This is not the whatnot.
Adam Baldwin, unrelated and superior to all the other Baldwins, talked a little about his local school district earlier this week. He begins by talking about environmental scare tactics, and then focuses on “population bomb” fear mongering:
On the question of enforcement, [Benjamin Kay, high school teacher for the Santa Monica school districut,] injects a re-education solution:
“What we really need is a cultural ‘fix’… so long as we have family counseling institutions and education in school, things that tell women and guys that a family of two is good, that’s better for world population.”
Mr. Kay (who is not a parent) plants the intolerant seed in his students’ captivated young minds that discrimination against larger families’ extra children is profitable because he views their burden of existence on society as irresponsible and contributes to the sort of “over-consumption” that is “killing the planet.”
I can’t help but wonder if there are any third or (gasp!) fourth children in any of Mr. Kay’s classes. I’m a fifth and I can’t imagine the world without me in it.
This reminds me of a family that used to come into my bookstore all the time. They had four children. I think. They moved so fast. It was just a delight to have them come in on a Saturday morning. The kids—three boys and a girl—were so polite and happy and friendly that I got quite attached to them. I knew which books they read and kept an eye out for anything new they might like. I knew who was working on a book report and I’d hear back about their grades. It was just a pleasure being in this family’s company.
And one day after they had left I saw one woman turn to another and say, “Must never have heard of birth control.” I can’t imagine the kind of person that could even think like that. I wonder which of those charming children she wished hadn’t been born.
Print
Digg
StumbleUpon
del.icio.us
Facebook
Yahoo! Buzz
Twitter
Google Bookmarks
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
MSN Reporter
MySpace
Orkut
Ping.fm
Reddit
RSS
Slashdot
Technorati
Tumblr
Webnews.de
One of the real problems is not the curriculum per se, but that the district can’t fire dolts like this (and/or that it even hires him in the first place). Another part is that it’s freakin’ SANTA MONICA. Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz have more commie bastards per sq. mile than the Kremlin in 1932.
If Adam Baldwin wants a decent public school education for his kids he needs to come out here to Riverside — our schools are pretty good (our kids school is excellent so far — 4th grade — fingers crossed). I like Baldwin though (My Bodyguard — come on!)
Now the larger point… Paul Erhlich’s population bomb scares have been debunked since the 1980s so Kay is not only a scaremonger he’s an outdated scaremonger. He might as well go on a jeremiad about Mongol hordes or the Black Death.
Now I’m motivated to go forth and multiply more — or at least try.
I loved Baldwin in My Bodyguard. I was about ten or twelve when it came out, and it’s the only movie I’ve ever stayed and watched again during the next showing. (I don’t think they let you do that, now.) Then I watched Firefly via Netflix and loved the character he played, but didn’t recognize him. (I’m really bad with faces.)
I’m gonna give him credit for trying to change the school district he’s in. I’d bet his kids (his bio says he has “more than two,” will be just fine, but he might do some good for the others.
I was in a bit of a hurry. I wasn’t intending to bag on Baldwin for being in Santa Monica. I was more trying to convey the lack of surprise that Santa Monica USD would have a douche like Kay as a teacher.
I wonder if or when the population control “geniuses” have or will have murdered the child who would have come up with a definitive cure for cancer.
Is there a genetic marker for liberalism?
Hmmm considering I was number 9 of 9 and that my Mom lost three babies, two to miscarriage and one as a stillbirth (my brother Dave) I listen to crap like population bomb and hear dumb women say stuff about birth control out loud in hearing distance of a FAMILY I want to scream. We have people who want control of other peoples lives from cradle to the grave, In fact they want to control if you are even going to be BORN and then you have retarded enablers like feminist nutcase women. I sometimes wonder when women out there say stupid sh*t like that if they feel a little insecure and not so womanly because they haven’t either got a family or are scared they won’t have a family. Hmmmm
One of the smaller points of Marley and Me was John Grogan’s burgeoning family and all the heat he took from colleagues in his liberal haunt of South Florida over having a third child. He never touches on it, but it makes you wonder if it was one of the reasons he decided to move to rural Pennsylvania and dump a dream columnist job to work at an ag magazine.
My mom came from a family of five, my mother-in-law came from a family of four and my father-in-law from a family of four, and that’s average given the area I just moved from. Heavily German, Catholic and farmers to boot, so families with 12 or 13 kids weren’t that rare. One of the families suffered a tragedy when their house burned down. A friend of mine who had just moved up from Florida was helping raise money and said people from his old neck of the woods would mock them for having so many kids and the problems they had, just because that’s their attitude.
