Antinatalism
all life eventually comes to an end.
we can have those happy moments, those memories. but eventually one day we'll die and be forgotten through time and history.
why have a kid if that's the reality?
at the same time, life isn't all hopeless. there are many things that bring purpose. helping people, making a positive difference in people, bringing people back on their feet.
but having a child in my viewpoint is one of the most selfish things you can do.
i'm writing this blog because a few years down the line, I want to remember why I felt this way back in my 20s.
No one in life is rigid, people change over time. Some people change their life for the better. Get rid of old habits, focus on career/business opportunities. Others can become worse. Get into gambling, cheating, drugs.
Same goes for me. As humans we change our viewpoint over time with time and experiences. But something that I've always thought of since my early teens is questioning the reason why we're here in the first place.
What is the meaning of life?
Some use religion, some use astrology. I've always had a very realist viewpoint on life. Life starts at birth. The reason we're all here is because your parents made the deliberate decision to have sex and reproduce.
I grew up in a conservative family and my Mom would repeatedly blame me for coming into her body whenever she feels tired of kids. Being grown in this environment also contributed to shaping my antinatalist views.
But the truth is everyone is impacted by society and values. Society has made it seem that having kids is just what everyone does and we shouldn't question it. I've always asked myself why that is?
Having kids is one of the biggest decisions you can take in your life.
My reasons for thinking this way:
- birthing/infertility/abortion/birth control/reproductive health
- war/violence/shootings/commit die/unpredictableness
- successful childfree ppl
- corporations evil/maternityleave/AI/masssurveilence/wealthy tax
- backwards thinking (religion, cults, brainwashing)
- climate change/pollution/pandemic/disease/cancer
- double-standard to animals
- narcissistparents
- autism/disabilities/disorders/were not born equal
- how small we really are
- racism/sexism/misogynism/xenophism/homophobism
Think about all the “good” things we as humans do in the world. Now how much of that is only for the benefit of humanity. We label species as “invasive” species while animals like pandas we force to keep alive cause of cuteness.
Thrre’s other things like cancer which of course sucks but my own mom had breast cancer. But you know what’s even better than that? Not being born at all. Not having to experience the eventual decline in health. Getting older. Becoming disabled. This is just the reality. We all have those happy moments in life. But eventually it all comes to an end.
And people are like “yeah I want my genes to live through with my descendants, I want to live a legacy.” Anytime I heard that I just cringe so hard. What legacy? You’re going to be forgotten in 3 generations anyways. I bet you can’t even name your great-grandparents.