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Chat with Deb—Childless, But No Cats
We feed birds and squirrels, though! Partial credit?
ME: So besides coming out against childless cat ladies, J.D. Vance has also suggested that married couples without children should pay more in taxes, because apparently you and I are not invested in the country’s future and thus not paying our fair share.
DEB: We don’t have a cat. Does he care?
ME: Doesn’t seem to.
DEB: Also, yes, we don’t have kids, but we have nieces and nephews in whom we have invested time, money and attention. And our grand-nieces and -nephews, lately. But to these people, that doesn’t count.
ME: This has been a growing thing with the conservative movement the last several years. I remember when something came out — this would have been a few years ago, after we married but before Obergefell¹—somebody posted something about why same-sex marriage was just a bad idea. Didn’t get all religious, didn’t cherry-pick Leviticus or anything, just a list of why same-sex unions would be bad for society. And half the list applied to us. You and me, in a happy but childless marriage. That was the first time it hit me that the conservative movement was coming after us,² because apparently anyone who isn’t in a man-woman marriage with 2.3 kids and a wife who stays home is a threat that…
