This response reveals the pre-emptive fear that offering care to one child might obligate care for others—a fear that treats equity as threat and compassion as contagion. “It would set a precedent” does not name a legal risk; it names a political one, rooted in a belief that dignity must be rationed to remain affordable.
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Disgusted by my advocacy
I have become hyper-attuned to the particular curl of a staff member’s lip, the slight recoil in their chair, the clenched tone when I insist—again—that my child…
This entry is part of The budget is the behaviour—a series of graded rebuttals that translate common institutional justifications into the language of consequence. Each response challenges euphemism, clarifies impact, and holds decision-makers accountable. Read the full series.
