The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement

 

I read in an article somewhere about the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.  In doing some further research, I found that this movement has been around for at least ten years (there’s a video of Tucker Carlson interviewing the head of this, from nine years ago).  We already know that the Left is basically anti-human, believing that the human race is a stain on the planet, and that Earth would be better off with no people in it.  Well, this group believes that all people should refrain from reproduction, so that the human population would gradually die out.

The man who started the group is an old-school environmentalist who was involved in the Zero Population Growth movement in the 1970s.  He is called Les U. Knight (too funny-less you!), and his base is in Portland, Oregon.  I guess this group is the logical conclusion of the ZPG movement.  Interesting that he has refused to contribute to human extinction by extinguishing himself.  He did, however, get a vasectomy at the age of 25.

Knight argues that the human population is far greater than the Earth can handle, and that the best thing for Earth’s biosphere is for humans to voluntarily cease reproducing.[18] He says that humans are “incompatible with the biosphere”[3] and that human existence is causing environmental damage which will eventually bring about the extinction of humans (as well as other organisms)

This is a horrible viewpoint that only an atheist could espouse.  Fortunately, the movement has remained very small-maybe it will die out, itself.  One can only hope.

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  1. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    David Foster (View Comment):

    This stuff started showing up in college policy debate circa early 2000s. The way it worked was that one team would state their case for whatever their proposal under the resolution was: for example, Team A would propose that a broadly-deployed anti-missile system was the best way to reduce the odds of nuclear war. The classical debating response for Team B would be to argue that this was not the best alternative: they might propose stronger retaliatory capabilities, or nuclear disarmament, or whatever, as a better approach. But what started happening was that Team B would actually argue the VHE case–that instead of trying to reduce the odds of nuclear war, we should simply all commit suicide…and then would go on to argue for the ‘benefits’ of this approach.

    That’s just a debate technique hoping to catch the other side off guard.  When I was on High School Debate in the late 1970s you’d run into that once or twice a year, where the affirmative team  would come up with some completely off-the-wall proposal only tangentially related to the proposition.  The idea is you catch the Negative team with no evidence to refute the proposal, so you win on points (unless the Negative team could successfully get you on topicality).

    • #31
  2. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    BDB (View Comment):

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    Nature designed some species for extinction, like the koala and panda who only eat one food. When climate or humans interrupt that food, the species suffer. However, we humans have saved both species so far, in contravention of Nature. We win. Without humans on Earth, species would still go extinct.

    I confess that I do not catch the logic here. A species “designed for extinction” makes no sense to me, nor does such a manifest purpose (or any other purpose) in evolution.

    Also the earlier claim (not yours) that jhumans can prevent species extinction is bound by a couple of terms, such as “some” and “for the time being”.

    “Destined for extinction” is probably a better phase than “designed for”.  “Designed” implies a goal.  “Destined” just indicates an inevitable result.

    • #32
  3. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    kedavis (View Comment):

    TBA (View Comment):

    Randy Weivoda (View Comment):

    I wonder if some people are commenting without reading what RushBabe49 has actually posted. While I am sure there are misanthropes calling for the human herd to be culled, the individual mentioned in the post is not. He is calling for humans to choose to refrain from reproducing, and he has does this himself.

    There is a gigantic difference here. It is the difference between saying drinking is a sin and I won’t do it, and saying I want to forbid people from drinking.

    Agreed. I don’t have much of a problem with that guy – he is wrong, but ethical.

    His brethren will not be.

    Yes, that side seems to quickly go from “WE should not reproduce” to “THEY should all die, and if they don’t do it on their own, we must help them!”

    A few decades ago I saw it phrased as “Just enough of us, too many of them”.

