Ah, I think you're presenting a very, very different viewpoint than most would assume, then.
I am not sure about my viewpoint. I just happen to be in a specific situation, where sometimes I feel
useless, and feel bad about it, but then I manage to change my view to be
defiantly useless -
uselessness as a political statement - which makes me feel better.
People who responded to this thread described different situations I hadn't thought of,
and some have embraced being useless more than others.
One distinction is whether one
starts out as feeling useless and then justifies it as a political statement,
or whether one
actively seeks out to become more useless to embody that political statement.
As for latter option,
@Final_Choice noted that you can become useless to a degree that you cannot afford to
pay your medical bills. That indeed sounds excessive, if only because the harm you are causing to yourself
is much greater than the harm ones uselessness would cause society.
There is a big difference between having put in the effort to support yourself and hitting wall versus never trying and insisting others support you. The fact that you've earned at least a bit for yourself puts you in a different category.
You have no obligation to "contribute", imo, if you aren't demanding a lot in return, and it's okay to take a bit from the collective pot when you have real, legitimate struggles.
I think there's a difference between being "useless" and siphoning from those around you when you're capable of helping out. There are also other ways to contribute besides with money.
I was trying to think why does "siphoning from those around you" bothers me more than getting social security or disability payments.
In the context of uselessness as a political statement, perhaps one could say that your parents aren't the ones who made
CTB illegal. Your parents also do not have the power to make CTB legal, so causing them harm by uselessness misses the target.
(even though they are the ones who brought you to life to being with.)