Rant: Is This A Bad Joke? No, It’s Just Bad…

Familly one is missing but who'd notice — The Schwandt family – one or two kids may be missing, but who’d notice?

In mid-April the media briefly turned their attention to Mr. and Mrs. Schwandt of Rockford, MI because the couple had just had their 14^th child.

Apparently the prolific parents were especially newsworthy because their 14^th child was a boy – as what thinking_01 cropped were the previous 13.

While the media was wondering about the odds of having fourteen boys and no girls, I was wondering, “What are these people – the Schwandts – thinking?”

So I decided to write them a letter and ask:

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Schwandt:

I understand you’ve just reproduced yourselves for the 14^th time. You were quoted as saying you were “pretty sure” this was your last baby. You were also quoted saying the same thing when you had your 13^th.

And since Mrs. Schwandt is only 42 and has a half-dozen or more child-bearing years ahead of her, I’m guessing no one will be surprised when #15 makes an appearance. And #16. And #17…

all about you Especially since, as Mr. Schwandt put it, “This is just what we do.” Yes. And do, and do, and do.

Because it’s all about you.

I’d like to cordially invite you both to take a look around at Earth, our only residence option at the moment. This obviously will come as news to you both, but it’s a planet of finite size. That means we have finite resources such as:

The air we breathe.
The water we drink.
The land we use to grow food.

And yet I suspect you complain when:

garbage dump_01 — Gee, where does all this garbage come from?

That open land outside of town is bulldozed to build new housing, and roads to reach that housing.
Mr. Schwandt now has to get up an hour earlier to go to work because the commute traffic on U.S. 131 has gotten so bad.
You hate that nearby garbage dump and can’t figure out where all that smelly trash is coming from.

And you just keep reproducing, never connecting the dots between yourselves and the reality of too many people our planet.

selfish_01 Too many people produced by selfish people like you.

Selfish: concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself; seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure or well-being without regard for others.

Selfish to think that your genes are SO wonderful that you just have to keep reproducing yourselves.
Selfish to think that you don’t have to care about Earth’s finite resources because you and your family are somehow special exceptions.
Selfish to think that your thoughtless example won’t prompt your 14 (or 15 or 16 or 17) kids to also go out and start reproducing, and also not caring about Earth’s finite resources because, like you, reproducing “is just what we do.”

Parents — The Schwandt’s, pregnant with…#15? #16? #17?

I’d say Mr. Schwandt summed it up well when he said:

“I mean to each their own, you know what I mean. We have a lot of friends that have you know one child or no children. You know, we get plenty of comments, you know out there online about you know how crazy we are and how unfair it is and everything. It’s not for everybody. We enjoy it.”

Yes, we know you do.

And do. And do…

And because of you and people like you…