this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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Natal conference, to be held in Austin in December, promoted on far-right podcast circuit and set to host self-described eugenicists

A high-end hotel in the liberal Texan enclave of Austin is playing host to a conference whose theme is boosting global birth rates, but which will in fact feature racist and eugenicist internet personalities and far-right media figures.

The Natal conference – whose website warns that “by the end of the century, nearly every country on earth will have a shrinking population, and economic systems dependent on reliable growth will collapse” – is scheduled to be held on 1 December at the Line Hotel.

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[–] [email protected] 63 points 1 year ago

economic systems dependent on reliable growth will collapse

Huh, maybe that's the actual problem.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Tbh, given all the stupid and crazy shit happening on the right side of our political system, I figured it was only a matter of time before eugenics made a very unwelcome yet unironic comeback.

Next stop: phrenology!

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago

Eugenics never went anywhere, it's ableism, racism, classism, massively impactful systems we all live under (but only those of us impacted seem to notice).
It's in every cut to health, welfare, social, and communal services.
It's in every legislation that then criminalises desperate marginalised people for looking for ways to survive anyway.
It's in every headline and tv show vilifying poor people, using disabled people or immigrants as scapegoats, perpetuating white supremacy.
It is an inseparable and essential part of the octopus of capitalism and all of its oppressive arms. Both are based on the fucked up pseudoscientific idea of social "Darwinism" (an idea Darwin himself rejected) and a twisting of so called "human nature" to serve their purpose - concentrate power in the hands of the few who deem themselves superior.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I learned something new today: Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

In one of the Discworld novels by Sir Terry there is mention of a retrophrenologist. Someone who uses a hammer to adjust the person's skull so they gain the desired traits.

And I'm trying to decide if I should advertise such a service to these goofballs, because someone would probably fall for it.

EDIT: "Feet of Clay" is the novel in question.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Oh, phrenology's been back for a while. Or at the very least, these idiots have been taking tape measures to bones because of bigoted nonsense. Phrenology in the historical sense might actually be too complex for them.

Incel communities have long been touting the existence of a dating appeal hierarchy based on "canthal tilt" and "hunter eyes." They believe that you're born more or less likely to pick up "Stacies" based on the subtle shape of your eyebrows and chin. Meanwhile, "transvestigators" take the "we can always tell" insistence of transphobes to such insane depths that they think they can tell from photographs and video that every person they see on TV is transgender and secretly part of a literal satanic cult because of minute observations that they think they're making about celebrity bone structure. Oh, yeah, and it's a huge staple of transphobia just in general. "Transvestigators" have just raised it to what they think is an art form, but is really just raw, concentrated delusion.

Never underestimate the depths of pseudoscience to which people will stoop in order to create out-groups. You will always be disappointed.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago

Disgusting people. I hope the list of attendees is leaked.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (18 children)

The world has almost 8 billion people. Maybe we could do with a few less.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think that according to economists, no. We just need enough to keep the replacement rate up.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Which economists? I'm sure I can find some who believe that population should be reduced. Economics is more opinion than science.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

The prevailing consensus of economists in capitalist countries is that we should just keep running on that treadmill to generate “limitless” growth.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

For reasons I don't understand, people seem to be incapable of separating any discussion of overpopulation from racism and eugenics. I think it's at the point where it's disingenuous, willful, or at the very least a massive blind spot in people talking about the problem. You should understand that bad people can embrace overpopulation with bad conclusions, and that should not taint reality. Hitler was an animal lover - does that mean it's wrong to love animals? That's the level of flawed argument we're dealing with here.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is a fine position if you're ok with your worst enemy getting to make the decision about who gets to procreate and live.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's not what is being suggested in this thread.

The suggestion is that people (all of them) should have better access to, and education about, contraception.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I responded to this:

The world has almost 8 billion people. Maybe we could do with a few less.

Which is vague. And vagueness is often used to give plausible deniability when eugenicists are on the march. So cool on you for giving such grace to an internet stranger, but when I read things like this, it always includes what is between the lines.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

Oh, Texas - the state that lets women die in childbirth because of nothing based on medical science whatsoever…great place to encourage women to get pregnant.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

and economic systems dependent on reliable growth will collapse

We don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn

Burn, motherfucker, burn

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

Not that much of a revelation. We've already seen what these weirdos think in their Twitter posts.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

You can’t have reliable growth when the system cannibalizes everything. These people are next level stupid and their money should be taken away.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

quelle surprise! protip: all white supremacy at it's core is eugenics

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Shocked Pikachu jpg

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sounds about white!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I forget which racist right wing news site it was.

The sidebar has a graph when white people will be the minority.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

But they seemed like such lovely people.

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