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Politics : About that Cuban boy, Elian -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chalu2 who wrote (7294)	6/10/2000 5:01:00 PM
From: E	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9127

It's un-PC, bigtime. There are arguments based in ethics to be made on both sides of the issue. Same for paying women to have their tubes tied. The particular circumstances under which the offer might be made would obviously have some effect on any ethical assessment. The main argument many would make against that proposal is that the poor are more vulnerable than the unpoor to the attraction of the inducement. I point out that there are many disadvantages to being poor that we worry little about; that the downside in some cases to a decision not to offer such an inducement may be utterly hideous suffering on the part of one child after another (not to mention more diffuse social costs); and that anyone so poor that a modest check would make the difference probably can't support a child very well by the standards of anyone likely to be reading the messages posted on Silicon Investor. There's a lot more to say. I could argue either position. For five years, I was the director of a preschool for "dependent and neglected children." I've talked about that on feelies, I think. The experience colored my opinion of how urgent it is to stop moral monsters from producing new infant victims each year. One that will grow up to produce yet new victims. Exponential victim-production, exponential monster-production. There is no pretty scenario on offer. Only one or another imperfect and pathetic one.