i wonder what y’all have to say about this
I feel nothing but revulsion and disgust for the person who made this comic.
It places its sympathy towards parents, which is nonsense. They’re the ones who choose to bring the child into existence in the first place. They should fucking bear the guilt and try and make up for it as best as they can.
When I was 6, I told my mother I hated her and she threw away my entire Pokémon card collection. I think my hatred was probably justified. (I had a holo Charizard, bitch could have sold it for grocery money.)
My parents treated me mostly fine, though I’m fairly certain with my father it was fairly conditional, I was just careful to not get on his bad side. Now not so much.
Even with acceptable or even good parents, I still find everything to be fairly existentially unpleasant. I resent being born.
That said, despite that I still love my mom. Shes a good person despite having given birth to me.
Have you read Emil Cioran? He’s got a lot of interesting thoughts along that existential pessimism.
I’ve not read any of his work but I am aware of him. I suspect that I’d likely agree with him on a lot. But I’ve also read that reading his work would probably make me even more depressed about being born.
I tried Camus’s “nothing matters so make up a meaning you like and run with it” for a while, which I think works for one’s first few existential crises.
The clumsy solution I’ve stumbled on is viewing this all as a war against entropy and evil. Anger is a feeling that has escape velocity, that even if one feels crushed by the despair inherent to being human, you can at least pick up your “weapons” and keep tumbling on.
There’s some positives in the experiences and small pleasures, like art and discussion and philosophy, but it’s mostly a fight.
I think Planescape: Torment explores a lot of these ideas in a way that’s a bit less “despairingly” nihilistic. The “best” ending means the Nameless One spending eternity in hell fighting in a pointless brutal war - but it feels correct, it has meaning.
i don’t know who wrote it but i think it might’ve been a kid who drew it. I’ve often felt like my parents hated me (i hated them for that too) and i’ve often contemplated leaving. i’ve always came to the conclusion that they would be happy if i did so, or if I killed myself. I never did because I was 10 years old and I was scared what would happen to me and i didn’t exactly have the means to kms.
Boomers gonna boom.
Really kinda gross that their kid gets zapped and they immediately celebrate.
No wonder the kid hated them. He knew.
Parents, go hug your kid and tell them you love em.
Parents, go hug your kid and tell them you love em.
Better yet, use birth control and don’t condemn another life to this shit hole reality in the first place.
Uhhh, you good?
Dude, why are you so fucking good, it’s suspect.
No? How are you?
ngl that post is rather toxic
Wait till they get into puberty.
i had one of those my self, and i was very stupid and anoying during that, that dosent mean my parents want me gone wtf
Uh, isn’t it the kid saying they wish they were never born?
This comic might not be about you personally
What? But I’m the main character. Everything is about me personally.
Yep, parental puberty is a terrifying phase.
If you can’t trust a cobra chicken on the topic of being toxic, whom can you trust?
In case you missed the origin story:
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/382/765/31b.jpg
I did miss it, thank you for the enlightenment!
There’s a suicidal way of thinking that when you are gone everyone will be better off. I think the comic could contribute to that thinking, but maybe it’s meant to be a satirical rebuttal to that thinking instead.
Poe’s Law
I feel like anybody stuck in that state of mind would likely fail to see the satire in it.
maybe it’s meant to be a satirical rebuttal to that thinking instead
I don’t see that. If it’s satire it’s pretty harmful and ineffective
I think the satire is to via hyperbole. My suicidal episodes did not make be think money would instantly appear in hand / in bank accounts, just that moving forward I would be no longer be a resource burden. This comic takes the results beyond reality to show how unreasonable even realistic expectations might be. (?)
That’s my best defense of the satirical intent. The initial impression I got from the comic was not the satirical one; it did feel “toxic”, or at least a like a mean-spirited (not funny) “be careful what you wish for”.
I’m startimg to think that’s the point.
