Latest news with #Efilism
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Anti-natalism, the cynical philosophy linked to Saturday's disturbing cirme
Officials say Saturday's bomb in Palm Springs, California, was set off by Guy Edward Bartkus, a 25-year-old who was found dead at the scene and is believed to have been killed by the blast. Authorities seem quite certain that the fertility clinic damaged in the explosion was the target of Bartkus' wrath. With the who and the what of the crime fairly established, the more complex question of why remains. What was the reason for the attack? The FBI quickly became the lead agency in this investigation when it determined the motive for the attack on the fertility clinic was ideological, and as I covered this event for MSNBC, my initial theory, based on my law enforcement experience, was that the suspected bomber may have been angry that some fertility clinics that provide IVF treatments discard some embryos that aren't implanted into patients' uteruses. The discarding of embryos has upset some anti-abortion-rights activists, but officials now believe it isn't the potential discarding of embryos that motivated the bomber. They think it was the opposite: that the clinic was a tangible representation of human reproduction. Based on what they believe to be Bartkus' social media posts and online videos, law enforcement officials are describing the suspected bomber as anti-natalist, someone who believes that bringing children into this world is neither worth it nor justified. Among the social media the FBI is examining is a video Bartkus posted along with a website espousing the termination of life and mentioning plans to bomb an IVF clinic. Some anti-natalists may even believe it to be immoral for people to have babies. Because life is just too painful, they say, and no one asks to be brought into the world. The frequently cited anti-natalist philosopher David Benatar, a former professor at the University of Cape Town and former head of its Bioethics Centre, wrote a book in 1996 called 'Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence.' There Benatar asserts, 'While good people go to great lengths to spare their children from suffering, few of them seem to notice that the one (and only) guaranteed way to prevent all the suffering of their children is not to bring those children into existence in the first place.' Benatar isn't known to advocate violence. He has written, 'Anti-natalists are not committed to any particular views about when violence is and is not justified.' However, the online platform Reddit confirmed Monday that it took down a 10,000-member anti-natalist subreddit community for violating an anti-violence policy. That community, which isn't the only anti-natalist subreddit, is called Efilism, which, according to NBC News, 'takes its name from 'life' spelled backward.' That news report describes efilism as 'part of a constellation of anti-natalist philosophies that center on the belief that humans should stop procreating because of the ethical implications of continuing life on Earth.' It's unclear exactly what kind of anti-natalist teachings or philosophers the suspected bomber may have followed. Though information about anti-natalism may give us some insight into the bombing suspect, there are multiple indications that Bartkus, over the course of his life, had dealt with serious challenges. His father, who hadn't seen his son in 10 years, told The New York Times that when his son was 9, he burned down the family home while playing with matches and was sentenced to juvenile probation. In 2016, for reasons that aren't clear, a court ordered the then-teenager to enter therapy. Brian Levin, professor emeritus and founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, has a take on anti-natalism adherents that can help us further understand the suspect's motivations. 'Within this movement, I.V.F. is certainly disfavored, but so is procreative sex,' Levin told The New York Times. He said the suspect 'probably targeted an establishment that was most directly related in some way to this twisted take on that philosophy.' Citing the prevalence of domestic terrorism perpetrated by young men who are socially isolated and join fringe communities, Levin told the newspaper, 'Our terrorism problem is as much of a mental health issue as it is an ideological one.' Levin is right. It's one thing to identify with a particular philosophy; it's another thing to take the giant step of planning and executing violence, even risking or inviting your own death in furtherance of that philosophy. That's why Levin's link between the Palm Springs bombing and mental health, young men, social isolation and fringe online communities is so troubling. Levin is saying the scary part out loud. If there's something we have no shortage of in today's world, it's fringe online communities, social isolation and young men searching for meaning. Law enforcement officials, parents, teacher and counselors should take heed. There may be more Guy Bartkuses out there. We've got to identify those young people and get them the kind of help that shows them that, whatever their philosophies, there are better options than setting off destructive bombs. This article was originally published on
Gizmodo
20-05-2025
- Gizmodo
Reddit Bans Fringe Anti-Humanity Group After Attack on Palm Springs IVF Clinic
