Gen X/Millennials/Gen Z are entirely without merit. Furthermore, he argues that current generations have a duty—née the obligation—to breed, supposing as part of the social contract, the burden mandate to lineage and bloodline, or some such. Methinks he considers reproduction the debt owed by the current to the latter simply for breeding, when nobody asked for that.
Umm. Got a bit of idiot on your lip there, Matt. Might want to lick that clean.
The difference between then (former gens) and now? Perspective, options, and choice.
While some of the old social tropes worked for a segment of Gen X, Millennials/Gen Z know they have been lied to and are justifiably pissed.
Do well in school, go to college, and get a good job.
Find that special someone, get married, buy a house, and have the kids.
Retire well, grow old comfortably, and die on a mattress.
Nope. Not gonna happen.
The school system is a trainwreck. See-through backpacks and active shooter drills? Really?
College degrees are ornate yet worthless $100K glossy cardstock.
“Good” jobs? Living wage? Employer loyalty? Pssah all over that. Rather, here’s your 40-hour grind and don’t forget the weekend side hustle. Enjoy this studio apartment and perpetual debt.
Women in an endless hoephase while men bludgeon with weaponized incompetence …
… married single motherhood is a thing
… 30 percent of men tested for paternity share no biological relation to the child
Pensions are dead, retirement is a fantasy, and social security is broke.
There are older ladies who live on cruiseships … back-to-back-to-back … floating on the sea to nowhere because luxury cruises are cheaper than assisted living, and with better food.
Folks are seeing the forest for the trees, and electing to chop it all down.
Sterilization rates – á la permanent contraception – for men and women in the US are steadily rising.
The social contract is breached as null, void, rescinded and unconscionable. Terms no longer apply.
And the corporate governance overlords murdering the world have the cojones to ask:
“Why aren’t people having children?”
Perhaps a better question is, Why would they?