A fair point. What I am saying relates to arguments I have seen from a number of people in and around this core discussion. You are right that no one is specifically shitting on marriage and children. I am responding to what they *are* saying.

Also, the use of the word "essential" was only in one of his recent posts on the matter but there are other posts he has made that got equally hostile responses.

For what it is worth, I personally would say that marriage and family are *essential* for a society but *normative* for the individual.