An explosion outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, killed one person and injured four others Saturday morning in what the FBI has called an act of terrorism. The suspect in the bombing, 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus, was the lone death from the blast, and it seems apparent he held anti-human views. Now Reddit has banned a subreddit tied to the suspect's ideology. Bartkus is believed to be the person who detonated a bomb at the Palm Springs American Reproductive Center, which offers services like IVF, because he was aligned with the pro-mortalist and anti-natalist movements—the idea that humans should not continue to procreate. Bartkus appears to have been posting to various subreddits, including r/Efilism, which advocated for violence. Reddit has now banned r/Efilism for violating its terms of service. 'Violence has no place on Reddit,' a spokesperson for the platform told Gizmodo over email. 'Our sitewide rules strictly prohibit any content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence. In line with these rules, we are removing any instances of the suspect's manifesto or recordings and hashing to prevent reupload. We're also closely monitoring the communities on our platform to ensure compliance with our rules.' Proponents of Efilism (the word 'life' spelled backwards) are often known as anti-natalists, which is a more common name for the ideology, though Bartkus described himself as pro-mortalist in his 30-minute audio manifesto. Anti-natalism is a philosophy that advocates for people not to procreate, while pro-mortalists go beyond those anti-natalist ideas to advocate for death in all forms under the theory that because life is suffering it's ethical to end your own life and even those around you in the process. Bartkus posted an audio file to his website explaining why he was targeting the clinic, filled with logical inconsistencies and general incoherence. Bartkus said he wanted to begin 'sterilizing this planet of the disease of life,' but mentioned the recent suicide of his best friend affecting him deeply. Bartkus wrote on his personal website, 'It's just too much of a loss when there's nobody else you really relate to significantly.' He was clearly struggling with personal issues beyond whatever philosophy to which he was supposedly swearing allegiance. That website has now been taken offline. There are other anti-natalist forums beyond r/Efilism on Reddit that haven't been banned and some, like r/circlesnip—which includes a description reading, 'The Vegan Antinatalist Circlejerk'—put out statements denouncing the attack on the IVF clinic. 'It has come to my attention that the individual responsible for today's bombing in Palm Springs namedropped our communities in their suicide note. Though they struggled with personal grief and mental health issues, their act of terrorism was unjustifiable, incoherent, immoral, and disgusting,' the statement reads. The moderator went on to say that their version of anti-natalism is 'explicitly one of non-violence' and said that it should be up to each individual to 'make their own reproductive decisions.' 'The philosophy we represent is explicitly one of non-violence,' the moderator continued. 'We believe it is up to each individual to make their own reproductive decisions. We hope that the Palm Springs American Reproductive Center can rebuild and resume operations.' Other anti-natalist subreddits run by the same moderator, r/Vystopia and r/antinatalism, posted the same statement condemning violence. The r/Efilism subreddit had about 12,000 members before it was banned, according to The Independent, which is certainly not large by Reddit standards. The biggest communities on Reddit have tens of millions of members. The term Elifism was reportedly coined by a fringe YouTuber named Gary Inmendham, who Bartkus mentions by name in his audio manifesto. Inmendham posted a video after the bombing saying that Bartkus had done something 'really stupid, dumb, pointless, and even show-offy,' referring to it as a 'dumbass act of violence.' Inmendham said that he's even 'against protesters' so he's 'obviously against terrorists.' Bartkus, who sounds deeply insecure about his philosophy in his audio manifesto, said that he was driven to commit the bombing because he couldn't find people to connect with online to discuss things anymore because spaces like YouTube and X were being censored of anti-natalist content. Bartkus also insisted that while the internet is being 'manipulated,' he was immune to the manipulation. Bartkus also said in the recording that he was a vegan and seem fixated on the welfare of animals, referring in his audio recording to 'animals raped on farms,' but then going on to say that nature itself was horrifying in a way that even surpassed the suffering caused by humans. All life was suffering that needed to end, in his book. A YouTube account associated with Bartkus, which is now offline, reportedly contained explosions tests, according to ABC News. The size of the Palm Springs blast was considerable, stretching about 250 yards, with Akil Davis, assistant director at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, describing it to NPR as, 'probably the largest bombing scene that we've had in Southern California.' The FBI released a report last month about Nihilist Violent Extremists (NVE), though the definition is so loose that it can be applied pretty broadly to all kinds of ideologies. In this case, however, nihilism does seem to fit well as a descriptor for a philosophy grounded in destroying all of humanity for nebulous ends.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Reddit bans an anti-natalist group after Palm Springs explosion
