How Ayn Rand Ruined My Childhood -- Salon

[Brickbat]

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/04/04/my_father_the_objectivist

It was odd growing up, at least part-time, in an objectivist house. My father reserved long weekends to attend Ayn Rand Institute conferences held in Orange County, California. He would return with a tan and a pile of new reading material for my brother and me. While other kids my age were going to Bible study, I took evening classes from the institute via phone. (I half-listened while clicking through lolcat photos.)

Our objectivist education, however, was not confined to lectures and books. One time, at dinner, I complained that my brother was hogging all the food.

"He's being selfish!" I whined to my father.

"Being selfish is a good thing," he said. "To be selfless is to deny one's self. To be selfish is to embrace the self, and accept your wants and needs."

I found the ending devastating.

[ddeclue]

1. Oh Joy..... sounds like child abuse to me..

:eyes:

[treestar]

2. Horrible

How anyone can even attempt to live by Objectivism is beyond me. And with regard to his own kids!

[whatchamacallit]

3. I hate Libertarian Douchebags

This board seems to be loaded with them nowadays.

[musette_sf]

5. You are so correct

and I hate them too.

:yourock:

[athenasatanjesus]

6. Technically Libertarian is not an economic philosophy.

Many on these boards are left wing libertarians,tho the media tries to make it look like Ron Paul,and Penn Gillette are the only true libertarians.

[krabigirl]

15. Yep

[white_wolf]

17. There are left wing libertarians.

They are just more commonly called anarcho-socialists or anarchists. Noam Chomsky is one, and he believes that if they were alive to day both Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine would be anarchists.

[OHdem10]

4. Virtue of Selfishness, one of Rand's eary books.

[jimlup]

7. Well actually perhaps you should thank your father!

You've discovered the gaping flaws in "Objectivisim" without having to try very hard - you lived them. At least you didn't have to waste time with that diversion.

I spent a period of about 1 year as an early adult being a "libertarian" before I recognized that it ultimately couldn't work. I'd like to go back in time and tell my 22 year old self a thing or two though! Now, I would call myself a libertarian-socialist which is polite way of saying that I'm an anarchist/communist. The problem is that anarchist/communist doesn't go over so well conversationally since most people can't get beyond the shock and negative connotations of those words.

[tinrobot]

8. A man completely immersed in his own ego.

So concerned with being selfish that he can't be a good parent. That selfishness probably was the core reason the divorce was so messy. People who put the children first are much more willing to compromise in divorces.

[bleever]

9. I thought this must be satire at first.

Then I read the whole thing.

Objectivism is a tautological excuse for being a self-absorbed asshole.

[calimary]

10. Justification for selfishness.

[moondust]

11. The making of a predatory capitalist.

Ugh.

K/R

[rhett o rick]

12. I was a huge Ayn Rand follower in high school. Then I entered the real world. Too bad Alan

Greenspan hasnt.

[deaniac21]

13. Your life must have been ruined.

[xchrom]

14. Recommend

[krabigirl]

16. That is sad. Creepy too.

[DonCoquixote]

18. Never forget anton Lavey

Founder of Modern Satanism. He always said that Satanism was just "Ayn Rand with trappings."

[Silent3]

19. Ayn Rand or Bible study...

...hard to say who had it worse. :)

The scary thing is some kids get a mix of both, and the brainwashing to think self-centered predatory capitalism and Christianity go together.