     

    • #33
  4. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    David Foster (View Comment):

    This stuff started showing up in college policy debate circa early 2000s. The way it worked was that one team would state their case for whatever their proposal under the resolution was: for example, Team A would propose that a broadly-deployed anti-missile system was the best way to reduce the odds of nuclear war. The classical debating response for Team B would be to argue that this was not the best alternative: they might propose stronger retaliatory capabilities, or nuclear disarmament, or whatever, as a better approach. But what started happening was that Team B would actually argue the VHE case–that instead of trying to reduce the odds of nuclear war, we should simply all commit suicide…and then would go on to argue for the ‘benefits’ of this approach.

    This goes back to the usually unstated presumptions.  The question presupposed that the resolution would be argued by healthy minds and honest arguments.  In this case, the presumption is that life is good and should be encouraged and supported.  That they should have included this presumption as a given in the resolution itself, shows that Team B is composed of either the mentally unhealthy, or the stupid, or the dishonest.

    • #34
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Flicker (View Comment):

    David Foster (View Comment):

    This stuff started showing up in college policy debate circa early 2000s. The way it worked was that one team would state their case for whatever their proposal under the resolution was: for example, Team A would propose that a broadly-deployed anti-missile system was the best way to reduce the odds of nuclear war. The classical debating response for Team B would be to argue that this was not the best alternative: they might propose stronger retaliatory capabilities, or nuclear disarmament, or whatever, as a better approach. But what started happening was that Team B would actually argue the VHE case–that instead of trying to reduce the odds of nuclear war, we should simply all commit suicide…and then would go on to argue for the ‘benefits’ of this approach.

    This goes back to the usually unstated presumptions. The question presupposed that the resolution would be argued by healthy minds and honest arguments. In this case, the presumption is that life is good and should be encouraged and supported. That they should have included this presumption as a given in the resolution itself, shows that Team B is composed of either the mentally unhealthy, or the stupid, or the dishonest.

    Or, it shows what I’ve known for a long time, which is that “debate” as a sport is worthless.

    • #35
  6. David Foster Member
    David Foster
    @DavidFoster

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    That’s just a debate technique hoping to catch the other side off guard. 

    Initially, it was that, but my understanding is that the VHE case became fairly common, and wise teams would have known to prepare against it.

     

    • #36
  7. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    David Foster (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    That’s just a debate technique hoping to catch the other side off guard.

    Initially, it was that, but my understanding is that the VHE case became fairly common, and wise teams would have known to prepare against it.

     

    All of which supports my position that “debate” as a sport is worthless.

    • #37
  8. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    David Foster (View Comment):

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):
    That’s just a debate technique hoping to catch the other side off guard.

    Initially, it was that, but my understanding is that the VHE case became fairly common, and wise teams would have known to prepare against it.

     

    Yeah, the “trick play” only works when the other side hasn’t seen it yet.  Once word gets around, everybody has the defense for it.

     

     

    • #38
  9. Modus Ponens Inactive
    Modus Ponens
    @ModusPonens

    While this particular movement may have had little impact, the primordial soup which spawned it is also responsible for much of the anti-human sentiment that has become one of the shibboleths of our society. Holding the biblical view that earth was placed under man’s dominion, and all that entails, is grounds for exclusion from many social circles.

    • #39
  10. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Modus Ponens (View Comment):

    While this particular movement may have had little impact, the primordial soup which spawned it is also responsible for much of the anti-human sentiment that has become one of the shibboleths of our society. Holding the biblical view that earth was placed under man’s dominion, and all that entails, is grounds for exclusion from many social circles.

    Even without bringing the Bible into it, the facts on the ground are that the Earth needs stewardship and there are no better stewards on offer. 

    • #40
  11. Internet's Hank Contributor
    Internet's Hank
    @HankRhody

    RushBabe49: I read in an article somewhere about the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.  In doing some further research, I found that this movement has been around for at least ten years (there’s a video of Tucker Carlson interviewing the head of this, from nine years ago).

    At least twenty; I read these guy’s website when I was in college.

    I figure when you get to the conclusion that the entire human race would be better off dead then you should go back and rethink your premises. Conclusions like that ought to let you know you messed up your logic.

    • #41
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