OK...Calling on all women......

[canadianbeaver]

Do you believe it could be possible to get women all over the world to stop having children....I mean really think about this...if we all stopped having kids what would the world do..without ladies populating this world what would happen?...is it even possible?....or would we just be "Manhandled" into having them...I have often thought about this and the true "Life Power" we hold as being the ones who carry life into this world?....

Just a thought.....let me know, good or bad, what you think?

[Maple]

1. No

nor would anybody want to stop having children.

Whatever would be the point of that??

[canadianbeaver]

7. as a woman I feel the way this world is headed is screwed up...

Men have had the power for all time.....I feel that should change....look at where we are as humans on this planet...can it take it much longer....REALLY?

[hlthe2b]

14. Women would have to rebel against those organized religions...

whose policies/edicts inherently "control" women and leave them powerless relative to men. Most forms of Christianity, particularly Catholicism have actively done this for thousands of years, since matriarchal pagan societies were perceived as a "threat." A good and short book on this is "When God was a Woman..."

Unfortunately without major educational campaigns, (de-brainwashing), there will always be some women WHO enable men to continue to assert power over them. Then, there will always be the women who perceive their own self worth stems from pushing an anti-feminist agenda, since it makes them "acceptable" to certain men. Take the despiccable Ann Coulter for just one such example...

[Maple]

21. The world is doing just fine

We are living longer healthier lives than ever before in history in the western world, and we are helping to pull the rest of the world up in living standards.

[canadianbeaver]

25. and possibly killing the planet as we "MOVE AHEAD".....

if we don't stop killing the planet...there won't be anyone left anyways....

We are arrogant people......

[Maple]

Nobody is killing the planet

and in any case there is no point in having a planet with no people on it.

We are not 'arrogant'. We have a perfect right to be here.

[canadianbeaver]

34. what makes man so much better than any other living thing..

what gives us this "Right"?.....

[Maple]

37. Intelligence

Adaptation, vision, the search for knowledge, the urge to explore and learn...

A planet full of plants and animals is a violent but pointless place.

And hurricanes would still happen.

[donsu]

49. wake up Maple - men in oil suits are killing the world

the evidence is science

[Maple]

52. Nonsense

It's a very big planet, and a volcano puts more pollution in the air than we do.

[donsu]

57. that's not true

prove that statement

[Maple]

61. Well it's your theory to prove

But there's lots of stuff on volcanoes and their effects.

This is just one paragraph from one site.



http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Hazards/What/VolGas/volgas.html

The volcanic gases that pose the greatest potential hazard to people, animals, agriculture, and property are sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen fluoride. Locally, sulfur dioxide gas can lead to acid rain and air pollution downwind from a volcano. Globally, large explosive eruptions that inject a tremendous volume of sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere can lead to lower surface temperatures and promote depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. Because carbon dioxide gas is heavier than air, the gas may flow into in low-lying areas and collect in the soil. The concentration of carbon dioxide gas in these areas can be lethal to people, animals, and vegetation. A few historic eruptions have released sufficient fluorine-compounds to deform or kill animals that grazed on vegetation coated with volcanic ash; fluorine compounds tend to become concentrated on fine-grained ash particles, which can be ingested by animals.

[IntravenousDemilo]

50. Our planet was trucking along perfectly well without us for most of its

history, and will do so long after we've become extinct. Humanity has been on this earth for about 1/5000 of the total time. So was there no point to earth's existence for the first 4999/5000?

No, I guess that's not arrogant...much...

[Maple]

54. And it was perfectly pointless

without intelligent life on it.

Unless you thought the dinosaurs were it?

Gardens are nice...but they are not the height of existence

[IntravenousDemilo]

63. Let me guess -- Catholic, right?

You know, like "man is to have dominion over the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fishes in the sea"? That we have the right to despoil our inheritance willy-nilly just because we are supposedly so much more intelligent, adaptable, etc?

We're more like some virulent mould that has grown on the surface of this orange that hurtles through space.

[mandyky]

65. That may have been true at one time

But infant mortality is through the roof, autism is almost epidemic, and asthma is common in children. Maybe boomers and their parents are living longer, I'm not sure that will be the case with the generations of the 90s and 2000s.

As for pulling the rest of the world up in living standards, ask the people in Iraq if their standard of living has gone up. I think not.
And closer to home, what are we doing to help Haiti or Mexico? Since we ousted the Haitian President their standard of living has gotten worse and continues to be horrible.

