The glaring similarities between pro-natalists and meat eaters
They both equally revel in the suffering of others.
Coming out to my family and society
“There’ll be no one willing to marry you when you get older.”
“You’ll feel extremely lonely when we’re not there anymore”
“You might feel content now, but you’ll crave companionship later”
These are just some of the few classical retorts made by boomer parents to their millennial offspring when confronted with the idea of not having kids. They grow extremely insecure and jittery when asked to comment on the subject. I don’t blame them. I don’t blame them one bit for the way they reacted. After all they grew up during a time where family life was the end-all be-all of existence. That choosing not to start a family meant a life sentence of depression, loneliness and sadness. You went to school. You then went to college (or not). You then joined work at some company, and a few years down the line married and started a family. Your family was your only solace at the end of a hard brutal day at work. Your family was your emotional bread and butter. The metaphorical shoulder to cry on when things go sour in life.
This has been the standard script since decades. After all, what else was one supposed to do? Become an influencer on Instagram? Become a digital nomad? Become a freelance writer? Start their own company?
These vocations didn’t exist back in the day.
The workplace was largely ruled by exploitative psychopaths (many still are) where profit and entrepreneurial success was the end motive, and bottom line of the company. The very same narratives were peddled to workers. That the golden goal of their lives are career advancement, promotions, appraisals and salary increments. To work hard enough to get to the next level in the organization. So every other thing that they pursued in their lives, was geared towards that very end.
Money was short. And there was barely any spare time to even discover any talent within oneself. It was a pretty funneled, one dimensional path. And everyone religiously believed in it.
You didn’t have a zillion streams to choose from like you do today. And this is true of everything. Of jobs, of hobbies, of types of companies, of academic endeavours, of locations to travel, of the diverse range of people you can meet, of various diets to follow, of ideologies and opinions, and so on and so forth. In today’s world you have a very diverse set of people who talk differently, wear different clothes, have diverse hobbies, and aspirations, not necessarily doing mainstream jobs.
However, two (terribly awful) things have managed to stand the test of time, and stand out from everything else.
Procreation and meat consumption.
Procreation
Marrying someone from the opposite sex (regardless of your orientation, or self-identified gender), and starting a family has been considered the golden ticket to adulthood, and to be considered a good and obedient citizen of the state. Until then, you’re always a child. A son/daughter who willingly obeys the commands of his/her parents and procreates to lead a family life, is applauded and appreciated by the larger society.
An antinatalist, on the other hand, who doesn’t work a regular nine to five, has his/her own passions and hobbies to follow, and who decides not to marry and/or procreate, is considered rebellious and headstrong, straying away from the original path set by the society and is not worthy of the praise and admiration showered on natalists. It really doesn’t matter whether you end up a scientist, a doctor, or an astronomer. You still need to follow the standard script (so you’d might as well become a paper pusher eh! ;-) )
Study well. Grow up. Get a well paying job. Marry someone. Make a few kids. Live the family life. Concentrate on your duties towards your company, your family, and kids. This is the basic premise of the natalist lifestyle. This is their manifesto for you, right from when you’re born, up until your death.
Meat consumption
Not all meat eaters have vile intentions. Neither are they insensitive zombies mindlessly wandering the earth, trampling on the lives of animals wherever they go. But when confronted, a whopping majority of them try their best to avoid making the difficult decision. The decision to kill an animal for their selfish desires. “There is no such thing as “deserve” ” they proudly claim. “It’s a harsh world out there, and I need meat to survive. I don’t care about the plight of animals on modern day factory farms or what they have to go through in order to arrive as hot, freshly cooked fragments on my dinner plate.”
They’ll do anything to avoid getting into logical debates on animal agriculture, its deadly impact on the environment, on human health, and on the animals themselves. They’ll overlook and disregard all valid information provided to them on the same, and pretend to still live in the stone age. They say that we need meat to live, or we’ll die of malnutrition. They’ll stubbornly ignore peer-reviewed research on how animal agriculture destroys the air, water and land, and how it jeopardizes our collective future.
The Glaring similarities
If you’ve come this far, (and are capable of thinking logically), you must have definitely noticed the glaring similarities between meat eaters and pro-natalists.
They both revel in the suffering of others.
I hope I’ve struck a chord with the logical and scientific thinkers on here. For the rest of the others, don’t even bother! Just continue whatever it is that you’re doing.
Continue destroying a million acres of virgin forest for cattle feed.
Continue destroying ancient acquirers which quenched the thirst of earthlings for centuries.
Continue growing unsustainable crops at unsuitable geographical locations for the sake of profit.
Continue to plunder the earth for precious metals just so you can look good at a friends wedding.
Continue to encroach upon the land and build housing for an endless stream of arriving humans, no matter the cost.
Continue persecuting and victimizing religious minorities, “illegal” immigrants, people of colour, and underprivileged and poor people.
Continue to murder people who have divergent sexual orientations in the name of religion.
Continue to perpetuate caste and dowry based marriages.
Continue virginity checks on women to see if they’re fit for marriage.
Continue believing the lies perpetuated by the sponsored media and their sponsor politicians.
Continue to loot the planet of its resources, and people of their dignity.
Because that’s exactly what the 1% system runs on. This is the fuel that ensures only the 1% have full access and privilege to a just and free life. By taking from others!
Natalists and meat eaters have one thing in common. They sentence animals and humans to a lifetime of misery for their own pleasure during their time here on the planet. Assuming a life expectancy of around 80 years, and with most Indians leaving home either for college, or to take over professional duties, they will live the whopping majority of their lives in the absence of their families. So let’s say for someone who’s left home at the age of 25, that’s just 20% of their lives spent with their parents and siblings. It is now up to them to navigate the rest of their lives all on their own. Did anyone ever ask for this? Did we ask to be born? Did we consent to it?
“Natalists and meat eaters have one thing in common. They sentence animals and humans to a lifetime of misery for their own pleasure during their time here on the planet.”
This is why natalism is a malignant evil that creates and perpetuates a vicious cycle. The very same offspring now all grown up, has to fill the very same void that their parents filled using their existence. This cycle has been perpetuated since centuries and has to come to an end some day. While the total fertility rate has declined overall in many countries, this means absolutely nothing for those one or two children who are born. They have to still suffer and exist on this difficult planet, which is constantly trying to eat them alive at every given opportunity.
Above pic by ‘Antinatalist vegans’ on Facebook.
Spare a thought for the unborn the next time you think of starting a family. (especially when there are 153 million orphans in the world desperately craving the warmth of a family)
Spare a thought for the billions of animals languishing in prisons the next time you sit down to a meal.
