I think for the times it was actually a pretty gruesome thought to have. To sacrifice children for the "greater good" of the community is simply not a valid suggestion. Even today, dare I say this, as far as abortion is concerned. This is a very real and lively issue that our generation is facing and people are giving up their children because their life will be more comfortable, whether that is a teen pregnancy or something to that degree. No, we are not eating our children, but at the same time, they are being sacrificed for what is believed to be the greater good of those who would bear the children. The starvation of the times was very real to the Irish and the fact that Swift suggested that was just not okay.