The world is NOT "doing just fine".

[Shell Beau]

62. And the answer to that is stop having children?

Why don't we just kill all the male babies? Sounds absurd, huh? Exactly!

edited for spelling

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Well, since I have no children

and don't plan on having any, I guess I'm a start at this idea.

[kid a]

3. that's a little selfish, don't you think?

[Boomer]

5. Yes, you're quite right

Having children is selfish.

So it's probably too much to expect that people will stop. Damn shame, but that's human nature.

[MildyRules]

11. Why is having children selfish?

[titoresque]

12. having children is selfish? Cough...

Every generation thinks theirs is worse than the one before...and yes, this one I think REALLY is, and yes we are at the breaking point. But seriously children bring so much joy to the world, and I am proud and very glad that I had mine. They not only bring me joy but many others too and they will for a lifetime. I don't get your "selfish" arguement? Sounds very bitter and uninformed.

[Name removed]

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[Mutley]

15. Not just human nature...

but the nature of everything that has ever lived on this planet. Propagation of the species is the number one instinct, above even survival as many species die to procreate (ep. species of insects where the female will devour the male after mating).

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[titoresque]

24. Crap looks like you're having the same problems I'm having LOL

I thought the same thing was going to happen with my last post because I kept trying to send it. :hi:
Damn hackers!! :)

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Shell Beau]

66. Having children is about the most UN-SELFISH

thing one can do. Please! You put everything else aside in your life to care for another human. Women give 9 months of their life to carry this baby which puts women at risk. Not to mention the love and care for the rest of your life you give them. And you say it is selfish?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Not to have children?

Knowing the health history of my family, knowing the state of the world, I stand by my choice.

That being said, I won't criticize anyone who wants to have children. After all, that's what pro-choice is all about.

[hlthe2b]

27. Yes... I choose to

adopt and "mother" dogs needing homes. Others adopt children... And fine for those who decide to have children. NO one has the right to criticize as "selfish" any of these choices, IMO.

[donsu]

53. feminists long ago explained that "selfish" slogan

seach for feminist articles explaining "selfish" in re: women reproducing

[Boomer]

4. I'm doing my part

No kids, ever.

So, one down and about 3 billion more women to go....

[hlthe2b]

8. Well, the trend is there in the industrialized world...

Leading France to offer to pay for women to have children....

But, to get the proportionate 100 million US women of child-bearing age not to have children, when this admin and the RW nutsos are doing everything possible to take away birth control access and sex ed, now that will be a challenge...


Perhaps you'd need to clone Lorenna Bobbitt instead :evilgrin:

[calico1]

9. Can't be done. Just not a practical idea.

But I already did my part. I have no children.

[titoresque]

10. Well, you have an interesting idea but...

we can't even pull off a good gasoline strike.....

[canadianbeaver]

17. sooo true.....

what the hell was I thinkin.......I don't plan on having a child...I don't see the future as bright as I did in the 90's....in fact with the people in charge of this planet and the control they have...i feel it would be like Child abuse to make a child go thru what this world puts out...on the other hand...Mother Nature is a wonder and I do love life..don't get me wrong..its the people trying to "Take over the World" that I can't stand...where on this planet is there a government who cares for the people who they are supposed to care for rather then themselves and their Cabal...?

[Ravenseye]

31. Look at it this way

You just KNOW that the people destroying this world aren't gonna stop having kids. Maybe we need to have kids simply so there is someone there to stop theirs?

Also all I know is that maybe it's selfish, but my daughter is the light of my, and my wife's, life. The amount of love in my life has increased since having her, and that's a good thing. Love is a good thing.

[titoresque]

36. My kids are 13 and 10

so things were a bit different 10 years ago.......and I was A LOT different. Much younger in how I view the world. But the one thing that saves me so many times when I just feel I'm about to have a serious nervous breakdown about the world and I don't even want to get out of bed..........my kids. I'm a mother and it's made me a stronger person and a person who's on a mission to make sure my kids are left with hopefully a better world than we have now.
My partner and I have talked about having one more child, and i agree with you, I don't think now is the time for us. I'm glad we have had the opportunity and all the joy that parenthood has brought, it's really the joy of my life, but I'm weary now and getting older and I see things different so I can see both sides of the arguement better. I do think that anyone who has never had a child shouldnt be looked down on if they choose the experience.

:toast:

[whatever4]

22. Just stop having female chidren

sounds horribly cynical. I know. I know.

