Tangent

A friend on FB shares a story in the news: five months ago a boy was diagnosed with leukemia in Beijing, China. His best hope of survival was a bone marrow transplant from his father who was a match. Upon learning the facts, the father filed for divorce and refused to pay the boy's medical bills, allegedly stating, "It'd cost less to have another child!"

As the boy was near his end, his doctor called the father so that he could have a last word. The man declined to speak. It is reported that the boy passed away last Wednesday. The father never showed at the funeral.

The repost looks real. It may very well be real. The author of the article sounds outraged. My friend's friends are outraged.

"This man is not human!" they roar.

Oh, but he is. And, while I'm sad, I understand the "culture" and the "values" behind the man's decision and action. And I am sad for the fact that I understand: after thousands of years of political unrest and widespread poverty and misery, it's every man for himself. The Chinese are nothing if not "practical". His assessment was monetarily correct. It's just another woman, just another child. There are so many of them in China after all. The earth is overpopulated anyway, right? Thanks to those who thrive to extend lives. How dare they play God? We should've succumbed to natural selection all along.

And I'd be dead.