In that same period, Bartkus’ rhetoric on alternative social media sites was dark. “I would not acknowledge reproduction as a human right, but instead as a form of rape,” IndictEvolution wrote on Lemmy.World in July 2023. “I am also not bothered by infanticide as long as it is done humanely…”
sure thing, feel free to message me if you prefer!
First I would like to say that homicide or even violence are not valid expressions of antinatalism. I have to confess I share some similar views to those expressed (but apparently not fully embraced or informed by compassion) by the bomber, which makes this all the more disturbing to me. I find myself wanting to advocate, not for the bomber, but for some of his views, and that’s a hard distinction for people to make sometimes. I also want to offer people some insight into what he might have felt and thought by providing context for some of the seemingly radical things he said, because I think most people should be able to understand his point of view if they wish, whether or not they agree with it. But you might not want to relate to a terrorist, and I don’t want to engage if it makes you feel invalidated or challenged. Particularly since you may find his views to be anti-trans and dangerous.
What bothers me is that there’s real problems in the world stemming from our political economy and the fixation on human growth is missing a far more consequential component- capitalist mode of production.
That particular political economy is what requires that the market is ever-increasing in size or else it collapses. From my position it’s disappointing that someone looking for answers like this person was instead spiraled off into misanthropy rather than finding their way to more effective criticisms for that current political economy which is killing us.
These aren’t new revelations, they have been getting expressed for over a hundred years at this point. Young people landing on antinatalism to me looks like it’s a consequence of many decades of red scare and purges of anything critical of capitalism in education and culture, leaving people looking for answers anywhere they can find them.