These days, it's nearly impossible to be on social media - nay, to have friends - without being asked for money.
And because I work in the arts, and have many professional and personal contacts who are creators of art - film, theatre, music, and beyond - I get donation requests an average of once a week, sometimes more.
This, of course, has been intensely accelerated by the phemonenon of crowdsourced fundraising. Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and similar platforms virtually encourage people to request money from their entire extended network.
I have made it my policy not to fund any of these requests, and here's why:
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sometimes the Best Explanation is None At All.
"People are still expected to provide reasons not to have children, but no reasons are required to have them. It’s assumed that if individuals do not have children it is because they are infertile, too selfish or have just not yet gotten around to it. In any case, they owe their interlocutor an explanation. On the other hand, no one says to the proud parents of a newborn, Why did you choose to have that child? What are your reasons? The choice to procreate is not regarded as needing any thought or justification."
Thank god for this article by Person I Most Want To Hug, Christine Overall. I am so tired of trying to figure out the perfect explanation for not wanting kids, and I feel like I've just been given permission to not have to have one.
And my favorite part, a well-articulated defense (not that we should need to defend, as she explains) against the strange but pervasive "selfishness" of not having/wanting offspring:
"The genuinely unselfish life plan may at least sometimes be the choice not to have children, especially in the case of individuals who would otherwise procreate merely to adhere to tradition, to please others, to conform to gender conventions, or to benefit themselves out of the inappropriate expectation that children will fix their problems. Children are neither human pets nor little therapists."
...Though they do ask a lot of questions and sometimes defecate inconveniently.
Full Article.
Thank god for this article by Person I Most Want To Hug, Christine Overall. I am so tired of trying to figure out the perfect explanation for not wanting kids, and I feel like I've just been given permission to not have to have one.
And my favorite part, a well-articulated defense (not that we should need to defend, as she explains) against the strange but pervasive "selfishness" of not having/wanting offspring:
"The genuinely unselfish life plan may at least sometimes be the choice not to have children, especially in the case of individuals who would otherwise procreate merely to adhere to tradition, to please others, to conform to gender conventions, or to benefit themselves out of the inappropriate expectation that children will fix their problems. Children are neither human pets nor little therapists."
...Though they do ask a lot of questions and sometimes defecate inconveniently.
Full Article.
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