Reddit has banned a community devoted to a nihilistic, anti-life philosophy after the FBI said a weekend explosion outside a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic was linked to a suspect who held anti-natalist beliefs. On Monday, a Reddit spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that it had banned the r/Efilism subreddit after the explosion, which killed the suspect and injured four others. Other anti-natalist subreddits remain on the platform. Reddit said the community was banned because of the platform's rules forbidding the promotion of self-harm. It was working to remove posts containing audio clips and images of what is believed to be writings published ahead of the explosion, a spokesperson said in a statement. Portions of the content were widely distributed on various social media platforms, including Reddit. 'Violence has no place on Reddit,' the spokesperson said. 'Our sitewide rules strictly prohibit any content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence. In line with these rules, we are removing any instances of the suspect's manifesto or recordings and hashing to prevent reupload. We're also closely monitoring the communities on our platform to ensure compliance with our rules.' Efilism (which takes its name from 'life' spelled backward) is part of a constellation of anti-natalist philosophies that center on the belief that humans should stop procreating because of the ethical implications of continuing life on Earth. Some in the community believe more active steps should be taken to end human life on Earth, and archived discussions from the now-banned subreddit show users discussing what the best way to end society might be. The fringe philosophy has found an audience online, particularly on Reddit, where the Efilism community had over 10,000 subscribers, according to archives. The suspect in the explosion, Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, held 'anti-natalist' views, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation who said they believed the views drove the suspect's actions. In a website published before the explosion and in an associated audio recording, which authorities are still working to verify, a person can be heard describing himself as a 'promortalist,' who believes humanity should end and that it is unethical to bring more humans into the world. The website directly referenced Efilism, along with several Reddit communities devoted to anti-natalism or related philosophies. Two of those subreddits or people associated with them released statements distancing themselves from the suspect and his philosophies. The head moderator of two active anti-natalism communities on Reddit wrote in a statement that 'their act of terrorism was unjustifiable, incoherent, immoral, and disgusting. The philosophy we represent is explicitly one of non-violence. We believe it is up to each individual to make their own reproductive decisions.' If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, or go to to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, or visit This article was originally published on
The Intercept
19-05-2025
- The Intercept
What is 'Efilism,' the Obscure Anti-Natalist Ideology of the Palm Springs Bomber?
When a 25-year-old detonated a car bomb and himself outside a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday, the local interim federal prosecutor, a Donald Trump appointee, was quick to accuse the bomber of harboring 'anti pro-life' sentiment. Well, in a sense, yes. But if the suggestion was that bomber Guy Edward Bartkus was primarily motivated by abortion rights, the accusation missed the point. Barkus might be more accurately described not so much as anti-pro-life, but rather plain, old anti-life. Bartkus subscribed to a fringe philosophy that opposes human life in every form. Bartkus, it turned out, subscribed to a fringe philosophy, circulating primarily among a small group of online adherents, that opposes human life in every form. Dubbed efilism — for 'life' spelled backwards — or anti-natalism, supporters of the philosophy argue that people should avoid having children because human existence is too miserable to justify. Bartkus appears to have taken the ideology a step further than most subscribers in dying by a suicide accompanied by a spectacular act of violence. By his own account, Bartkus also suffered from mental health problems. The Saturday bombing outside the reproductive health clinic left Bartkus dead and four other people injured, according to authorities. None of the clinic's embryos were damaged since they are stored off-site, the clinic's director said. The American Reproductive Centers clinic offers services such as in vitro fertilization, egg freezing, and egg donation, according to its website. It does not offer abortion services. In an online manifesto attributed to Bartkus, he dubbed his views 'pro-mortalism.' 'All a promortalist is saying is let's make it happen sooner rather than later (and preferably peaceful rather than some disease or accident), to prevent your future suffering, and, more importantly, the suffering your existence will cause to all the other sentient beings,' the apparent manifesto said, according to a copy reviewed by The Intercept. 