When people began treating children as something other than a gift, our country began a slow rot.
We have created a society that view children as disposable. Some that is nice to have, but unnecessary, something you get rid of if it’s too much of a bother.
I find it hilarious when I have been asked if I know about birth control. I probably know more than they do, I have studied it a lot while making decisions throughout life. I didn’t just take whatever was given me, I studied first. Turns out some of the bc stuff can really mess you up. But what would I know? Obviously only ignorant people have lots of children.
Every one of my children has been a blessing in my life, even the ones I didn’t get to keep with me. Every one has changed me for the better.
If they are so into choice, how about this? I CHOOSE to have children. I CHOOSE to raise them myself. I don’t give a crap what they choose, I’m having too much fun with my choices.
Re-reading your post, Tracy, I am stunned that anyone would ask you about something so personal, with such an insulting implication.
You have no idea. In public we are viewed as public property, and as none too bright. The funny part is my kids make fun of them when they walk away. We try and stop them, half-heartedly. Even my kids know better.
What I want to know is what kind of birth defects and later issues have occurred because of birth control………..
He is a great favorite Baldwin to have, love him the few times I have seen “Chuck.”
I thought this would have been decent whatnot. The suspense builds.
You won’t believe what the whatnot isn’t.
That was a typo, but I like it. Stet.
I have an idiot BIL who thinks like this, thinks that it’s “irresponsible” to have more than three kids. (he lives in The People’s Republic of Boulder… very original, of course) Of course, he’s the youngest of — you guessed it — three!
I’m my mom’s first, but my father’s fourth. So where does that place me?
And I love what my half-brother and SIL pulled. First, it was a set of twins (I think they had help). Then they had one more. Then they had another set of twins (totally accidental)! Five kids in three pregnancies.
Knowing this, my BIL has to squirm and stay quiet on this topic anymore in order to be polite. God Love the U-Dad — he’ll drop like a hammer on anyone in his family who tries to mess with me.
And I loved this Baldwin in Firefly. I’ll have to look around for more of him!
Hmmm. (4 + 1)/2 = 2.5, so you’re good! (Whew.)
I applaud your sister-in-law’s efficiency. None of that one-at-a-time nonsense! That’s sheer dilly-dallying.
Baldwin made Firefly for me. I loved the way he loved his character. Discovering that he was a conservative was just the icing on the cake.
None of that one-at-a-time nonsense! That’s sheer dilly-dallying.
See, that’s what I try to tell people. I have 2 sets of twins. Sure, at times I felt like Noah’s ark, but I got 11 kids in 13 years. Ta-da!!
Anytime I come across a conservative in the entertainment industry, it brightens my day. So thanks for that!
I took a look at the article. It just makes me grateful that U-Dad and I have opted to homeschool. When I have a crabby day, I just have to think of this crap and am re-ignited to keep at it.
Opting out. The ultimate in school choice!
Opting out. The ultimate in school choice!
Amen!!
The irony here is that this teacher’s job depends on there being an infinite supply of children. The liberal elitism is staggering here. Only a liberal would crap where they eat. I have to admit though, there have been times when I’ve wished a particular family had less kids when I keep getting these siblings in my class every year and the parents don’t speak or read english at home. Talk about throwing a wrench in the gears. These kids sponge up class time from the other kids because they need more one on one teaching, and can’t get any help at home with homework.
Being the youngest of what could have easily been 12 kids I think if you can really have that many kids and not lose your sanity you not only should be considered for parents of the Millenium but real true lives Sainthood. People should have as many kids as they can concievably care for. My Dad had to work two jobs, his commercial fishing business and at Trane in management and my Mom worked as a shoe clerk. But dammit they did it. And we all turned out fairly socialized, even the granola eating hippys among us.
Stephanie,
I worked at Trane for a bit and even visited the LaCrosse plant! Was your dad there in 1990?
The thing is, they shouldn’t be pushing this ‘keep families small’ agenda at the expense of other POV in school. If they had open debate for ALL approaches, that’d be okay. Give people all the facts, then let them make their own decisions as regards family size.
This would include [IMO] at looking at where our cheap consumer products come from. Who made them? If it’s abroad, do the producers/growers/makers get a fair wage? Our Western society may be upheld by people somewhere else not being totally free and things like child labor.
