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 ................?. .

If you look on Worldometres we are still a exploding population as a species.

Also as ds16 pointed out to me a few weeks back, science and nature isn't a state of conscious. It's not a benevolent force. It's just nature and science doing its thing.

I was going to say about Malthusian theory too (geography teacher here, anyone who has studied geography to GCSE/ALevel may have come across Malthus/Boserup).

I just mentioned Malthus on another thread as in mildly surprised not to have heard it more of late. I assumed there was a conspiracy to suppress him

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?

Eh? Do you think people who understand nature actually want people to die?!
They don't. They just understand that sometimes it's inevitable.

Honestly, this criticism of people with a rational understanding of life and death and risk as heartless needs to stop.

Jesus christ did you enjoy your exercise for the day reaching to that conclusion alloutoffucks?

All of them are totally natural ways to die. No one is saying they deserve it or want to stop scientists from finding a cure ffs. But to pretend its not natural is just utterly bizarre.

When nature can no longer sustain the numbers then something natural always leads to a reduction in population. Nature is constantly adapting and changing, different species become dominant and others disappear as a result. It's never a stable balance, it never has been and never will be. One day, when human populations are reduced, for whatever reason others will begin to flourish again- those that have died out because of human dominance.

And if people want some context, just consider what an asteroid slamming into Earth could do (and has done ...)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_impactor

It’s not nice but it’s true

It happens in nature all the time and at the end of the day, we are still animals.

We are actually more toxic to the earth too.

Nature is constantly adapting and changing, different species become dominant and others disappear as a result. It's never a stable balance, it never has been and never will be.

It could be said that is a definition of the property of life ...

And many of them on this thread and elsewhere are positively revelling in getting rid of those pesky pensioners

It is not about getting rid of anyone but if there is no vaccine and treatment, then a decision is going to have to be made:
Do we destroy the economy, risking millions deaths through war, poverty and economic collapse?
OR
Do we self isolate those most at risk until we have suitable treatment or vaccine?

As someone approaching the at risk group, i would take the latter rather than wind the world back to the 1930s.

Of course these things are nature’s way of promoting balance, I’m surprised this is shocking to you. Since the beginning of life on Earth there have been events like this and they befall not just humans but all species. It’s just the way things are.

Nature also has ways of culling the stupid!

@jasjas That is not the choice. That is a straw man.
And I don't believe you think you are at serious risk of dying. Dying and leaving your kids without a mother is a nightmare thought for most mothers.

Nature doesn't cull. Life is just opportunistic, as this virus demonstrates.

This virus is so succesfull, because of how it spreads and is a product of its evolution. We, however, are much slower to adept.

Those who get sick and die are mostly just unlucky, not necessarily less fit than others, as even healthy athletes get sick and die. Although the chances of dying are higher if you are elderly and/or have an underlying condition. Even after this virus has runs its course, we may still not be immune and a second wave of it may just kill a lot of those who survived the first wave.

Nature and evolution don't care about best or "fittest", they just care about good enough and sheer luck.

I don't really see it as 'nature's way of reducing the population.'

But I do think there might be something in what PhilCornwall said.

Re: the OPs original comment - my sister called it a 'cull disease'. The language is shocking - but she just means that it has the greatest impact on the weakest (unlike Spanish flu, actually).

@Fruitsaladjelly Then you are stupid

@piecesofpaper Even that is not strictly true. It is certain kinds of illnesses. Basically those that affect immune system or breathing. You can be seriously ill and not be at more risk than others of dying of this.

The death toll isn’t that big, seriously. Most countries will barely notice a spike

This is what I think too. It will be interesting to see the total deaths figure for 2020 at the end of the year and to see how it compares to previous years. 616,000+ last year, which is 11,800+ per week.

A lot of the people with underlying conditions may will have died this year anyway.

As the PP said, this will be a tiny blip in the year on year death rate.

Its a virus, it does not have a master plan for the human race. It is just doing what viruses do.

You can look at the context of how that virus came to jump species of course. Our ability to be an omnivore often comes back to bite us on the bottom.

'Spanish flu' came from USA and jumped from farmed ducks to a farmer - then via the US army to the rest of the world.

See also Bird flu, Swine flu, I think ebola too.

We are quite good at exploiting animals to our advantage, however viruses are also quite good at 'exploiting' us in their own way.

Sorry vegans. Not sure there is a pandemic from tofu as yet.

It is nature, but there was no great plan to decimate the humans. That's just how it panned out. I'm sure there are plenty of diseases serious to other animals that only vets and zoologists are worried about. They are just not on our radar.

Ah the old ‘my friend is wondering...’ post.

Clearly this is OP’s view but she’s not brave enough to admit it.

That is not the choice. That is a straw man.

It's not though. A wrecked society will lead to lots of deaths from other causes.

The death toll isn’t that big, seriously. Most countries will barely notice a spike

Yep.

Heard a radio 4 science programme a while back saying 50% of all the humans who have ever lived have died of infectious diseases.

That really made me stop. Just wow. Terrible to die or lose a loved one on an individual basis no matter when/where you live(d) but in the grand scheme of things it kinda puts this into context.

It's not lives vs the economy, it's deaths from covid vs future deaths from lockdown consequences.

I get that if you don't understand that, then the rest of us will seem like monsters.

We aren't.