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September 12, 2024 74 Comments

In the pages of the Los Angeles Times, Jade Sasser, an associate professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at UC Riverside, informs us,

American society feels more socially and politically polarised than ever. 

She then asks, somewhat bizarrely,

Is it right to bring another person into that?

Bringing another person – specifically, a baby – into a society in which people don’t always agree on every subject is a new and terrifying scenario, apparently. One entirely unprecedented in all of human history.

In an attempt to make this opening question, and its implications, seem less peculiar and contrived, our fretful educator searches out other, likeminded beings:

In 2021 and 2022, I conducted a series of interviews on this topic with millennials and members of Generation Z, all of them people of colour. 

The purpose of this racial filtering remains a tad mysterious, beyond a modish obligation to bolt race onto every conceivable subject, ideally with implications of victimhood. The nearest we get to an explanation in the article is the claim that “climate emotions like anxiety, fear, and trauma” somehow weigh more heavily on the minds of “marginalised groups.” A purported phenomenon that will “become an increasingly important component of climate justice in the United States.”

Other categories of assumed downtroddenness are mentioned too:

Some of them identify as queer, or their close family members and friends do, which shapes their sensitivity to discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Badges, so many badges. See how they catch the light.

All of them are college-educated. 

Hold that thought as we dive into the wisdom of these brown and suffering souls:

Melanie, a 26-year-old Native American woman, was raised on the Navajo reservation and in Southern California. She idealises having a big, happy family, but there are aspects of the world that give her pause, so she struggles with whether it’s morally okay to have children.

“I think I may not have children although I do want them,” she notes. “Just because, with all of the things we see going on in the world, it seems unfair to bring someone into all of this against their will.”

Readers are welcome to suggest how one might bring someone into existence – a child, say – with their consent. And no, you can’t use a time machine.

Melanie adds,

“It almost feels, like, kind of shameful to want to have children.”

Such sorrow. Such sweet, pretentious sorrow.

Juliana, a 23-year-old Mexican American woman, is strongly aware of negative peer pressure from friends. She recently graduated from art school, 

Clue.

and her friend circle is mainly composed of queer and transgender, anti-establishment artists. Most of them have no intention of having children of their own, 

Punchline incoming.

Her friends cite environmental and mental health concerns. 

Whether the latter is a function of sexual dysmorphia and compulsive pronoun stipulation, or of art school, I leave to the reader.

Their anxiety tells them that they can’t properly take care of themselves, much less a child.

For some reason, the words natural selection come to mind.

Elena, 22, is one of the most certain people I’ve met: She is not having children. “Me being interested in environmental policy cemented my decision to not have kids, but I do have some personal things that I’ve gone through in life that I wouldn’t want my kids going through, like not having a dad.”

Not having a dad is indeed regrettable. And so, naturally, Elena makes a point of rejecting any potential fathers:

Elena brings this conversation up on every first date with any new guy she sees. Given that most of them expect to have families in the future, Elena feels strongly that she does not want a relationship.

As part of her reasoning for shunning motherhood, and by extension, shunning a stable relationship, Elena also invokes a dread of “really weird weather patterns,” should any arise. Yes, I know. The word reasoning is creaking under the load.

Other interviewees envision a future in which they are free to focus on themselves. Which may strike readers as a mixed blessing.

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Written by: David

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In which we marvel at the mental contortions of our self-imagined betters.