“Misanthrope: noun. A person who hates or distrusts humankind”. I really do
dislike human society, and therefore, I would confidently classify myself
as a misanthrope. So-called democratic nations led by questionable leaders. War. Invasion.
Political correctness gone mad. Unelected bureaucrats telling us what we can and can’t do.
An obsession with celebrity and “attractive people”. Human society mostly sucks in my opinion.
But from this one little definition, a lot of people have drawn a lot of conclusions. If you
look at the comments in some of my other videos, lots of people claim that I am not a misanthrope
because, “You have children?! A misanthrope would never have children!”, “A misanthrope would never
‘try to get on with others’!”, “Nature is good, humans are bad! A lion is more civilised than a
human!” (They seem to forget that humans are just as much a part of nature as a lion is),
“Misanthropes should actively seek to end human civilisation, with violence if necessary!”,
and so on. There seems to be a lot of extremism in the misanthropic community. This started to
make me think, that as with other things, there are varying degrees of misanthropy. So I decided
to investigate. But before I get into it, just remember, these are all just words. Humans have
constructed all of these definitions, so who’s to say which one is more valid than the other?
This is ultimately an argument in semantics. And that’s another thing I dislike about people. Many
of us think that everything has to be black or white. “There’s no middle ground!”, so they say.
Anyway, here are some types or closely-related terms dealing with misanthropy.
1. Antinatalism. “The belief that it is morally wrong or unjustifiable for people to have
children. An obvious consequence of antinatalism taken to the extreme is that the human race will
die out”. It is the belief that people have a duty to abstain from procreation. My ‘friend’ called me
out on this at a party a while back. He correctly said (in front of everybody) that I made an
oath never to have children and I broke my oath. My immediate reply was that I was only 20 when I
made that oath (so 22 years ago). Surely people are entitled to change their views and opinions.
My friend was angry at me basically, because he kept his oath and never had children, and now he’s
47 years old and in poor health. Many commenters on my videos also hold this antinatalism view.
They state that having children just causes more suffering. Bringing children into this
world of woe is cruel. I’ve always argued that if humans don’t have children, some
other species will certainly continue breeding and become the dominant species. And I have no
doubts they will have no qualms using violence. Cruelty will still exist. It makes no difference
whatsoever if humans are about or not. A lion will continue mercilessly killing baby wildebeest. I
can’t control what a lion does, nor can I control what other people do. I can only control myself.
2. Nihilism, or Philosophical Pessimism. Basically, the view that human values
are baseless, knowledge is impossible, and that existence is fundamentally meaningless
or without purpose. Even Buddha held this view to some extent: “Now this,
bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, ageing is suffering,
illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering;
separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief,
the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering”. Personally, I don’t know if this
world is meaningless, but I certainly do agree with Buddha that life is suffering.
3. Destructive Misanthropy. As commonly seen in my comment’s section, destructive misanthropes
actively disdain humanity. They aim to tear down human society and every
reminder of it using violence if necessary. I am certainly not an advocate of this extreme view,
but I can see how people reach this conclusion. My opinion is that we don’t
actively need to destroy human civilisation, human civilisation will probably destroy itself.
4. Fugitive Misanthropy. Essentially, these are people who actively avoid human interaction as
much as possible. They seek refuge in their own little worlds. Fear is often the dominant
emotion with seclusion from the corrupting contact of human civilisation being the result.
Think of hermits and Japanese hikikomori. I do somewhat have these tendencies. I tend to stick
to myself as much as possible and rarely venture out for a social affair. And when I do go out,
I still stick to myself as much as possible. When I do interact with people, especially
people I don’t know, it often irritates me. The checkout clerk that refuses to give me change.
The dentist that insists that I must wear a mask while I walk over to the dental chair,
but then it’s immediately okay to take it off when I’m in the dental chair. The restaurant that
says I can’t come in to eat, but I can come in to order as long as I don’t stay there to eat. Human
civilisation has become ridiculous and I fully understand why people choose to socially withdraw.
5. Activist Misanthropy. These kinds of misanthropes are at the more
positive end of the spectrum. They believe that although human society currently sucks,
there is still hope for humanity. They believe that it is possible and feasible that society
can change for the better. All wars will end, people will stop hurting one another,
resources will be distributed evenly, and everything will ultimately be A-OK.
I do hold this opinion to a limited extent. I suppose I do hope for some kind of Utopia,
but then when the snotty-nosed kid throws mud on me at the park, and his parents don’t seem
to give a damn, then my realist nature sets in and realises there’s probably no hope.
6. Quietist Misanthropy. This is probably what best describes me. A quietist misanthrope believes
that at the individual level, we can’t change society. Governments will continue doing what they
do. The bulk of people will continue being selfish and greedy. Quietist misanthropes tend to be less
radical and are resigned to the fact that human society is irrevocably corrupt and the only thing
we can do is “quiet acceptance” and “small-scale avoidance”, something that I do daily.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to make in this video is that misanthropes come in all different
shapes and sizes. Not every misanthrope believes that human civilisation is a lost
cause. Not every misanthrope believes that having children is evil. And even if you do
think that and you openly accuse me of not being a misanthrope because I have a wife and children,
you know what, I don’t care. These are just English words that somebody else defined.
You believe what you believe, and I’ll believe what I believe.
So which category or categories do you fit under? Or, are you not
a misanthrope? And if so, why are you watching this video? I’d really like to know.