Idiocracy

[Babette]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Jeez people. Can I get some help here? At least Traci and Wendy know what's up. I just hope we're not ostracized when it does happen

When people have kids they tend to no longer be availabe for social situations. When they are available, they have to get home to relieve the sitter, or bring the kids along. This drastically changes the kinds of activities, parties and socializing they do. People with kids tend to phase out their childless friends, not on purpose, but they do. They have play dates, dinner at chuck e. cheeses and bounce house parties. Clubs, fancy restaurants, psychadelic museums, and big people slumber parties become a thing of the past. They are not ostracized, just common interests change.

It is not good or bad, just fact. People choose to live the single or family lifestyle. Both have their pros and cons, I am not knocking either one. They just don't always go together.

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Anecdotally on my part, far too many prospective parents seem to want to wait for conditions in their married and financial lives to be "perfect" before having kids ... and too many of them also forget to compute the age they will be when they must deal with the VERY trying teenage years of their offspring whose creation they are putting off.

This is the point of the movie Idiocracy. The responsible, smart people are making money and no longer having kids, while the dumb, poor, irresponsible ones are over-reproducing and on welfare. The dumb, poor, irresponsible genes carry on while the smart, responsible ones die out. Scary future.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Babette

The dumb, poor, irresponsible genes carry on while the smart, responsible ones die out. Scary future.

Of course, this assumes that poor and irresponsible are genetic predispositions which is unlikely. And the evidence that dumb is genetic isn't very strong either.

I certainly hope the movie doesn't make a genetic claim for these.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

I certainly hope the movie doesn't make a genetic claim for these.

It doesn't really specify whether it's genetics or environment. Either way works for the picture.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Babette

When people have kids they tend to no longer be availabe for social situations. When they are available, they have to get home to relieve the sitter, or bring the kids along. This drastically changes the kinds of activities, parties and socializing they do. People with kids tend to phase out their childless friends, not on purpose, but they do. They have play dates, dinner at chuck e. cheeses and bounce house parties. Clubs, fancy restaurants, psychadelic museums, and big people slumber parties become a thing of the past. They are not ostracized, just common interests change.

I think a balance can be had. It requires a juggle but we manage to have cool non-mainstream grown up interests in the midst of bounce house parties and the like. Granted, we don't hang out with your average parent, so many of our parent friends are into really cool things too. I think if all sides are willing to be flexible, old friendships can remain just as strong, only different.