Thats extremely unhelpful and even harmful for many people
Trigger warning: depression
I personally have depression and have been through horrible things before I even turned 18. So yeah if you told me when I was 15 or 16 that eveyone around be would be significantly happier and better off with me not around I would genuenly consider jumping off a bridge.
Me too, and I agree it would have had a negative effect when I was at a vulnerable stage way back then.
Now that I’m a grisly old bastard, and a parent, I found it funny af.
So, mixed feelings.
I definitely see your point, though I took this as an anti-natalist joke, not a refutation of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
I’m inclined to wonder at what point the arguments of anti-natalism must be weighed against the nihilistic implications on those already born?
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Maybe don’t constantly tell your 13 year old to get a job if they want something, then sabotage any attempt they make at getting a job?
Maybe don’t have a kid so you have something resembling a proto-personality beyond self absorbed narcissism.
Don’t expect a kid to fix a failing marriage.
sometimes the kid saying that is a little shit. Sometimes it is the parents that are the problem.
Yup. In my opinion if you want to have a child, the only reason should be to raise a better person than you or your spouse could be, and provide them with a better life than you had, enriching your life in the process. If you have a kid for any other reason, it’s out of selfishness
In that case you would be creating a child (that did not exist before) as a tool to show to yourself (and maybe others) that you can do better than your parents. As the child had no problems before it’s creation, and now has many, that’s still not in the interest of the child.
The selfless thing to do would be to figure out if you would be an above-average adoptive parent. If you are or can be, then adopt a child that was created by someone else (maybe to show that they can do better than their parents, but life happened and they failed), and try to give them the best life possible in a society where everyone tries to outperform everyone else as the world is hurdling towards fascism and climate collapse.
Don’t expect a kid to fix a failing marriage.
“If I didn’t have a kid, my wife would be more fuckable” is the takeaway I get from this comic. And fuck me that’s sad.
Literally what I think would happen if I disappeared. This is kinda a dangerous post for people with suicidal ideation.
Your existence would be retroactively undone, with the every physical trace of your existence being erased?
I’ve been watching Mr Rogers lately since I have a young kid now and I think thats the way to act. Even people he might disagree with he would have a chill discussion and respect their opinion, just letting them vent their problems.
I don’t necessarily think that comics that have toxic messages are inherently a problem.
I think a perfectly reasonable parent would relate to the comic at some point. Read as more of a vent post I get it. So long as it’s recognised as a toxic perspective and is indulged as a temporary way to air their grievance in their own head I think it can be helpful
I choose not to think to overthink this. Bringing up a kid has its rewards and as comic points out, sacrifices. Most parents gladly do whatever necessary so their kid has the best life in this world, and this comic just pokes fun of a phase of our life where we think more of our selves than what our parents offer up for us.
Bad taste? Sure, but sometimes bad jokes are the ones that get the point across and lit most discussion around the topic.
Just my 2 cents.
Ngl, this post really doesn’t send a good message. Is it true for some people? Probably
But my parents pushed me into 3 days of tafe, 2 days of uni, and 2 days of work a week when I was younger. It caused me to crash and burn
It honestly makes people who are already doing a lot feel like they have to do more to make up for what their parents have given up for them, and that’s just unhealthy
I had to move away from that mindset, and something like this really wouldn’t have helped
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My comment is sort of inflammatory for no reason, sorry I made it. Deleting
Damn, just you look at this goomba. Galoomba even.
Not my experience.
Ngl, this post really doesn’t send a good message.
Have you like… seen the internet broadly in the last 20 years?
I mean, seems like these parents never wanted kids. It’s amazing how many pregnancies are accidental. I wonder how many would actually have children if everyone had 100% control over when to conceive.
I get that pregnancy may embiggen your ass, but that is not where I’d be checking for stretch marks…
This post appears to be at odds with c/childfree and c/suicidewatch.
If I was never born I wouldn’t be alive and I wouldn’t have to kill myself. Truly the best of both worlds.
Win win win, I’d prevent my birth if I could
Same. And props for not clutching your pearls at this like the rest of the commenters.
