Voluntary Human Extinction Movement #fundie vhemt.org

Q: Don’t humans have a place in Nature?
It has been said that our environmental woes stem from being out of touch with the natural world. Perhaps this check list will help to restore our sense of place in Nature. Join the search for a human niche, and help determine where on Earth we fit.

Check off as many niches as fit us:

Evolution’s crowning achievement
Most advanced being on Earth
Integral part of the web of life
Exotic invader
Parasitic pest
Dominator, usurper of resources
Fluke of evolution, apart from nature
Spiritual unifier of heaven & earth - of divinity and Nature
Worshipper of Nature as god/goddess
Transcender of physical realm
Steward, caretaker of lesser species
Equal with all life forms
Link on the food chain
Restorer of balance, undoer of civilization
Defender of Nature
Cancer or virus
Soon-to-be-extinct altruist
Other
Many cling to the quaint notion that we are still a part of Nature, and perhaps we are, depending on how “a part of” is defined.

An established and balanced ecosystem functions in a dynamic symbiosis. All species interact with each other in three possible ways: mutualistic, communalistic, or parasitic. A mutualistic relationship helps both organisms. A communalistic relationship neither helps nor harms the interacting organisms. A parasitic relationship helps one and harms the other.

Are we a part of Nature in the same way a timber company is a part of the forest? Or the same way a farmer is part of the farm? We could be part of nature the same way, say, an otter is: eating sea urchins and being eaten by sharks.

We were once like the otter, part of the ecosystem. Then we developed agriculture, and have become parasitic, depending on exploitation of Nature for our survival, but giving nothing back.

The fossil record shows that each time Homo sapiens entered a continent, a spasm of extinctions followed. Exotic invaders typically disrupt ecosystems, and we are no exception.

On some philosophical level there is no doubt some truth feeding the myth. However, by examining our daily lives, and asking ourselves, “What part of my normal day is a part of Nature?” the sad truth is revealed.

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Confused?

So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

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