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- Mar 16, 2009
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Well, we're talking about the difference between parent's and non parent's. Anyone who has a kid, even an adopted kid, can tell you your perspective changes dramatically after you become a parent. I know mine did.
Time for me to stick my two bits in again.
I know the "you can't understand X unless you're Y" argument is tedious and annoying...but there is some element of truth in it. That's not to say that you can't have an opinion, or even that your opinion cannot be informed...but rather that you may not understand the emotional context of something if you haven't experienced it.
As a young man, I had two nieces who I played "substitute daddy" to. It was good for them and for me, and to this day I love them both dearly. It wasn't quite the same though, as when I had my own child that I raised from infancy. There is a difference, and it is hard to explain to those who don't have children. There is something primal in the brain that just wants to go haywire at any percieved threat to one's children, and while it is possible to control it most of the time, it is also not easy. It's also something that non-parents can probably imagine, but not really understand on a gut level.
So while I wouldn't want to overplay the "until you X you can't understand" argument, there is some validity to it in some life experiences.
I agree with all of that, except that I don't like Starbucks. The original comment I was referring to was about teaching homosexuality in public schools. The classroom is no place for that and it would motivate me to show up at school raising hell about it.
Yeah, I'd have a hard time staying calm about that too. I'd try, but it wouldn't be easy.