Also look at certain parts of Catholic South America where the population is also ‘controlled’ by not allowing families access to any form of contraception at all. 12 to 13 kids crowded in one or two room shacks isn’t healthy either [again, IMO].
Philippa… Welcome to Threedonia and thanks for your comment!
I’m sure there is a path somewhere between the Scylla of near-zero birth rates and demographic suicide and the Charybdis of unaffordably huge families and its sometimes attendant poverty. The problem with the West’s rabidly radical individualism is the low-birth rates witnessed in Western Europe and Japan. One problem with a lack of liberty might be too huge families without the economic freedom to be able to pay for them. (I reserve judgment on Catholic theology of birth control)
In the end — the hemisphere with the most babies will most likely survive to use the resources.
Phillipa the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The Church is very specific. If people in the USA…like so called CINO’s actually followed the church’s teachings we wouldn’t have issues with a smaller population among the first immigrints. And look at Europe…white europe is dying….and its all thanks to ignoring church teachings and opting for “family” planning. The fact that Muslims are multiplying like rabbits should be a cause of major concern. When Islam has a 0 population to negatives growth then I’d embrace the lunacy of contraception…until then if an American family wants more than one kid or two it is no ones business but theirs. Now that is a concept.
Steph…
And if the South and Central American countries had liberty in their economies then large families wouldn’t be such a problem. It’s hard to have a populace who sincerely believes birth control is unnatural and then have political policies that cement them in poverty. Free markets can easily support the most devout Catholic populace and their often large families.
Of course. But what I am saying is that its no ones business. If someone wants a big family awesome. And I’d like to know what do all of those birth control hormones do to our kids? Thats another danger that no one ever talks about. Stupid women go out and embrace a [pill that plays with their hormones. What do these things do to their eggs?
My advice is pretty simple: Don’t want to get pregnant? Don’t have sex. Easy peasy. Which is what people should be doing. Instead people want to have their “fun” without paying the price. But if a person is in a good relationship and married I see no problem.
The human population as a whole is rising and is [according to the official figures I've read], doing so exponentially. Europe is most certainly not dying – I live here in the UK! We have legal and illegal immigration and the EU is expanding its borders.
It’s not just a Catholic ban on using anything but the natural methods or abstinence either. The Orthodox church, Mormons, Orthodox Judaism and some Islamic countries also withhold full freedom of contraceptive choice on religious grounds.
At the risk of repeating myself, our Western affluence is to a certain extent based on other parts of the world being in dire poverty. This may not bother you; that’s your choice.
More children also = a growing drain on all resources. Especially fresh water. Maybe not for us, but look at the shanty towns in India [to give one example].
I’m not – absolutely not – arguing in favour of population control. I’m just asking people to look at the worldwide reality and to make a fully informed decision.
Our Western affluence is based on three things: free-market capitalism, democracy, and the rule of law. It is not dependent upon other countries being poor, nor does it cause them to be—if anything, it has the opposite effect.
It may be our cultural differences, Philippa, but that seems an odd way to talk about children. There are other classes of people who are a “drain” on our resources: the elderly, the infirm, and imprisoned criminals, to name a few. It’s just never occured to me to think of people this way.
Phillipa,
Please tell me one activity humans engage in, one, that destroys water. I must have slept through that part of chemistry. Water conservation is a local problem. Some areas use more of it than they have, but when they “use” it, that water is returned to the ecosystem somewhere, as water. And the EU expanding its borders has nothing to do with population growth within EU countries. Europe is a continent with fixed borders, the EU is a group of countries organized politically and economically. China could join the EU tomorrow and although that would greatly increase the population of the EU it would make no difference to the population of Europe, or the UK.
Native born citizens of the UK are not reproducing at replacement rates. Any increase you see in UK population is due to immigration, and immigrants having children. Nothing wrong with that, but don’t be surprised when you wake up one day and find Parliament legislating according to Sh’ria law.
