meritocrat

That's not correct. It's you who raised the notion of learning things from children. Back it up.




Who says I lack empathy? Neither of you people know me.

extinctionist

Well, strictly speaking it wasn't me. I think it was Tangie. But no matter. Why the fuck should I have to back it up. Children can often remind us of empathetic values, make pertinent points about relationship issues for example when their parents are fighting. Besides which, since you are taking the extreme position that we cannot learn things from children, maybe its you who should be backing up that point of view. I need no evidence, since its a known fact that one human being can learn something from another. You, on the other hand, need to start backing up your assertions more.

Its true that I've never had the pleasure.

But since you have asserted that there is nothing wrong with violence against children within the family, and that its the stupid child's fault for being born into that family in the first place, we are putting two and two together.

My guess is you don't have kids. Right?

Random

Meritocrat, to cut a long story short, what's your point? Are you advocating:
a) being cruel to children because we can?
b) leaving children to the sole mercy of their parents, even if said parents are neglectful or abusive?
c) letting all other members of society, adult or children, fend for themselves? If so, are you arguing against any need to set up societal safety nets, or against any obligation to engage in private charity? Or both? Or what?

I mean, you've said you'd call the police to stop a neighbour's property being stolen. Would you call the police to stop a neighbour beating up:
a) their child?
b) their spouse?
c) a random passer-by?
d) someone else's child?
If you'd react differently in some of those cases from how you would in others, why?

extinctionist

Damn, wish I'd though of that...

meritocrat

As I said other children aren't my respsonsiblity.

I'd help because I was being altruistic.

Shura

Strangely enough, Meritocrat has a point. Why should anyone be bound to aid someone else weaker if not to fulfill a personal desire of some sort? This personal desire is termed "altruism", and "decency" but it cannot be denied that a practitioner of these values acts so primarily for his or her own sake.

Why should violence against children not be condoned? Because it makes you feel bad if it is? Judging from the posts in this topic, that seems to be the answer of the majority. I'm not trying to hijack the topic here, but just throwing out this point for consideration.

How authentic are your concepts of "altruism" or "decency" anyway?

Personally, I have no love for the annoying little bastards. They get in my way, they get smack aside or backstabbed just like anyone else. But that's besides the point.

whichphilosophy

We may think that Children have more rights in the West but recent events are to the contrary due to the compulsory drugging. I have two children of school age and I now consider myself lucky that I'm living in Asia.

Six million American children are prescribed psychotropic drugs, including 909,000 who take Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants. In fact, however, it is totally under control – psychiatric control.

Between 2,000 and 6,000 British children are popping psychotropic pills to “calm themselves down.�106 Each year in Germany, 500,000 prescriptions for psychiatric drugs are given to school children, with every seventh psychiatric pill administered to children under the age of 11.

These are a result of false diagnosis of children with so called Attention disorders, hyperactivity etc invented by psychiatrists, (according to dissident psychiatrists, plus doctors and psychologists who have done their own research) which are either often nothing or a simple medical problem like too much sugar in the bloodstream and takes a simple diet to correct.

Fortunately a bill was passed in 2003 in the US to outlaw it but is not yet enacted until it gets through the Senate.

Turning todays children into tomorrows (and some are now) junkies is the worst case of abuse yet. Sending a child up a chimney pales by contrast to this.

Just a point. Children may be smaller but really I believe they do have as many rights as us but obviously need supervising but I would say they should be treated as individuals with their own minds.

My own children (5 and 6) would have been classed as hyperactive if we had moved to the USA. They misbehaved, pulled down the telephone wires. broke all their toys, drew on the walls not so long ago. As it turned out the eldest is 2 years ahead and sits in a class of 8 year olds. The younge is 1 year ahead. She started school 1 year early. (This also proves that intelligence is not hireditary).

I wrote something on this (though very long) on another thread.

I anyone lives in Europe or the US then I think they should take heed when going to a school where drugs are administered as cures for so called maladays. Better still don't go to such a school.

Regards,.

Hyndis

And lets not forget the predatory practices of various companies which shall go unnamed...


Lets just hope that stem cell research manages to find a cure for diabetes and heart disease, or else the average lifespam will start to plummet.

Random

Are other adults your responsibility, then? Do you mean you'd help in all of the above cases because you'd want to, or just if it wasn't a child?

I'm starting to suspect that what you're driving at is that altruism should not in any way, however minimal, be required of people - it should be entirely up to them to be altruistic or not as they please. No censure attached to choosing to let a stranger fend for themselves at all. Is that your point? If so, I don't see how you'd construct a workable society out of that.

meritocrat

Why should a grown human being by anyone's 'responsibility'? They are old enough to fend for themselves. Since a child is primarily the responsibility of the parents, then it's not my business to care.

To re-iterate, I'd help them if their property were stolen because I'd feel sympathetic and would aid them out of altruistic and benevolent feelings.