Mr. Raphael Samuel’s decision to sue his parents for conceiving him without consent has garnered him all the attention he wanted and made me think, ‘when is a baby actually conceived’ – is it the time when our father casts his evil gleam on our mother or do we take a more scientific approach and stick to biology. Though the former sounds creepy and makes us a product of our father’s misconduct, sticking to biology is more rationale.
Well, this could be a stunt for 15-minute of fame, however, Mr. Samuel’s argument stems from the fact that any new human life will inevitably involve pain and suffering, while pleasure (although good) is irrelevant to those who do not or have not existed in the first place – this philosophical movement is termed as ‘anti-natalism’.
Though the believers of anti-natalism are in the minority, however, edging into the mainstream won’t take much time. Popularized by Matthew McConaughey character, Rust Cohle in True Detective, where he believed, ‘human consciousness was a tragic misstep in evolution. Life is bad, so is death and together they constitute an existential vice’.
In a country, where parents mollycoddles, kids turning up suing their parents can come as a surprise. Though the lawsuit drama could just be a click-bait, nevertheless it gives a clear idea of the understanding of new millennial and I say, it’s not bad at all, but suing won’t do any favour.
Though his thoughts are way ahead of time, it’s always glad to come across people who think differently and are brave enough to step out and speak about it in a society tied up in its accord. Anti-natalist or natalist, joke or no joke – people are suffering and we can’t un-see it with any sort of spiritual veil and bulls**t and bringing in a child for the sake of our continuity is both selfishness and the irony of our existence.