[hlthe2b]

32. heavens... female infanticide occurs to this day in rural India, .

China, and other parts of the world. Please don't joke about this...

[DS1]

23. Morons will continue their unprotected fucking no matter

what you want them to do.

[MildyRules]

28. It's a good thing that only morons do it, huh?

[gollygee]

29. I think I'll make my reproductive choices myself, thanks

[Child_Of_Isis]

30. I had one 18 years ago,

and had my tubes tied when she was 6 months. So, count me in.

[pitohui]

33. only well-educated, well-employed women can resist the urge to procreate

it ain't gonna happen, the poor women who can't afford to get birth control or abortions will end up bearing our children, this is the secret point of the whole anti-choice effort, rich well-educated well-employed women don't see a need to destroy their bodies & their health by excessive child-bearing, leave it to the poor, controlling poor women's access to choice guarantees that there will always be a huge population of slaves & soldiers

cynical much, why yes i am

the choice is mostly not in women's hands, where it is, women do not excessively procreate, be it hong kong or italy

[titoresque]

42. yikes that wasnt just cynical it was offensive and

ignorant....and general. I get what you are saying but are you calling Mothers of more than 2.5 children poor and stupid?
What is excessive? Also...I have not destroyed my body and health.
And these ridiculous comments are coming from people who have NO children......WTF do you know? You don't! So I suggest you give your parents a call and ask them was it all worth it...ok? Then get back to us Mothers and Fathers who are fighting for a better life for our kids.

[hlthe2b]

51. The previous post was insensitive.. but the truth is...

there are many studies showing the single most important predictor of family size among women in overpopulated developing world, is EDUCATION. And, more specifically, EDUCATING the female.

So, there is some truth to the previous post if one looks beyond the inflammatory rhetoric.

[girl gone mad]

64. My grandmother had 9 children.

She lived a long, healthy life and she looked beautiful right up to her death.

[Shell Beau]

70. Well I am none of those things and I plan to reproduce.

What does that make me?

[enlightenment]

35. Little much, to ask women to have NO children

since it's a pretty natural instinct. Perhaps a focus on limiting family size? Personally, I think it's okay to "replace" yourself -- but it is selfish (in the larger world view) to have a litter. If you want more than 2 -- presuming you're replacing yourself and your SO -- adopt.
The "I can afford it" argument defies logic, as do the "nobody's business but my own" and the "it's my right" arguments.

But you're not really talking about population control -- and gender equity or female "empowerment" are not going to be resolved via threats or blackmail. It's an interesting concept, an extension of with-holding sex (as in Lysistrata), but it depends on women thinking as a collective in order for it to work.

We're humans first, women second -- and not bees or Borg.
Which is, I guess, both good and bad.
Peace.

[femrap]

56. A child in the US uses up so much more of the

world's resources...nevermind the landfills filled with disposable diapers. Our culture is so wasteful and consumer-hungry. I see families going into debt just so their children can have the latest toy or video game at Xmas...it's sick.

I guess if I saw more parents really 'raising' their children to be good citizens, I would feel better about the course of our nation, but I don't. I see materialistic, self-absorbed, youngsters for the most part.

I am glad I didn't have children...but that takes courage to stand up to society's pressures and say I don't want to have children. You have no idea how many people say that is NOT natural and that something is wrong with me.

Just because you are a woman doesn't make you a good mother...and the same goes with men and fatherhoods....of course men we let off the hook with 'boys will be boys.' They are not held accountable for their reckless ejaculations...women are.

Many women have children because they see no other choice...it's what she is 'supposed' to do. I see many unwanted children running in the grocery store being yelled at by a woman trying to keep her cool. Some people are good at being parents and some others aren't. I wish people would be honest with themselves. And more important I wish society would 'allow' for childless people....hell, they should encourage it...we have too many people as it is that we can't care for properly.

Population control will probably be dealt with by a pandemic at some point.

[MildyRules]

69. Actually

The urge/desire to procreate is one of the strongest in nature. Perpetuation of the species is deeply ingrained in all animals, including man.. So, actually, the fact that you don't want to have children is, while understandable, not "natural."

[Beware the Beast Man]

38. Gimmie an "E"!

[Beware the Beast Man]

39. Gimme a "u"!

[Lars39]

40. G!

We women need more control! ;)

[Beware the Beast Man]

44. Gimme another "e"!

[Beware the Beast Man]

45. Gimme an "N"!

[Beware the Beast Man]

46. Eh, never mind...this isn't about eugenics, it's about choice.

[Sequoia]

41. I wondered that too...we should go on strike, no kids until

the girly boy men who make laws clean up their act, stop preaching to us, stop telling us how to be a woman, clean the house once and a while, help with raising the kids, do some cooking--we work 8 hours a day too. We will not have children so you can send them to war.

