I work at a public place. I have a job description, but even on the busiest of days, I spend the majority of my time people-watching. Because my work place is a cultural hub, and because it's downtown, I see Winnipeg's entire gamut of social class. And when I look at both the wealthiest and the most destitute of families, I see something in common: lousy kids.
I can't count the number of times in a day where I have to hear some parent yell at their kid, "Conner! Maximillian! This way! Over here! Keyla, don't touch that! Over here! Come this way! No! No, you can't! Come here, Sheena! Come here, Braydon!, Come here!"
I look at the kids running around and I don't see doctors and engineers and teachers and paramedics. Most of the time I see young adults run ragged chasing after some snot-nosed rugrat. Like they thought it would be a good idea to pop out a couple mouths to feed. I get that the desire to have kids is very strong in a great many people, but seeing it day in, day out has made me realise that the large majority of parents look fucking miserable having to take care of their kids.
But that's just most, not all of, the time. There's a young couple that regularly comes by with their couple, few kids, and they've got their shit together. Hep folks, well-behaved kids, dance lessons, eating with cutlery, the whole nine. Good. More power to them.
I also see the other side. People that have kids for the welfare cheque. 4-,5-,6-,7-year-olds in strollers because they're too fat to walk, mouths red from the syrup they're sucking back. Unhappy, crying brats that look to my eyes like they're just waiting to grow up so they can become junkies. And everywhere, too many kids!
I know that seeing kids as drug users-/hookers-/bullies-in-waiting is a terrible, cynical way to think. And I acknowledge that about half of that opinion comes from me being exposed to it all the time, and that when this job is long behind me, I'll think differently. But the proliferation of kids is not an opinion where one can just argue their case. There are too many damn kids. Fact.
No one in their right mind can tell me that having 6+ kids is a responsible thing to do. Unless you were born on a farm and your parents had a dozen kids because they needed help milking the cows and harvesting, you don't have an excuse. Octomom? Appalling publicity stunt. John and Kate? 5 too many. The Duggars? A shameful and embarrassing example of using Christianity to eschew birth control. (Catholic Church, I'm looking at you.)
It's not like I believe in over-population. I've heard, and believe, that by most scientific estimates, the world's population will level off at about 10 billion. But it's the old argument: "Oh, what difference can I make? I'm just one person." Well, if a million single people did one small thing, it adds up. No, you having one or two more kids isn't going to make a huge difference. But look at it a couple of ways. 1. Large scale: if a million couples decided to have one or two more kids, that's pretty significant; and 2. Small scale: if you're a couple, two more kids will increase your family size 100%.
I'm winding down, because I know I'm not making any sense. I just think that there should be more and better access to contraceptives, more education, more responsibility, fewer kids. Not that the world can't handle them; it can. But because I fear that their parents cannot.