This statement, “At the risk of repeating myself, our Western affluence is to a certain extent based on other parts of the world being in dire poverty” is extremely naive. I honestly mean no offense, but this shows an immature level of understanding of economics and politics. In the 17th, 18th, and much of the 19th centuries the United States was the equivalent of a third world country where many lived in dire poverty. The U.S. made the textiles and grew the food that fed the wealthy of Europe, and kids did a lot of that work. Serving wealthy, European markets allowed the U.S. to grow to one of the wealthiest nations the world has ever known. Is it sad that there are children in China and India working long hours in factories doing manual labor? Yes. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why they are there? They aren’t sent to those jobs by gun point. They choose to work there. Why? Because those are the best alternatives available. If the West stopped buying the things they make life would be WORSE for them. Then those job wouldn’t even exist and they’d have no options to earn a livelihood at all. Look at how much India’s middle and wealthy classes have expanded in the past 50 years! Why? How? This is the exact process that takes a 3rd world country out of poverty.
I have looked at the worldwide reality and made an informed decision. I looked at the facts and made my decision through reason, not emotion. Poor people will always have a lot of kids. That statistic has not changed for thousands of years, probably millions. If middle class and wealthy people stop having kids all that will happen is we’ll have more poor. It doesn’t help the poor one bit. We need more good people raising more good kids.
I like it better when we agree.
Rufus here; Are you talking to me, or Phillipa?
Phillipa when you realize how you have been lied to it will be such a moment of startling liberation you won’t be able to control yourself. Stop debating from emotion. Nothing you have said is based on science or reality. Purely on emotion that some progressive fools brainwashed you into believing. Do some research on your own and look at everything before going off on such an extreme. ALL HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED! All human beings born have a right to whatever life they have the opportunity to have. No government or some freakish humanity hating population control freaks has teh right to treat his or her fellow man be they wealthy or poor like the humane society treat unwanted animals. You come off like that. Instead of talking so unbelievably CALLOUSLY about children and the poor go and volunteer in your own locality to help feed them. Thats what your calling as a human is. Not to insist people be well put to sleep like rabid dogs because in your opinion they have no quality of life. Thats not your call, it sure as hell isn’t Barack Obama’s call either. None of us have teh right to judge who is fit to live and who is not. Get it?
Anyone who refers to children as a “growing drain on resources” is kind of a sick sad human being. Children are a gift Phillipa. Not a drain. To be cherished and helped along and encouraged, disciplined and allowed to become the adults and good citizens we all want them to become. They are not a drain. You know its funny but Phillipa you should do your homework before referring to fellow human beings as a drain. Someone else did to. Useless mouths. You know who did that? Check it out. Google Eugenics and racism in Europe once.
Expecting #6 in late Sept. Happy about it. And all my kids have the same father.
ps I am #12 of 12, and Mr. Make.Do is #9 of 13. I’m glad our parents didn’t stop at 2, or even 6 or 8. Would their life have been easier? Probably. Better? That does not necessarily follow.
The same father? Judgmental.
As I remind my kids on one sunday every June, when they wish me a happy Father’s Day; “Only your mother knows for sure.”
My kid’s mother told me once that the kids all had the same father. She did not, however, say it was moi!
Floyd~ Not trying to be judgmental though I can see why you would say that. (An acquaintance recently had #6, her 1st from her 3rd husband. Was I consciously thinking of her? No. But there it is, so now I am.) The thing is – that is what people ask! In addition to “Don’t you know what causes that?” and “This is the last one, right?” So what I meant by it was just anticipating one of the usual (often nosy/rude) questions. I qualify them as nosy and rude because of the tone of voice usually accompanied by rolled eyes and/or some other snide remark often insulting my intelligence or my love of “mother earth”. It’s true some people who ask those types of questions are just genuinely curious. I try to be polite in return, regardless. I find it sad that some people just seem pissed off at how happy I am!
Stacie,
I’m pretty sure Floyd was making a joke. By the way, whenever I see a big family I get a huge smile. And I can’t think of an adult I know from a large family who isn’t reasonably well-adjusted. Most all of them are independent and successful. Many parents of small families fall into the temptation of going way overboard with their kids, and doing too much for them. Kids raised in large families have to help out, and help with the other kids. It seems much more normal an environment for humans than being an only child. You guys are on the right track. There is probably jealousy behind a lot of the snide comments you get because most parents probably secretly know they couldn’t do what you do as well as you do.
Floyd.Make.Joke.
Stacie. Touchy. Pregnant.
Also having trouble sleeping.
Must be the nightmares I get from reading you guys.
Rock on.
Congratulations… makes my 3 kid family seem so small.
and we just have a dog. But we are gonna adopt. HA HA HA…
That is great news, Stephanie! Best of luck!!
You won’t believe what the whatnot isn’t.