A Surprising Admission from the Left

Not wishing to earn the wrath here, but technically speaking, from a physical standpoint, the unborn is a parasite:

Websters:
Main Entry: par·a·site
Pronunciation: 'par-&-"sIt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin parasitus, from Greek parasitos, from para- + sitos grain, food
3. Something that resembles a biological parasite in dependence on something else for existence or support without making a useful or adequate return

This does not take into account psychological benefits, nor does it pertain to Teenagers.

IG

IG, Webster's definitions do not cover the complete biological classification of "parasite".

There's a HUGE difference between "progeny" and "parasite".

without making a useful or adequate return

And even in your own definition, THAT is why a child, unborn or not, is NOT a parasite.

What physical benefit is there to the host?

IG

I thought cacto's comment was disgusting too but I'm not so sure he is 'left'. I recall him whinging about the 'intellectual bankruptcy of the left' only a few days ago and there's not much in his comments which suggests he is 'left', but I could be wrong. He's pretty young, I think; maybe if/when he is a parent he'll see things differently. I think you're right to be disgusted, but it's a reach to make this another left=bad right=good thingie.

What physical benefit is there to the host? IG

IG,

the definition you provided does not qualify it as to having to be a physical benefit.

Please don't push this issue. As I hinted at in the article, if you view an unborn child as a parasite, you and I have NOTHING in common.

cacto is a "she", I believe, and is an avowed socialist. She also hypocritically derided me for my questioning of the tsunami aid being provided by public funds (I wonder how many aid recipients there are pregnant?)

IG, I think you misunderstand what a baby is.  It is a symbiote, not a parasite.  Parasites are not of the hosts flesh and blood.

I think you're right to be disgusted, but it's a reach to make this another left=bad right=good thingie.

I'm in complete agreement in this case.

The comments in question were certainly disgusting, but I don't see how you can lump the left in with this one any more than you can lump the US in with the Nazis because we didn't send troops until we were attacked.

This was a stupid comment. As I've said many times before, sometimes, in fact almost always, a stupid comment is just a stupid comment.

Philomedy,

Maybe it isn't a left/right thing, but I personally haven't encountered to date any right wingers making such assertions. And, for the record, I have never made the opposite assertion of right=good.

When you think about it, all humans are parasites, because we are dependent on something else (the Earth) for existence and support and we do not make a useful or adequate return.

Juxta,

If the broad definition is used, yes, that is true. But in a sense it is not, as all living species are interdependent on others for survival. BUT...and this is part of my point...the blogger in question derided me heavily for some of my statements about the tsunami aid. IF we are "all parasites", then the tsunami was nothing more than nature's flea bath and we shouldn't do anything to help the survivors...a thought that goes VERY MUCH against that blogger's mindset.

IG, I think you misunderstand what a baby is. It is a symbiote, not a parasite.

One minute, let me get my dictionary:

Main Entry: sym·bi·o·sis
1 : the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms
2 : the intimate living together of two dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial relationship; especially : MUTUALISM

Thank you Dr. Guy.

IG

Cacto is a boy, possibly named Nick, from his blog:

'As a young man with no children, moderately wealthy parents and in the dying days of my university education, there isn't a party in the land that offers a credible good deal for me. Not for me the baby bonus, not for me the childcare copayments, not for me the tax cuts, not for me the improvement of the public health system. Instead both major parties have failed me in nearly every respect.'

No way this guy is an avowed socialist, sounds to me like he's in the middle.

david,

OK, my bad on cacto's gender.

Cacto has, however, repeatedly attacked me for my anti-socialist stances, on several different threads, meaning maybe he's inclined to play devil's advocate.

However, the fact remains that his viewing of an unborn child as a "parasite" and his position on foreign aid (reasserted in one of his last articles before he left JU for awhile), are inconsistent stances at best. I remain firm on exactly what kind of deviant monster I consider him to be for his former position.

If the broad definition is used, yes, that is true. But in a sense it is not, as all living species are interdependent on others for survival. BUT...and this is part of my point...the blogger in question derided me heavily for some of my statements about the tsunami aid. IF we are "all parasites", then the tsunami was nothing more than nature's flea bath and we shouldn't do anything to help the survivors...a thought that goes VERY MUCH against that blogger's mindset.

That is pretty hypocritical, especially since the tsunami victims are parasites by their definition (what the hell are they doing for us? Nothing!).

*laugh*

When I first read this article, I thought maybe that the poster in question was me. I've taken some pretty extreme views on children and such things, and I've been known to say the "parasite" thing as a bit of hyperbolic speech -- not really as a a true statement, but certainly I've said it.

myrrander,

No, coming from you I would accept it as a hyperbolic statement.  But it was made in a context that made it abundantly clear that it was meant literally when it was made.

Philomedy,Maybe it isn't a left/right thing, but I personally haven't encountered to date any right wingers making such assertions. And, for the record, I have never made the opposite assertion of right=good.

I haven't encountered any left wingers that protest a homosexual's funeral with hateful messages, but that doesn't mean I take them to represent the right. It is important to remember that the world is not black and white. Just because something has never been heard from the right does not mean it can immediately be categorized as the left, and vice versa. There will be an infinite number of intermediate shades because there is an infinite possibility of things that people will think and say. As far as my recollection goes, I have not heard any member of the left (and I use the term in its limited scope within the confines of the American two party system) say that babies are parasites either.

I missed the original post, Gid, so I'll take your word for it. I trust your blog judgement, so if you say it was meant literally, then I'll believe it.

I missed the original post, Gid, so I'll take your word for it. I trust your blog judgement, so if you say it was meant literally, then I'll believe it.

When you think about it, all humans are parasites, because we are dependent on something else (the Earth) for existence and support and we do not make a useful or adequate return.

Actually were not parasites. In the Matrix, Mr. Smith has an interesting take:

AGENT SMITH: Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area.

AGENT SMITH: There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus.

Just a thought.

IG

I missed the original post, Gid, so I'll take your word for it. I trust your blog judgement, so if you say it was meant literally, then I'll believe it.

I missed the original post, Gid, so I'll take your word for it. I trust your blog judgement, so if you say it was meant literally, then I'll believe it.

As far as my recollection goes, I have not heard any member of the left (and I use the term in its limited scope within the confines of the American two party system) say that babies are parasites either.

I have heard several. In many of the discussions I have encountered, it hasn't been enough for me to accept the right to choose; I have to demean the life of the baby along with them or I'm not "liberal" enough. As for the right protesting the funerals of homosexuals, it is a different (although entirely valid) argument than the one I am advancing. If you read much of my work, though, you can see I am not right or left. Most of my criticisms of the left come from the fact that, if anything, I believe that some of the stronger held ideals of the left are worthy enough to reform. I don't bother with the right, because I've really never had a home there.

Sorry, y'all for the multiple posts, I had a script problem.