Singing Potatoes
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Tuesday, 22 January 2008
No Right to an Opinion
I\'m wishing ass cancer on you!

Something I've noticed in a lot of online discussions is that, if you aren't a parent yourself, those who are parents feel you have no right to express an opinion on parenting. And I wonder why that should be. There are plenty of opinions being generated by people without direct experience of other topics.

I mean, if one were required to have military experience before expressing an opinion on the war hostilities in Iraq, virtually no pundit would be allowed to speak on the topic. Were one required to have held political office before talking about politics... well, perhaps the national discourse would be a bit less vicious. No degree in economics is required to complain about the price of gasoline. One need not have a PhD in musicology to discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of the latest pop star.

No, one may spew forth any manner of opinion, regardless of how well- or ill-informed, without censure for lack of direct experience... unless it's about parenting. For apparently, the mere fact of producing (or adopting) progeny carries with it a gnostic wisdom which may never be questioned or examined by those who have not done so.

Why is that?


Posted by godfrey (link)
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