Life Is Tough.

From ABC news: “Two men who believe they were switched at birth nearly 80 years ago are suing a Roman Catholic diocese in West Virginia, alleging negligence and breach of duty by the hospital where they were born.”

One of the men discovered through a DNA test that he was not related to people he thought were his family. He learned the identity of the other man and found his “real” family by searching hospital records from 1942. Together the two are suing. They claim to have “suffered a ‘lifetime of consequences’ from the switch and are seeking unspecified damages.” 

One of the men has blue eyes and says he “looks different from the family that raised him and always felt out of place.”

This falls into the category of news that is hard to distinguish from satire. Have these people really suffered over the past 78 years because they were not blood relatives of the people who raised them? Would there have been any distress had he not uncovered the facts? Does not looking like the rest of your family lead to psychological damage? Finally, what do these claims say about adopted children?

According to Wikipedia, a parent is “a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. The most common types of parents are mothers, fathers, stepparents, and grandparents.” Including stepparents extends family relationships to beyond blood relatives and to people the children may not look like.

Furthermore, since both sets of parents were ignorant of the error, there would have been no reason for them to treat the “switched” sons any differently. It’s hard to imagine what damage was done.

An adoption website points out that there are “hundreds of thousands of adoptive families in the world who all represent wonderful families….” Chances are most of these children don’t look like their parents or siblings either, but they are members of the family. 

From another source: “Adoptive families can be transracial, international, or have members of the same family from different parts of the country.  Adoptive families look different. Adoptive families are beautiful!  They are a picture of what happens when one part of the human race decides to care for another human being.” 

To most of us, family means more than a blood relationship, but rather a source of love and support.

But these concepts are not good enough for the two and their lawyers. Like many Americans they believe life is tough, and those who suffer from the most trivial problems or minor irritations deserve sympathy and compensation whenever possible. Look at the emotional support animal industry (not to be confused with service animals).

Yes, it is an industry. There are websites that offer, for a fee, certificates and vests to meet an "epidemic" demand for support animals. Technically only mental health professionals can provide documentation.  Some sites skirt the issue by employing counselors to do a quick interview or review a questionnaire. Still the person not the animal’s behavior is evaluated, and counselors would not be qualified to do so. That places thousands of untrained, unpredictable animals in public with presumed special privileges, although the certification only allows the pet on an airplane or in housing that forbids animals. It is not blanket permission to take the animal anywhere.

The government accommodates these people with special laws without scientific evidence. Wikipedia reveals, “Researchers have not established that untrained emotional support animals provide any significant benefit to people with mental or emotional disabilities…the scientific research is limited and of low scientific quality.” 

See the parallel? This lawsuit is not an isolated incident. It’s a reflection of the times. These two elderly gentlemen claim to have suffered consequences all their lives. No one dares ask why they failed to take charge at some point over 60 years of their adult lives. We have no expectations of responsibility from victims. They suffer a wrong and seek (monetary) relief 78 years later. Like the growing number that require emotional support animals, they are comforted rather than confronted. And life goes on.

People act like victims. They need and expect to get their settlements, their furry crutches or whatever without question. Anyone critical is branded as unfeeling.

Two hundred years ago they’d all be dead. At one time life was tough, and you had to be tougher just to survive. Today life is significantly (significantly!) easier, but it’s also easier to play the victim and complain rather than to be responsible in taking on life’s challenges. Doing so is hard and might even lead to personal growth and maturity, but don't expect the government or society to take that view!