condescending means talk down to you

[mizarchivist]

Person 1: "Is this your first child?"
Me: "yes, and my last"
Person 1: -[Persquerying person disagrees with me in some way]

If you are likely to fill the role of P1, think long and hard before gainsaying the person who is slated for the theoretical second child. How obnoxious and patronizing is it to think you know better than the person whose body is under discussion? You don't know how old I am, what my financial situation is, my upbringing, my sub-culture defaults, philosphy, how complicated it may or may not have been to get pregnant, stay pregnant, get UNpregnant....
And I have the right to change my mind later without people telling me I told you so.

Anyone wanting to argue any of these points--- I have some sand you can go pound. And that's the nicest send off I can offer.
This rant brought to you by the Nth person who chose to be that guy (the neighbor down the street). And the letters STFU.

Comments

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

I...just...wow. Clueless, well-intentioned gits are just so hard to deal with. Sorry, hon.

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

Amen, honey. Amen.

I would extend that to apply to someone intends not to have a child in the first place. Your rant works quite well there too.

[mgrasso.livejournal.com]

Yeah, definitely. As someone who is childfree I can most certainly identify here.

[pisicutsa.livejournal.com]

Dood... Isn't there a grace period of at least a year where you get to enjoy the baby before people wonder if there is an encore?!

[mizarchivist]

no

[hawkhandsaw.livejournal.com]

Hah! My husband used to get asked by the wife of a friend _every_ time they saw each other when he was getting married. At our wedding she asked us when we we're having kids. Some people don't know what a grace period is.

Also, I get this from some people, it sucks. I love how they refuse to believe that you might actually know what you want in life and that it might actually be different that 2.3 kids and a dog.

[mizarchivist]

yeah that last bit.

[hawkhandsaw.livejournal.com]

yeah, actually, make that 'one wife, one husband, 2.3 kids and a dog'.

:-)

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

peoples' personal choices are no one's bizness and neither is cahnging of minds. A hearty "And you can just Fuck Off", mental or otherwise, is really appropriate

[primal-pastry.livejournal.com]

I wonder, seriously, if any good has ever come from convincing some one to have (more) kids.

[mizarchivist]

And yet they keep trying.

I don't get it

[drwex]

What business is it of theirs anyway? One, two, 2.3, ten... isn't that kind of the parents' decision?

*headshake* I continue not to understand people.

[spinrabbit.livejournal.com]

Bleah!