Life has its ups and its downs. You work, play, consume, sleep, but you also deal with discomfort. No matter who you are and what situation you’re in, you have your own issues that make life tougher than you’d prefer. But none of this would be happening if you were never born. According to Raphael Samuel (27), an anti-natalist from Mumbai, India, being born is a cause to sue your own parents.
Thanks to his controversial remarks, Samuel is stirring up quite a raucous on his Facebook page, “Nihilanand.” He regularly posts videos and memes defending his idea that you were born without consent, that your parents chose to bring you into this messed-up world, and that’s just not fair.
Some people think he’s joking. Some think he’s insensitive. Some actually like him. But one thing remains: people keep paying attention to him.
Sporting his signature fake black beard and dark sunglasses, Raphael Samuel might look a bit ridiculous in his disguise, especially paired with his extravagant remarks, but he continues to advocate for the everyday person. He keeps preaching that parents are selfish and don’t deserve respect for giving their children a life they didn’t ask for.
He frequently creates memes to highlight his ideas. In these images, he poses next to brightly colored quotes. One of his recent ones states, “A good parent puts the child above its desires and needs, but the child itself is a desire of the parent. #ParentsAreHypocrites.”
Oddly enough, Samuel claims that he has a great relationship with his parents (DailyMail). He believes that even if he doesn’t disrespect them, it doesn’t mean he is obligated to appreciate them just for bringing him here.
In one video titled, “Why am I suing my parents?”, Raphael Samuel states that his mother responded positively to his ideas, but his father is still coming to terms with it. He is “warming up to the idea.” For someone who claims that you don’t have to respect your parents, he sure has some nice ones he’s dealing with.
As “Nihilanand” grows in exposure and snarky online comments, Samuel gets closer and closer to suing his parents. People are backing his ideas, letting him know that he is making a “good point” on Facebook images that claim, “Your parents had you instead of a toy or a dog. You owe them nothing. You are their entertainment.”
Samuel has even gone so far as to compare having children to kidnapping (due to the lack of consent) and slavery (for the benefit of the parent/owner). While many of his ideas seem to lean more towards clickbait and online trolling, his primary goal is to make sure the world knows that having children is a choice. In a world where it’s almost expected for every human to procreate, he wants to break the pattern and prove that there are reasons not to have children too.
What do you think? Does he have a point, or is he just trolling all of us?
