Why are we still openly mocking only children even though taxes are rising?

I remember watching a video about a boy bullying his younger sister, and I felt sorry for the little girl. I commented exactly how I felt, only for some rude person to reply “you’re either the baby of the bunch or you’re the only child, lol”

I was hurt and disgusted, but I didn’t know what to say. If I told him that I AM an only child, he would openly mock me even further and tell me I’m just a spoiled entitled brat who deserves to be made fun of. I wanted to call him an insensitive asshole, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. It hurt me even more than it should have, because my family and I had a sad history that people with siblings fail to consider.

Here’s a background about me and my family. My parents married back in 1985. Then my mom said she wanted to have children, three children to be exact. She got pregnant with her first child on October 1988. They were having a boy. That baby was supposed to be my older brother. Several months later, they found out the baby was falling extremely ill, the doctor said he had gall bladder disease, because of the genetics passed from my mom to the baby. My mom’s side of the family had a history of gall bladder infections.

On July 1989, my brother was born, but died immediately after. His name was Cory. My mom was traumatized for years. Years later, she wanted to try again and have another baby, this time however, it would be her only child, me.

When the ultrasound confirmed I was going to be a girl, my parents had a hard time figuring out a name for me. My dad wanted to name me Isabella, but my mom wanted to give me a more “religious” name. They eventually named me Mara, a name with Greek and Hebrew roots. Apparently it meant “bitter” that derived from the name Marah. My name felt so much different compared to all the other kids, it didn’t help much that my parents also had religious names.

I was born on January 2000. I felt ostracized a lot as a kid and especially as an adult. All of my cousins had brothers and sisters, while I was left with nothing. Even the kids in my school had siblings. I was labeled as weird and obsessed just because I was so excited to make friends. Sadly, I had very few friends, all of them in which moved away.

For years, I begged my parents to have a little sister. But they kept telling me “we’ll see”. It never happened. And I’m still here, lonelier than ever. I was distraught, distraught over the fact that I will never get a sibling of my own and will forever be labeled as the weird lonely brat.

It was sickening that just because I’m an only child (and a girl) that I somehow deserve to get ridiculed because I was apparently “spoiled rotten”. It wouldn’t matter if my older brother was still alive to see me born, I would be damned either way because I’m the “baby of the bunch”.

Anyway, I didn’t understand why younger siblings (especially if they’re girls) get so much hate. True, they can be annoying, and I can totally understand how an older sibling would easily get pissed off. On the other hand, I’m sickened by the fact that most older siblings would wish death upon their younger siblings and treat them like complete shit. And that’s what I find unacceptable.

If you were constantly being bullied and getting the shit beaten out of you by your older brother or sister, you’d be singing a whole different tune. Come to think of it, I’ve seen more people coming out about how their older siblings were abusive towards them. Then it came to me: if younger siblings get so much scrutiny just for simply acting their age, then how come older siblings are constantly defended, even when they are obviously guilty of violence and abuse?

Then again, I’m kinda glad I don’t have an older brother, especially if he were to be a pain in the ass, and having to literally live under the shadow of a colossal giant that’s born a decade before you is both terrifying and exhausting. And you have to constantly hear the jeering echoes of “I’m bigger and older than you, nanny-nanny boo-boo!”, okay, maybe I’m making that part up.

In other words, being an only child is something that I cannot control, and I have to get used to it. More and more parents are only having one child due to the rising taxes and the consequences of raising children. There are people who are one and done. There are even people who are childfree. Personally, I don’t see the point of raising children, as I honestly don’t want to have any children at all. I love children and all, but childcare is expensive as fuck.

So why are we still demeaning only children, even though the evidence is right in front of our faces? Why can’t we just accept that we can’t control when we’re born? Being an only child rocks, you get to strive and look after yourself, and best of all, you get to focus on yourself and listen to your own needs, which is something that people with siblings envy.

And to the rude person who made fun of me: So what if I am an only child? Are you jealous that your parents didn’t give you everything you wanted? What is it with older siblings (which I’m assuming you are) who think just because they’re born first or are at least not born last, means that they’re superior? Do you even consider the background of your friends or other family members who are stuck with being the youngest and how they would feel if you said that shit to their face? How would you like it if you were the youngest or an only child like I am and people frequently bully you just because you can’t change that part of your identity?

Anyone who dares to make fun of people for something they are born with tells us that they’re nothing but miserable losers who only strive to make others lesser than them just to make themselves look cool. And besides, I’d much rather be an only child and live my life freely than have to be stuck in a social norm with having a sibling that makes my life a living hell. Shame you won’t be able to get that.