New vocab word for the day: anti-natalism. If you need a quick primer on what it means, just ask Raphael Samuel, a 27-year-old from India who's suing his parents based on just that philosophy. To wit: He doesn't think they had the right to force him to be born without his consent. The BBC notes that Samuel gets the seeming illogic behind the concept—after all, how can you ask someone who hasn't been born yet if they agree to be born?—but his point is that since "it was not our decision to be born," our parents should have to pony up the funds to take care of us for life. Per the Facebook page he created devoted to anti-natalism, Samuel says people bringing kids into a miserable world is akin to "kidnapping and slavery," and an act that strains the Earth's resources, per News18.
This isn't a new thing that's been bugging Samuel, either: He says he first felt the anti-natalism pull when he was 5 and he didn't want to go to school one day. He and his parents fought back and forth, until finally he blurted out, "Why did you have me?" The fact that his father had no answer got him to thinking. The Times of India cites a now-viral YouTube video in which he expands on his thoughts, and why he's suing his mom and dad. Samuel tells the BBC that his parents, both attorneys, are pretty good-natured about his whole philosophy, though when he told them about his plans to sue them, his mom replied, "That's fine, but don't expect me to go easy on you. I will destroy you in court." He also concedes he's not even unhappy with his life—it's just that he wishes he'd had the choice whether to have one. (More frivolous lawsuits stories.)
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