'We must stop having children and let our species disappear': who are the anti-natalists and why are their ideas becoming popular - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

'We must stop having children and let our species disappear': who are the anti-natalists and why their ideas are becoming popular

Antinatalism - a movement based on philosophical and ethical ideas that condemn the reproduction of the human race. Anti-natalists negatively assess the emergence of new life and consider reproduction unethical, reports with the BBC

Photo: Shutterstock

“Wouldn’t it be nice to punch a hole in the Earth and just be done with it?” – says Thomas.

Thomas, 29, lives in the east of England, and although his idea of ​​blowing up the world is just a thought experiment, he is sure of one thing: people should not have children, and our species should gradually die out.

This is a philosophy called anti-natalism. Although the roots of the idea go back to ancient Greece, social media has given it a huge boost lately.

Facebook and Reddit have dozens of anti-natalist groups, some with thousands of members. As for Reddit, such a group has about 35 members, while only one of the dozens of anti-natalist Facebook groups has gathered more than 6 members.

They are scattered all over the world and have a variety of reasons for their beliefs. Among them are concerns about genetic inheritance, not wanting children to suffer, the concept of consent and concern about overpopulation and the environment.

On the subject: In New Mexico, a mother threw a newborn in a garbage can: it was filmed by CCTV cameras

But all of them are united by one desire - to stop the birth of people. And although they are a fringe movement, some of their views, especially on the state of our planet, are increasingly infiltrating the mainstream discourse.

philosophical conversations

Thomas hadn't heard of anti-natalism until someone used the term to describe his views in a YouTube comment a few years ago. Since that time, he has become an active member of the anti-natalist Facebook group. This stimulates his intellect and allows him to improve his discussion skills.

“I think it's great to discuss real life issues,” he says. – Let’s say people really disappear. What will happen if they then evolve again? Then the problem is not really solved.”

But his fascination with anti-natalism is not only theoretical. Thomas believes that human life itself has no purpose and has tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to have a vasectomy done by the NHS. NHS physicians may refuse to perform sterilization surgeries if they believe the procedure is not in the best interest of the patient.

Non-violence and consent

Despite some nihilistic rhetoric in anti-natalist groups, there are no signs that they pose a threat of violence. When they talk about extinction, it's like they're exercising their discussion. No one in their online communities is making threats of murder or violence.

When Thomas says he wants to punch a hole in the Earth, he envisions a big red button that will end humanity's existence, and he "won't hesitate to press it." In fact, such a thought is very controversial precisely because of the key antinatalist principle - the concept of consent.

In other words, the creation or destruction of life requires the consent of the person who is born or dies.
Kirk lives in San Antonio, Texas. He says that he remembers a conversation with his mother when he was only four years old. She told him that having children was a choice.

“It doesn’t make sense to me to willingly bring someone into this world who has no needs or desires before conception to suffer and die,” he says.

Kirk believes that even at such a young age, he has already become an anti-natalist. Thomas opposes the creation of human life because none of us have been asked if we want to be here.

“If every person agreed to play the game called life, then I personally wouldn’t mind it,” he admits. “It’s all about consent or lack thereof.”

The concept also works in reverse. The problem with the big red button to destroy humanity is that many people enjoy life - and not everyone will agree to end it. Kirk and most anti-natalists want people to voluntarily stop having babies.

Mental health issues

There is another theme that is common in anti-natalist groups. Discussion participants often share their own mental health concerns and periodically condemn those who, having mental health problems, give birth to children.

One such message included a screenshot of another user's post that said, "I have a personality disorder in addition to bipolar and generalized anxiety disorder." The antinatalist added his own comment to this post: “This man has two children. I feel sorry for these kids."

“I suffered from schizophrenia and depression,” explains Thomas. – Depression runs in my family. I think if I have children, there is a high chance that they will be depressed and not like their lives."

Kirk laments that their community is often mislabeled by outsiders.

“They're starting to call us crazy nuts,” he noted, although he says the truth is more complex.

Save the planet?

In recent years, antinatalis have been bringing public attention to the environment and the potentially devastating effects of climate change.

Judging by the posts in anti-natalist groups, their ideas have much in common with the beliefs of environmental activists.

“I think it's selfish to have kids now,” says Nancy, who is a vegan, anti-plastic pollution activist, animal rights activist and yoga instructor in the Philippines. “The reality is that the children born into this world are helping to destroy the environment.”

In the Facebook group “Very Angry Antinatalists,” its members are distributing a petition that they hope to send to the UN. It is called “The Root of Climate Disaster is Overpopulation. Stop births all over the world” and collected 27 thousand signatures.

The idea of ​​abstaining from having children for the sake of the environment is not new. In Britain, a charity called Population Matters has been pushing this idea for years, although its representatives are not anti-natalists - they advocate the self-sufficiency of the human race, not its extinction.

“Our goal is to achieve harmony between the human race and the planet we are fortunate to live on,” says Robin Maynard, the group's director. “If we have fewer children and smaller families around the world, we can achieve a much greener population.”

But is population growth really bound to lead to ecological catastrophe? According to the BBC correspondent for world population Stephanie Gegarty, this is difficult to say, because it is not easy to predict the future.

“Due to economic development and declining birth rates, the world population will stabilize at somewhere around 80 billion within 11 years,” she says. “Whether the planet can withstand this or not, we don’t know.”

According to her, “there are many factors that will change over the next decade and the next century that we cannot predict now.”

Resentment and criticism

In addition to the intense philosophical and ethical debates that rage within antinatalist groups, there is a darker side to this movement. Some constantly insult their parents by calling them “breeders.” The remaining remarks are aimed at children.

“Every time I see a pregnant woman, my first feeling is disgust,” one user wrote next to a picture that read “I hate pregnant belly.”

But this does not mean that all anti-natalists hate children.

“I would say that I personally like children. And just because I like them, I don’t want them to suffer,” Nancy says. “Perhaps bringing them into the world would give me some satisfaction, but the potential threat is so great that I just don't know if it's worth it.”

But this is not the only criticism. In some anti-natalist groups, users are hinting that babies should not be born in war zones if there is a high chance of disability, or even to low-income parents. Sometimes such rhetoric sounds like selective breeding, that is, like eugenics.

The anti-natalists we spoke to expressed mixed feelings about these ideas.

“What are their motives for having a child? - Thomas reacts to the question of whether he is concerned about the fact that children are born in war zones. “In such a country there is less hope that the situation will change for the better.”

He is more relaxed about the fact that children are born in low-income families.

“Yes, I am against having children. But I think you can be happy with a low income,” he says.

“My antinatalism concerns everyone,” states Nancy, who opposes eugenics. “Why should we single out certain groups because they are disadvantaged?”

Is there a common life philosophy of anti-natalists?

“Do your best,” Kirk says. “Be merciful and do not multiply.”

Read also on ForumDaily:

In 2021, ICE released more than 100 thousand illegal immigrants on parole: almost half of them are now hiding

Smartphone addiction: which apps do we spend almost a third of our lives on

Doctors in the USA transplanted a pig's heart into a human: this is the first such transplant in history

Miscellanea Leisure Antinatalism Child fries overpopulation of the planet
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google News

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis. 



 
1079 requests in 1,206 seconds.