Me too thanks
Truly though - What’s more life-affirming than showing contempt for your parents’ presumption to drag you from the void? It shows you’ve really weighed your options and decided to stay and bitch.
Adolescents and younger teens aren’t really know for their introspection, I kind of give them a pass for saying that stuff at that stage in their life. At that age, lots of us learn how stupid something is only when we hear it coming out of our own mouths. It becomes really cringe though when they graduate into adulthood and they’re still saying that or holding that opinion. At that point even their peers are given them the side eye or saying something like “dude, that doesn’t fly anymore. Get your shit together”.
Hard disagree, from a 30-something. Two horny people fucked with no protection and now I’m expected to get an education, find and hold employment, be self-sufficient, and be fucking grateful for being forced to do this shit? And all of their inabilities to parent properly, leading to near-debilitating anxiety and stress, is somehow my fault? That I should cater to the two idiots that couldn’t take a pill or unwrap a damn condom, because they want a mini-me? That I should blindly follow their religious views, of - again - two people that decided that momentary pleasure was better than lifelong calm and stability, for themselves and others? Two people who want to dictate what I like, what I’m interested in, my political viewpoint, my sexual preferences…? Two idiots that decided that mixing the worst part of one’s DNA with the worst part of the other is a wonderful thing to do, and the visual issues of one, the deep constant anxiety of another, the risk factors of cancer and stroke, would be a delightful thing to impose on a new being. And I should fucking be HAPPY about this?! Are you FUCKING SHITTING ME?
Sincerely, a disabled gay satanic furry - with another disabled sibling (let’s do it again!) - who was raised straight and christian and then manipulated and controlled, who is already plagued with health concerns, mental health issues, and had their first stroke at 21 years old. Everybody should freely fuck, it’s great!
(To say ‘I wish I was never born’ is such an understatement it’s actually hilarious.)
Even worse: I was planned. My parents decided to do this to me.
Nobody fucking asked me when two dumbfucks in their early 20s took it upon themselves to just up and create a life. The most cruel thing you can do to a person is to bring them into this world.
I don’t have it as bad as you, but every day I wonder why my parents had me.
Except I know why, and it disgusts me. No consideration to what I would feel because they wanted another kid.Well, there was no way to ask you, right? Some people like their lives, perhaps they hoped you’d enjoy it?
Yeah I get the gist of it. But I know the real reason for my birth and it’s not purely altruistic.
I’m not saying I regret being born, but I certainly plan on making a suicide device.
My only fear is we don’t stay dead.
Look, as the world’s dumbest man you might not realize this but there are lots of suicide devices already on the market or even better free alternatives!
Why not try a skyscraper? Perhaps wading into a cold ocean and never coming back? You could drive a car into a tree?
Just trying to save you some time and frustration, plus a few bucks too!
…uh seriously though if you want to talk to someone feel free to dm me. Your life has value and I do hope you come to realize this and try your best to find some enjoyment in this world of ours. Of course, I say that as someone who has described life as being “trapped by existence” so I can kind of get what you’re feeling. Hang in there, not literally though because tying a noose right can be hard.
Why not try a skyscraper? Perhaps wading into a cold ocean and never coming back? You could drive a car into a tree?
Two of those tend to leave a mess behind for other people to clear up, and the other seems like a fairly prolonged, unpleasant way to go.
The ocean and the skyscraper both have horror stories aplenty for the dead coming back. In one, you ooze from the dark places, foul, rotting; and in the other you crawl out of the depths, bloated, fetid, teeming with the spawn of crabs and sea horses.
The car one might just be walking corpse.
Had a neighbor who worked for the Coast Guard. They said every body they fished out of the sea had crabs spilling out of its mouth and anus once it hit the deck.
I’m not saying this to belittle your situation, I have honest sympathy for you (and your sibling), but at some point in an adult’s life, no matter how you were raised or what fucked up things your parents did, it has to stop being a excuse for the present day situation. Keep in mind, I’m not saying that’s what you’re saying here. I’m explaining further my prior post, not dismissing your response.
