rationalskepticism.org

Mr.Samsa wrote:

Grimstad wrote:Seriously? Drivers license? You don’t have to be licensed to own a car, just to drive one. Driving a car quite literally involves endangering the lives of tens or hundreds of thousands of other people on a daily basis.

But raising a dog without training puts the lives of anyone it comes across at risk, and obviously with children if you fuck them up then you basically fuck up the future of the world. So whilst the damage to the individual may seem inconsequential, the cumulative effects could be catastrophic.

Raising a dog with the intent of creating a vicious killer is what puts people in danger. Following this assumption is grounds to not let anyone keep a dog at all. And crossing over to the human aspect of your assumption, kids aren’t some new creation. We have been having them for millions of years (or thousands depending on your beliefs). The cumulative effects came a long time ago.

Grimstad wrote:

Taking care of a dog, or a child, requires a lot more training than learning how to drive a car and the potential for damage is arguably much greater than that of a car.

While disagreeing with the car analogy I’d like to point out that according to established standards it takes about 18 years of intense training with very small class sizes (depending on number of siblings). Typically this includes some training in animal husbandry.

Personal experience isn't training though. Stick me in a pitch black room with a gun and tell me to learn how to shoot it. If I'm lucky I'll survive, with only a few minor injuries, and at the end I may be able to fire off a few rounds with one or two potentially hitting somewhere near the target - but this isn't gun training. It is, as the saying goes, shooting in the dark.

Whilst parenting is a controversial topic as everyone likes to believe that any parenting style is fine and that you'll "learn" how to raise a child your own way, with dogs the issue becomes much clearer. Most dog owners are absolutely fucking terrible dog trainers who know jack all about their animal. Personally I think the comparison of dog owners and parents is apt.

Why on earth would I stick you in a pitch black room with a gun and tell you to learn how to shoot it? Your analogies need a little work. Personal experience is just that, personal experience. Personal experience has worked for millions of years.

This has nothing to do with good parents and bad parents. This is about giving up personal rights to the state or some other governing body. Apparently you think your parents were not qualified to raise a child. Or is it only other people?