this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2022
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22
Is anyone childfree? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
64 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I try to be. Children would be exhausting to parent in the current era. Humanity's future is gloom too.

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[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

It can’t adapt to this. Society ceases to exist if there are no people, so saying “it can adapt to no one performing the process by which people create their replacements in the world” is dumb.

And why does society have to exist? Society and humanity have no inherent value. The value they have is the value we, as rational beings, give them. If we collectively determined that they should exist no more, they would cease to exist.

Your society is dying. It doesn’t realize it yet, and by the time it does nothing will be possible to do about it.

I don't mind it. That alarmism doesn't scare me. Remember I follow VHEMT, hence that is my end goal (at least, I'm doing my part towards that).

But I’ve measured, and accurately.

That is precisely what my question was targeting. You've measured (and you have every right to your measurement as the expression of an opinion), but who's to say you've measured accurately? What qualifications do you have to make such a statement of fact?

If you wanted or needed to do something in your life, and you were in a car wreck and broke both your legs… would you think it sane for someone to say “now you should never do that thing again, you’ve experienced trauma!” ?

I would. That is how I try to act in my daily life: avoiding things that have caused me suffering in the past, as much as possible. That is how I try to achieve a comfortable and happy life, by avoiding what has broken that comfort and happiness in the past.

This is a nonsense statement. Until the person exists, by definition they can have no say in anything because they do not exist. Therefor it is not necessary, and even irrational, to speak or think about whether someone has a say in “being born”.

It may be from a pragmatic point of view, but abstractly/philosophically speaking, it isn't. When we make a moral choice, we have to think of the future consequences of that choice. From that point of view, we have to consider that the person being born will have no concept of the meaning behind their future suffering and will try to attribute such meaning to the ones who decided for them. People desire, naturally, to be in control and being born is the one action you have zero control over. That is also a reason why people seek religion: to justify and give meaning to their existence.

None of the people in this thread, and few of those (1 in 10,000 or even fewer) who are childfree are childless because of that reason. You don’t have the Tay Sachs gene, and your receding hairline’s not comparable.

How can you make such a blanket statement when you don't know any of us personally?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

And why does society have to exist? Society and humanity have no inherent value.

If this is your opinion, then it is only reasonable for those of us who do find value in society and humanity to ignore your opinions on how those things should work. Your statement is, in essence, a resignation from those groups.

avoiding things that have caused me suffering

I spend about 10 hours a week at the gym pursuing activities that (best that I can tell what you mean by "suffering") cause me suffering. I am better for it.

When we make a moral choice, we have to think of the future consequences of that choice.

Yes. And since the consequences of having children is good, at least net good, there's not much of a choice to make.

At most, I simply have to avoid the sorts of abuse that would cause them to turn out like yourself and believe absurdities such as "human extinction is a goal one should pursue".

How can you make such a blanket statement when you don’t know any of us personally?

Because these sorts of genetic issues are exceedingly rare, and the people who have them and know they have them would have a very different attitude which you do not present.

Moreso, I've spoken to such people as yourself in person before, and the "conditions" they specify would be jokeworthy except that they're typically friends or at least acquaintances I wouldn't want to be blunt with. "My grandparents have diabetes!" and such. WTF.

I live in an absurd world populated by absurd people hellbent on making certain it won't be populated at all anymore.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

If this is your opinion, then it is only reasonable for those of us who do find value in society and humanity to ignore your opinions on how those things should work. Your statement is, in essence, a resignation from those groups.

I agree.

I spend about 10 hours a week at the gym pursuing activities that (best that I can tell what you mean by “suffering”) cause me suffering. I am better for it.

Well, that is your choice. If you genuinely enjoy those activities and believe they improve your quality of life, then I can't say that they consist suffering for you. Suffering can only be broadly specified in general terms, but to be specified in more granular terms, it varies between people and one person's definition of suffering may be wildly different from the next. Some people actually enjoy being professional soldiers and getting involved in violent conflicts. Others practice violent and radical sports and enjoy it. For those people, those activities do not classify as suffering. For others, they would.

And since the consequences of having children is good, at least net good, there’s not much of a choice to make.

In your opinion. Since for me they aren't, my choice is different from yours.

At most, I simply have to avoid the sorts of abuse that would cause them to turn out like yourself and believe absurdities such as “human extinction is a goal one should pursue”.

Except, as a parent, you can't really prevent that 100%. Perhaps not even 50%. The world takes twisted turns and your child might end up suffering such abuse at the hands of events or people you have no control over.

Because these sorts of genetic issues are exceedingly rare, and the people who have them and know they have them would have a very different attitude which you do not present.

The attitudes people have differ between people, because people's mindsets, experiences and personalities are all different. I don't think I'm making a radical statement here.

Moreso, I’ve spoken to such people as yourself in person before, and the “conditions” they specify would be jokeworthy except that they’re typically friends or at least acquaintances I wouldn’t want to be blunt with. “My grandparents have diabetes!” and such. WTF.

What one person sees as a joke, another might see as something quite serious. It all depends on their own viewpoints and past experiences.

For example, although I should not be giving personal examples and opening myself to comments on my own character, due to some trauma I have with having been medically abused by hospital staff as a child, I have paralyzing, crippling phobia of needles. Getting the COVID vaccine, for instance, was a major psychological ordeal for me and I only ended up getting it because of the duty to society and public health (if it was something that affected just myself, I wouldn't have). Having diabetes would mean getting regular, if not daily, insulin shots or blood sugar tests (depending on the type of diabetes), so that would quickly devolve into a miserable, fear-driven life. Fortunately it isn't something I have to deal with at the moment and I take as good care as I can to ensure it won't become an issue in the future, but there are worse things, which are unavoidable, that can happen.

I live in an absurd world populated by absurd people hellbent on making certain it won’t be populated at all anymore.

I fail to see why that is absurd at all. It's as valid a viewpoint as ever in my opinion.