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Originally Posted by lurkette
spewing:
Another (good? bad?) reason not to have a kid:
- overpopulation and environmental destruction. We don't need more people on the planet, its resources are taxed enough as is, and another American kid is just going to add to the rampant consumption of resources.
Thoughts? Particularly on the ethics of having a child in an already overpopulated world.
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Ok I was waiting for this but hoping it wouldn't come up. Not to be a dick but its one of the most silly arguments I've ever heard and its come up long before this. Its silly on evolutionary and political level, and the ironic thing is more people who buy into this the more you will see the opposite effect in the long run.
Evolutionarily what you are saying is 'my genes are not worthy of being passed on so I'll let someone elses take over while I die childless.' People are going to breed no matter what, but while you worry about the carbon foot print of your potential child they already have theirs. You are encouraging a long term shift in the population dynamics.
Politically its even more clear. When you are gone, you are gone, the planet will be run by the children of those who decided to have children. To make an exaggerated example, if everyone who thought there were too many people and they would justify not having children in some altruistic sacrifice of genetic fitness, the next generation is going to be Mormons, mexicans and southern republicans. This type of effect is already believed to have happened due to abortion in the US.
The population of the Western world is DECLINING, less and less of us of European stock are being born, there is no overpopulation where we live and all you are saying is 'let others have it' your sacrifice will do nothing but ensure others who do not share your world view are in charge later on.
If you don't want to have a kid, don't have a kid, but for the flying spaghetti monsters sake, don't even dream of falling for the overpopulation poppycock.