>"To "deering" above, who seems to have some issues re. this letter, it is not as if his family members were stricken with some disease or horrible external fate - the LW clearly indicates his family is needy and not able to fully handle their own lives. So go easy on the implications that he is somehow abandoning them."<

I was responding to the LW's attitude (expressed in great snotty length through his first paragraph) that he is entitled to toss aside anyone who might disturb his perfect life. If his wife gets ill, is he going to have the same attitude towards her? If his kid cracks up or fails, will LW wash his hands of him because dealing with them is too "haaarrddd."

>"Also, as physicians, these people care for others all week long - and then, when they get home, do they get to rest, maybe take junior to the park? Oh no! - Mr. Deering expects that they hop over to grandma and give give give some more. Bleed 'em dry! After all, it's unfair he has a "perfect non-stress life", so he needs to pay up. Because physicians aren't, like, people, or anything. They are supposed to be robotic saints without personal lives, caring for others 24/7, whether they are at the hospital or at home. <

Oh, spare me. Folks with the LW's kind of money don't lack for people to help with their house and kids, so you can drop the "Whaaaa, they'll never ever have a life because of Mom and Sis" bullshit. There are ways the LW can help without completely giving up his and family's life for his relatives--or "letting" them "bleed him dry." The point is is the the LW is so all-fired concerned that these people will wreck his good thing that he's not seeing the little steps he could take to keep them relatively self-sufficient--and the problem from getting worse. He feels he's entitled to not having to help people who are members of his family and who did raise him, and he's using his shiny success as an excuse to paint them as parasites. Whether he likes it or not--or you like it or not--people have responsiblities to each other. If everyone decided that they just wanted to tend their own gardens, the world would be in a lot poorer shape. Did you or your wife get to where you are without help? Ever occur to you that those who helped you could have easily regarded you as "parasites?" That sword hurts when it cuts both ways, eh?

>(Yes, I have my own biases - my wife is a doctor and she works quite hard)."<

*shakes head* Doctors and their relatives can be the _worst_ when it comes to regarding everyone else as disposable and people who aren't as successful as less-than-nothing. News flash--her hard work and success does not make you or her more valid a person than anyone else. (And I really hope she doesn't have your attitude for the sake of her patients.)

>Geesh, in 20 years when my 2 kids will be starting their careers/families, I hope and pray I am not a burden to them in any way. That is the prime of their lives, and they are entitled to it.<

Can you predict that you won't? Nobody wants to be a burden, but often that is what happens. And if you are, would you want your kids to regard you as an inconvenience? You (and the LW) put success above being a human being--which means neither of you are successful.

"They DON"T want poor people - or, for that matter, middle-class people - to procreate, because damn it, they don't want to pay for them."

Parents-with-kids spend a lot of money in this country. Exactly how does the right-wing propose to make up for the loss if poor/middle-class people stop having kids? God, these are the most ignorant, short-sighted bastards...:P

>Wait until our esteemed let-em-go-to-the-emergency-room pols catch a case of untreatable MRSA from an uninsured classmate or restaurant worker, or kiddie park, then watch how attractive and affordable universal healthcare becomes.<

Nah. Watch for them to press for government subsidies of gated communities so them and theirs will never have to run into any of the "filthy masses" unless the latter have been sufficiently sterilized. :)

>Why does no one see the connection between all of these issues?<

Because right-wing conservatives and libertarians are children. For them to make these connections means they have to realize that they aren't the "self-made" utterly independent people they want to believe they are--and dammed if they _ever_ admit that. The reason people took so long to catch up to the Bushies and their ilk is because the idea of utter self-sufficiency and "you can get rich if you just try" is so ingrained in the culture. It's only when people have exhausted their resources and done all they can that they realize they can't do everything alone.

>I suspect that women who are smug about their dishwashing are the same sorts who gleefully cleave to Baby Shower traditions and forward every email warning of the perils of breaking the precious chain.<

They are also the ones who get freaked-out if their men talk to other/non-married women. And who love to gossip about how (usually unconventional) women don't dress or look right.

>As a single woman, I just came here to watch the fight and to be really glad I am single.<

_Always_ a good reason to read Broadsheet...:)