You can't comment like this on HN. We ban accounts that do so. Fortunately you've posted other comments that are fine for HN, so I'll read this thread as the sort of derailing that happens to most of us from time to time.
Comments on HN need to be civil and substantive. Heated rhetoric is neither, and personal attacks are right out. When you're hot under the collar, please cool down before posting.
I shared my opinion, and was attacked for having that opinion. You, or he, may choose to disagree with that opinion, but calling me a prick is bound to insight a response.
I don't normally make posts like that, but I'm also not normally attacked.
Ok, but you still can't respond like that. The rules apply regardless of whether someone else started it or was behaving worse. Otherwise everyone would have an excuse for everything, since it always feels like someone else started it.
Peoples situation changes in ways that can be hard to predict. People die. People get sick. People get divorced. Peoples family members become ill. People run into expensive legal issues. People have unplanned pregnancies and aren't willing to abort.
Most of the US isn't in financial position to weather more than temporary hardship without shit falling apart. Other countries deal with this by providing a safety net paid for by the increased earnings of all those who don't crash and burn and thus contribute in the end far more to society.
People who hold views like yours instead waste their breath telling others that they shouldn't pursue the single strongest biological imperative.
In sane societies people that make an effort to contribute to society ARE stable enough to have kids. Your view is warped by our warped society.
Imagine the kind of world we would live in today, if every form of self restraint was written off on the basis of biological imperative. Would you want to live in that world?
Truly, how dare I advocate for personal responsibility when it comes to perhaps the single handed most powerful decision any person has - to bring an innocent life into the world. How dare I even suggest that we hold each other to a higher standard when choosing to raise a child. What an insane notion, that while we human beings can put a man on the Moon, and land a robot on Mars, we should be able to consider our financial well being before copulating.
Ordinary people that work for a living ought to be able to have kids. As stated in nations with more sane safety nets not being upper middle class isn't synonymous with being financially and socially unstable.
When better than half your population has a small but non trivial chance of ending up in the gutter something is wrong.
The people that are hard up are people who differ from those who are getting by only small sets of circumstances.
I think we both agree completely, that working class people ought to be stable enough to have kids, and that any society in which that isn't the case likely has something wrong. I believe I've already mentioned that it is of my opinion that there is much wrong with our society, and the basis of that belief, stems from this point exactly. Working class citizens ought to be able to raise a family, but far too often in this country, they do not have the resources to do so.
That however does not remove personal responsibility from the equation, and it appears this is where you and I differ. I believe that bringing another human being into the world is a decision that should not be made hastily. It's one of the rare decisions in life, where every ounce of forethought and planning should be utilized. That is another HUMAN you are choosing to invoke, so you had best be sure you can care for that human and provide them a great shot at a happy life. Sadly, working for minimum wage as a waitress at Denny's probably isn't going to cut it.
Not surprisingly, I'm a strong proponent of things like raising the minimum wage, and universal health care. While I believe in personal responsibility as a fundamental value, I also believe your society should provide safety nets and support systems, to assure that everyone has a shot at raising a family, and being happy.