Hypothetically if an abusive parent cut off the legs of their child, the resulting adult will always be legless, but that can’t be the reason the (now adult) still uses as to why they don’t move forward with whatever life they have left.
at some point in an adult’s life, no matter how you were raised or what fucked up things your parents did, it has to stop being a excuse
I see where you are coming from, but when going through shit yourself that you can’t explain to others, the only thing I can say is “that’s easy to to say, not to feel”
but when going through shit yourself that you can’t explain to others, the only thing I can say is “that’s easy to to say, not to feel”
Thats the point to reach for professional help, as in therapy. We’re not born equipped to deal with all the shit life can throw as us. There’s no shame in that.
The problem is not reaching out for help as an adult when you need it.
Therapy doesn’t magically fix things.
I’m in therapy, have been for years. Had a virtual appointment with mine this morning.
I went to the psych ward last month bc I was actually about to kms, switched antidepressants and I’m on 3x the average doce and a bonus as needed one.
Still doesn’t help enough to make me feel close to normal.
Thats really good! I’m proud of you for taking action for your own health. You’re proving my point though. You didn’t let whatever your parents did to you hold you back from taking steps on your own. You aren’t using how your parents raised you as an excuse to do nothing.
I want to say I’m glad you didn’t go through with that negative thing you mentioned. The world is better with you in it. I know I’m no one to you, but you’ve made my life better by talking with me here and sharing a human moment. I want you to be here for all the other people you touch positively in the years ahead. Please be here for that.
The fucked up thing my parents did was have children.
I still love my mom despite that because in basically every other way shes a good person. But it was still fucked up of her.
You’re welcome to that opinion of course, but do you use that as a reason to not do anything with yourself? If no, then you’re not part of the folks I was referring to.
Its not merely an “opinion”, its nearly a universally held moral axiomatic fact that doing something to someone without their consent is, by default, wrong. Maybe you disagree, but most people do not. They usually just don’t do any moral analysis to authentically reach the conclusion that birth itself is a moral injustice to the newly born. Because most people are willfully ignorant if the truth is uncomfortable.
I do stuff for me and people I care about, but I still resent even the expectation that I owe anyone anything, that I was born to inevitably one day die, and that I, having not choose to be here need to just “suck it up” as an adult and be a productive part of a natalist society I largely deem responsible for the grave injustice of anyone’s birth.
I could kill myself and be in the right. I wont do that because death is a lovecraftian horror to me, but I could.
That said, alternatively, if I could indeed live forever I’d feel a little less disgusted with existence. At least I wouldn’t have to face my mortality.
Its not merely an “opinion”, its nearly a universally held moral axiomatic fact that doing something to someone without their consent is, by default, wrong.
You’re having an entirely different conversation than the one I’m having. I’m not arguing the ethical or morality of childbirth. I’m simply pointing out that after you are an adult, all the choices and responsibilities of making your life what you want it to be (or not to be) become yours irrespective of what happened to you prior in childhood. Thats it. No its not fair, but life isn’t either.
and that I, having not choose to be here need to just “suck it up” as an adult and be a productive part of a natalist society I largely deem responsible for the grave injustice of anyone’s birth.
This is absolutely your choice. There is no requirement that you are a “productive” member of society. You have the power to withdraw from society entirely if you like. There are dead towns scattered all over the world where you could simply walk into a house and start living there and no one would likely know or care for years or decades. You could scratch out a subsistence life eating whatever you could grow in the ground. You might never see another person in your life before you die (likely of preventable injury or disease). If thats what is most important to you in life, you can make that happen.
Bruh
Surely hope your child won’t happen to be depressed or traumatized in some way. That would be really cringe after all. 😑
Surely hope your child won’t happen to be depressed or traumatized in some way.
We’re not talking about “in some way” here. The piece you’re clearly responding to is my point we’re talking about how some adults use how their parents treated them as children as a continuing excuse for inaction in adulthood. We’re safe though. I have no children and won’t be having any.