[donsu]

43. I've called for a one year moratorium on getting pregnant worldwide

just one year would take a sizable burden off the earth and all living things.

[Beware the Beast Man]

47. Choice is a two-way street, boss.

[Az]

48. Um.... what about the women that want to have children

Or .... were you planning on "Womanhandling" them into it?

As to what the world would do? It would ignore you. Life would go on. The human species would die out. And the world would continue to spin.

[Beware the Beast Man]

55. Why would you want to bring those vile, germ-infested parasites

into this miserable world? :eyes:

My answer- hope. But gee, I'm just too optimistic for my own damn good.

[blogslut]

58. It's just not that simple

You say, "all over the world". However, many women in this world have no autonomy over their bodies. They don't get to say no. They are not allowed to use condoms or the pill.

[jane_pippin]

59. Why are people so obsessed with other people's uteruses?

I don't want a baby in mine, but I'm not about to tell my neighbor what should or shouldn't be in hers.

Was this post satire, ala "A Modest Proposal?"

[Shell Beau]

60. It is a choice of the people having kids. You shouldn't

be able to make anyone have or not have children. That is absurdity. I want children. I will have children. If you don't want them, don't have them. So why didn't you just say "can you make people stop having sex" b/c that would be the only way to prevent people from procreating.

[Hello_Kitty]

67. I signed on with that years ago. No kids for me.

That's entirely a personal decision. I realized at a young age that I wasn't cut out for parenting. I can't speak to the desire that other women have to have babies. I know that a lot of women feel as strongly about wanting kids as I do about not wanting them. So I don't know if it would even be possible to persuade them to give that up, aside from the pressure from men and society to procreate. And I often wonder what it would be like if I had the same lack of maternal instinct but was born in a repressive country like Saudi Arabia where I would be forced into marriage and breeding. Shudder...

I can tell you as one woman how different my life is due to my decision. It's very liberating not to have to hew to some "biological clock". I don't have to size up every man I date as a potential father. It's not imperative that I marry or find a mate. I can be with someone because I want to, not because I need a provider for the kids. The only (occasional) negativity I experience comes from other people. A woman who rejects the role of mother bothers a lot of people on a visceral level. Some people actually recoil in shock when I tell them I don't want kids. Like it's completely alien to them.

You're right about the life power that women hold. The basis of the anti-abortion and anti-contraception movements are to keep women enslaved to their reproductive function. Let's face it, given a true choice and effective contraception methods, most women would choose to have small families. Many would choose to have no kids.

[Deep13]

68. Harsh reality: supply and demand

This is something I have been thinking about for a long time.

The more people there are, the less each one is worth. Simple economics. The more women are willing to bear children, the less that service and the service provider is worth.

This has been demonstrated with anthropological evidence. Societies with overpopulation have little regard for women. Look at Chinese infanticide as and example or the custom of widow self-immolation in India. There, men are valuable because their physical strength can provide sustainance for the family when women are seen as offering little of value except making more bundles of liability. On the other hand, women are valued in societies with limited population (not too many of those left) because they alone can bring forth the life necessary for the society to survive. In the U.S., before 1920, women were repressed in the crowded East, but could vote and own property in the West.

Unions gain ground by limiting labor. If women want to gain equal rights, have the value of motherhood recognized economically and be sure of having control over their own natural functions, the best way to do it is to stop having babies. Besides, what good are they? Just an anchor with no financial return on the investment.

The problem is that women will never stick together. Just in common conversation I cannot believe how nasty they are to each other or how quickly they will rip each other in private. Usually it's over men too, the most common commodity in the world. Don't believe me? Both men and women attend to their appearance, but men don't buy make-up, stockings you can only wear once or shoes that will cripple them. My mother won't go the corner store without makeup. How can society think women are more than pretty objects if they think of themselves that way? As a broad statement, men are calculating and unemotional in most life decisions. Again, speaking broadly, women really need to learn to be that way and to put the sentimentality aside. "What if I WANT to have a child?" Easy, refuse to want to have a child. "But it is my CHOICE." For now. Choose to keep that choice by deciding against procreation.

[maddezmom]

71. locking

flamebait