4 ms·

First Comes Love. Then Comes Sterilization

5 points by jdkee 5y ago

catlikesshrimp 5y ago
This is a mental health problem. Everybody can eventually agree, although normal people will always think that mental problems can be solved with whatever policy they support. About one in four American suffer from idiophatic anxiety. And never more than 60% can be treated. The rest, and some of those treated, and those with worse psychiatric illnesses, will lead miserable lives, and it is nobody's fault. However bad American economy is right now, it is simply heaven to people in third world countries, and millions try to cross the border every year. Don't blame it on education, either; mental health problems burden the poor, too; the difference is the poor won't have the support to survive that much. They will die to violence, or drugs, or suicide. But this is not the end of America, worry not. The healthy population which do reproduce will carry on. And you will import poors to do the manual labor. If you somehow forced those whom this story is about, you would not only throw some into despair, but also force their children to carry the same burden.
- WalterGR 5y ago
  > This is a mental health problem. What is? Not wanting to have children?
  - tomhoward 5y ago
    I don't think they're asserting that anyone/everyone who doesn't want to have children has a mental health problem, but as the article conveys, widespread trauma and despair seems to be a significant factor behind this macro-trend. Maybe it's rational reaction rather than a mental illness. I'm not arguing the toss on that.
  - catlikesshrimp 5y ago
    I didn't mean it is a psychiatric disorder by itself. I wanted to state that it will frequently be the manifestation of one. I can't provide proof that many functional people are burdened by an illness which others won't notice. You can suffer from complete kidney failure, go to dialisis sessions twice or thrice a week, and people will not see any difference, for some years. I do have family which have decided not to have kids. My first comment is the conclussion I came to long ago. I know it is not a popular opinion. I have come to accept that for people to understand what a mental illness truly is they must both come in close contact to it AND have some education about it. Which is the reason it is almost impossible for society to understand how hopeless addictions and homelessness truly are. Or to understand why people who don't have money for the day after have many kids, while people who have all basic neccessities covered won't have any.

5 points by jdkee 5y ago

This is a mental health problem. Everybody can eventually agree, although normal people will always think that mental problems can be solved with whatever policy they support. About one in four American suffer from idiophatic anxiety. And never more than 60% can be treated. The rest, and some of those treated, and those with worse psychiatric illnesses, will lead miserable lives, and it is nobody's fault. However bad American economy is right now, it is simply heaven to people in third world countries, and millions try to cross the border every year. Don't blame it on education, either; mental health problems burden the poor, too; the difference is the poor won't have the support to survive that much. They will die to violence, or drugs, or suicide. But this is not the end of America, worry not. The healthy population which do reproduce will carry on. And you will import poors to do the manual labor. If you somehow forced those whom this story is about, you would not only throw some into despair, but also force their children to carry the same burden.

WalterGR 5y ago
> This is a mental health problem. What is? Not wanting to have children?
- tomhoward 5y ago
  I don't think they're asserting that anyone/everyone who doesn't want to have children has a mental health problem, but as the article conveys, widespread trauma and despair seems to be a significant factor behind this macro-trend. Maybe it's rational reaction rather than a mental illness. I'm not arguing the toss on that.
- catlikesshrimp 5y ago
  I didn't mean it is a psychiatric disorder by itself. I wanted to state that it will frequently be the manifestation of one. I can't provide proof that many functional people are burdened by an illness which others won't notice. You can suffer from complete kidney failure, go to dialisis sessions twice or thrice a week, and people will not see any difference, for some years. I do have family which have decided not to have kids. My first comment is the conclussion I came to long ago. I know it is not a popular opinion. I have come to accept that for people to understand what a mental illness truly is they must both come in close contact to it AND have some education about it. Which is the reason it is almost impossible for society to understand how hopeless addictions and homelessness truly are. Or to understand why people who don't have money for the day after have many kids, while people who have all basic neccessities covered won't have any.