Tag: phrase

I recently read a headline so astoundingly absurd that I almost didn’t believe it. Surely I was not seriously reading what I thought I was reading? And yet, when I looked again, there it was in all its absolute ridiculousness. The headline read:

“People Shouldn’t Say ‘Start a Family’ Because It’s Offensive.”

The author, I will keep his identity hidden to protect the silly, says that this phrase is offensive to single people and those with no children and, therefore, it should be removed from our vocabulary. He wrote:

“What this euphemism means is get pregnant—or try to get pregnant, or have a baby, or adopt…Start a family devalues any couple who doesn’t happen to have kids, for whatever reason.”

Now, if you can’t pick out the ways in which this statement is beyond ridiculous, let me help.

First, notice that he says this statement is offensive to couples that don’t have kids “for whatever reason.” He is implying that people who willingly choose not to have kids are offended by the choice of others to have kids. In other words, a couple that makes a conscience decision not to have kids – though they could – are offended, he says, by my choice to have kids and use the phrase “start a family.”