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The result was a bleak contrast between Watts’s high talk of compassion and love and a series of affairs that, combined with his low view of fatherhood – ‘mow t
by pizzafeelsright 3y ago
The result was a bleak contrast between Watts’s high talk of compassion and love and a series of affairs that, combined with his low view of fatherhood – ‘mow the lawn, play baseball with the children’ – helped to destroy his family
If you create life you must be responsible for it. Checking out early isn't an option.
- Towaway69 3y agoIt's pity that parenthood doesn't come with 30day cooling off period. Becoming a parent is a lot different than many imagine. I agree with your sentiment but I won't judge anyone for not being able to cope with parenthood.
- coffeebeqn 3y agoI do judge them but Watts is not the personification of Buddhism for example, just an effective messenger.
- Towaway69 3y agoWe are both looking from the outside in, we can't know what is going through someones minds, what is happening to them in their situation. To enforce social and moral norms on something we can't fully understand is questionable. Judging others is all about enforcing societal-defined morals onto others. You choose to enfore those morals, I choose to reserve judgement.
- The_Colonel 3y agoYou can say the same about a child rapist.
- sbarre 3y agoOk there, slow down.. You're barely a step away from Godwin's Law here..
- The_Colonel 3y agoWell, why not. This moral relativism can be applied to anything. Who are we to judge anything?
- temp112123 3y ago[dead]
- rambojohnson 3y agoWhile it's essential to acknowledge the impact of personal actions on family and responsibilities, it's also important to recognize the distinction between an individual's personal life and their professional or philosophical contributions. Watts indeed had personal shortcomings, as many do -- judging his entire body of work based on his personal life can be limiting and narrow-minded.
- avgcorrection 3y agoI don’t know to what extent he was a messenger for Buddhism. But in some sects you aren’t allowed to teach the Buddhadharma without permission. So in that sense, “personifying” what you teach would be relevant.
- karmakurtisaani 3y agoIt is fitting that Siddharta left his wife and infant for his own spiritual quest, though.
- fatherzine 3y agosadly, publicly only ever told to men. edit: whoa, given the quick downvotes on your comment, HN doesn't like it publicly said to men either.
- calibas 3y agoI know a lot more couples where the man has left, leaving the woman the raise the child, than the other way around. "If you create life you must be responsible for it" Maybe women are being told that, and you just haven't heard it said to you because you're not a woman. Or maybe women don't need to be told.
- khzw8yyy 3y agoGolly assumptions, Batman!
- fatherzine 3y agothe man has left, or the man was pushed away. the man has left, or the man is providing financial support, while being deprived of contact with his children. when 1 in 3 children are raised in a single parent household, compared to the traditional norm of 1 in 20, everybody could use a reminder to act responsible when it comes to the life they create. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_parent#Children https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_parent#Children