Natures way of culling the population

[ExD1938]

Am I being unreasonable to be shocked by a neighbour's remark that this pandemic is natures was of reducing the overpopulation of the planet?
I was gobsmacked at first, then I began to wonder ................?. .

Crass.

I think it's a shocking opinion because I thought most humans were better than that. That life matters. No matter how old, no matter how disabled.

I suppose after this last month on MN I shouldn't have been.

Not shocked to see the Covid deniers on here though.

Even WW1 quickly followed by the Spanish Flu pandemic which killed upwards of 50 million (90 million in total) did nothing to dent the growth in world population.
By the time CV-19 has done its worst (on present trends) it would have killed less than the flu pandemic of 1968... which didn't stop the world.

Anyone who thinks CV is some sort natural design mechanism is an idiot.

@TheCanterburyWhales The past month on MN has made me realise how selfish and shit some people really are.

regina animals act like animals. Animals do what animals do. They dont know any better

We on the other hand do. We know better. We write laws to try and make sure everyone knows better . Then invent weapons of mass destruction and kill thousands if people.

No animal does that.

Course no animal produces art or music either so humans do alot of good too. But as a species we are destructive beyond belief.

I dont see it as a disgusting opinion at all. The irony I see is i know people in real life saying this opinion that its the worlds way of regulating itself and the people who get angry are the ones who always bitch that the world is overpopulated and people shouldnt keep having kids. Yes its devestating that people are dying but dying in a natural way isnt exactly disgusting and wrong unless the person suggests only certain people deserve to die.

@jasjas1973 I agree. But the scientific literacy in the UK is shocking. I see people quoting survival of the fittest not understanding that this applies at a species level. Scientifically a lot of the UK population are at the equivalent of Ladybird books in terms of understanding scientific theories. So it is no wonder people come out with stupid opinions like this.

I don't think it's nature's way of 'culling the population'.

It's just nature.

From the reaction to this virus a lot of people seem to think that they can entirely escape the effects of nature.

There is nothing natural about dying of Covid. Do you watch the news or read the papers? You seem to know two different groups of ignorant twats if those are the two opinions proffered by "people you know" @Geepipe.

This type of view has been around for a long time. Thomas Malthus made it popular in the late 1700s. He said that the world’s population would grow faster than food production so checks would be placed on the population such as war, famine, disease etc. To control population numbers and bring it back in line with food production. This is clearly a very old fashioned view and one that has since been widely discredited. However, I’m not surprised that some people still think this way.

Viruses are part of nature. It is an accidental byproduct that viruses kill other life forms. It is a messy world of trial and error, that's why we get cancer.

Covid-19 is not 'nature's way' of controlling human population. There is no conscious thought to nature. Or you could say human's hunting foxes is nature's way of controlling the fox population. I don't think anybody would agree with that would they?

I think it's a shocking opinion because I thought most humans were better than that. That life matters. No matter how old, no matter how disabled

No one has sid life doesn't matter. Many things that wipe put humans wipes out animals too. Humans fight against nature every single day. Most if us or our kids or another family members wouldnt be alive today if it hadnt been for human defiance of just letting stuff happen.

But plagues and natural disasters etc have happened throughout history in fact it was a meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs wasn't it? It's happened before and it will likely happen again.

@TheCanterburyWhales but nobody has said it’s wonderful or great or necessary have they?

Not even the neighbour in the OP.

Who said life doesn’t matter?

Its fully natural to die from a virus actually. Insane to say its not.

I agree with your neighbour

Also its hardly ignorant to point out the world is over populated.

I've heard a few people say similar types of things - but just as a throw away comment, I think a lot of people are scrabbling for ways of getting their heads round this. And they may have a point. I've heard far more people entertaining the idea that we've brought the whole situation on ourselves.

Its as natural to die from a virus as it is to die from unclean water.
Very natural to die in childbirth. Maybe we should abolish maternity services?

Malthus was and continues to be discredited by everyone, though, doesn't he? I really wouldn't be using his crackpot theories to support any kind of argument if I wanted to be taken seriously. (A level history of we have to give credentials)

OhCaptain- yes they have. And many of them on this thread and elsewhere are positively revelling in getting rid of those pesky pensioners.

As can be seen from the posts above mine.

How on earth is it a “disgusting” opinion. Surely in these strange times it’s natural for us all to have different thoughts about it. What right has anyone to call another’s take on it disgusting.

Some people like to think of wars and disasters in that way, but the fact is that these events are always followed by higher birth rate. As in the baby boomers after WWII. My worry is that some of the people who think like that are making life and death decisions.

I heard dr hilary put a nicer spin on it which is that the planet is healing due to less pollution.
While the comment is insensitive, the truth is nature doesnt care whether a person is lovely, kind, interesting.