hexI was talking to a friend of mine the other day about kids. I mentioned elimination communication and talked a bit about the fact that we left the US because cars decrease the ability of kids to be independent.
There are a few interesting connections there. Both are expressions of youth liberation. Babies don't actually want to use diapers, so forcing them to use diapers is actually pretty oppressive. But capitalism both forces people to force their children to use them, and erased the cultural knowledge that there was a way of doing things before diapers. This creates the whole problem of potty training and delays their ability to be independent. Diaper companies have pushed that age as high as 4 for a lot of kids.
Cars make it impossible for older kids to make a lot of their own decisions around transit, thus forcing them to rely on their parents.
Both of these exist to sell products that don't actually need to exist. But the real interesting thing is how diapers are almost a metaphor for car culture right now. People didn't want cars. They fought against cars and car infrastructure, but car companies destroyed mass transit and crushed resistance. Now it's time to get out of cars, and we're stuck. Humanity is shitting it's pants because it's learned to be OK with the feeling.
My kids are both potty trained now. My oldest learned to pedal her bike on her own a couple of day ago. She's starting on her own road to freedom. I hope we can create a free society for all kids some day.
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