An Efilist Just Bombed a Fertility Clinic. Was This Bound to Happen?

Declining Birth Rates & Modern Parenting

• Several argue that efilists “don’t need to do much” because everyday life is already making parenting unattractive.
• Drivers cited: helicopter parenting, criminalization of unsupervised play, disappearance of “third places” (malls, arcades), screen addiction, car culture, dual-income necessity, and dispersed families.
• Some parents push back, saying online narratives exaggerate how uniquely hard things are now and romanticize a past that was often materially harsher.

Individual vs Societal Incentives to Have Children

• Many note that in rich countries, individuals are often better off not having kids (money, freedom, career), while societies need children to avoid aging crises.
• There’s debate over who should pay to support parents, with tension between “we can’t afford it” and “we’re richer than ever; this excuse is nonsense.”
• Concerns about future old-age support: childfree people may face a thin, overburdened service base and political backlash from younger generations.

Antinatalism/Efilism: Arguments and Critiques

• Thread distinguishes “philosophical antinatalism” (“procreation is morally wrong”) from people who avoid kids for convenience or economics.
• Some claim the latter isn’t antinatalism at all; others say it is functionally similar.
• Critics see efilism as a reductio of utilitarianism, over‑weighting suffering and ignoring benefits of hardship, growth, and empathy.
• Others prefer nihilism: the universe is meaningless, but that doesn’t morally mandate ending life.

Religiosity, Fertility, and Future Demographics

• One line of argument: if “normies” don’t reproduce, high-fertility religious and ideological minorities will dominate over time.
• This is framed as memetic evolution: any “enlightened” movement discouraging reproduction self‑extinguishes.
• Some predict more religious or more extreme future societies; others expect reversion toward centrist norms.

Cosmism and Expansionist Alternatives

• In sharp contrast to efilism, a few espouse a “cosmist” or transhumanist view: intelligence should spread, extend lifespans, colonize space, maybe “awaken” the universe.
• Supporters find this inspiring and life‑affirming; detractors call it egoistic, imperialistic “sci‑fi villain” thinking.

Online Radicalization and Platforms

• The attacker is portrayed as “terminally online” and reportedly radicalized via Reddit.
• Commenters observe more calls for violence and negativity on large subreddits; question why Reddit escapes scrutiny compared to other platforms.
• There’s concern that modern social media structurally amplifies extreme, death‑obsessed subcultures compared to older, more ironic movements like Voluntary Human Extinction.

Mental Health, Young Men, and Violence

• Several link such acts to isolation, lack of community for young men, poor mental healthcare, and broken families, though others demand stronger evidence for demographic claims.
• The bombing is seen as both ideological (death cult logic about preventing suffering) and possibly a cry for help from someone deeply unwell.

Moral Philosophy, Suffering, and the Attack

• Some argue the bombing is incoherent: it causes suffering to prevent hypothetical future suffering. Others counter that, within efilist logic, large net suffering reduction could “justify” violence.
• Broader point: the internet reliably produces pathological extremes of many moral systems (utilitarianism, religious ethics, etc.); there may be no “internet-proof” philosophy.