'The end goal is for the truth (Efilism) to win, and once it does, we can finally begin the process of sterilizing this planet of the disease of life.' Bartkus elaborated in a 30-minute audio recording that his father told news outlets was authentic. Police sources told multiple media outlets that they are investigating the manifesto. 'Basically, it just comes down to, I'm angry that I exist,' Bartkus says in the audio attributed to him. 'Nobody got my consent to bring me here.' Elsewhere in the audio recording, Bartkus complained about IVF clinics, arguing with imagined critics of his views. Bartkus's website also pointed to a since-blocked group on Reddit called 'Efilism.' The group's description states that 'EFILism is the belief that DNA, and the suffering of sentient consciousness, is the greatest problem in the universe.' A more academic version of the philosophy called anti-natalism is primarily associated with the South African philosopher David Benatar, who has written extensively on the thesis. 'Although the good things in one's life make one's life go better than it otherwise would have gone, one could not have been deprived by their absence if one had not existed,' according to the Oxford University Press summary of one of Benatar's books. 'Those who never exist cannot be deprived. However, by coming into existence one does suffer quite serious harms that could not have befallen one had one not come into existence.' While Benatar has been profiled in outlets such as the New Yorker, Bartkus pointed to more notorious or obscure figures in his online manifesto. Along with the writings of Sandy Hook, Connecticut, Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza, Bartkus also directed readers to the YouTube videos of an influential figure in the small online world of Efilism who goes by 'inmendham.' The YouTuber posted a video Sunday denouncing the bombing of the fertility clinic. 'The fact is that there's people in the world who are lonely, and some that are crazy, and this that and the other thing,' inmendham said. 'They have some reason to be despondent, and they have low investment in their existence, and those are dangerous people.' Bartkus's father told the New York Times that he had not seen his son in 10 years. Bartkus burned down the family's house in 2009 when he was 9 years old, his father said. Bartkus said on his website that he had borderline personality disorder. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with that mental health condition have 'a pattern of unstable, intense relationships, as well as impulsiveness and an unhealthy way of seeing themselves.' The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers 24-hour support for those experiencing difficulties or those close to them, by chat or by telephone at 988.
NBC News
19-05-2025
- NBC News
Reddit bans anti-natalists after Palm Springs explosion
Reddit has banned a community devoted to a nihilistic, anti-life philosophy after the FBI said a weekend explosion outside a Palm Springs, California, fertility clinic was linked to a suspect who held anti-natalist beliefs. On Monday, a Reddit spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that it had banned the r/Efilism subreddit after the explosion, which killed the suspect and injured four others. Reddit said the community was banned because of the platform's rules forbidding the promotion of self-harm. It was working to remove posts containing audio clips and images of what is believed to be writings published ahead of the explosion, a spokesperson said in a statement. Portions of the content were widely distributed on various social media platforms, including Reddit. 'Violence has no place on Reddit,' the spokesperson said. 'Our sitewide rules strictly prohibit any content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence. In line with these rules, we are removing any instances of the suspect's manifesto or recordings and hashing to prevent reupload. We're also closely monitoring the communities on our platform to ensure compliance with our rules.' Efilism (which takes its name from 'life' spelled backward) is part of a constellation of anti-natalist philosophies that center on the belief that humans should stop procreating because of the ethical implications of continuing life on Earth. Some in the community believe more active steps should be taken to end human life on Earth, and archived discussions from the now-banned subreddit show users discussing what the best way to end society might be. The fringe philosophy has found an audience online, particularly on Reddit, where the Efilism community had over 10,000 subscribers, according to archives. The suspect in the explosion, Guy Edward Bartkus, 25, held 'anti-natalist' views, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation who said they believed the views drove the suspect's actions. In a website published before the explosion and in an associated audio recording, which authorities are still working to verify, a person can be heard describing himself as a 'promortalist,' who believes humanity should end and that it is unethical to bring more humans into the world. The website directly referenced Efilism, along with several Reddit communities devoted to anti-natalism or related philosophies. Two of those subreddits or people associated with them released statements distancing themselves from the suspect and his philosophies. The head moderator of two active anti-natalism communities on Reddit wrote in a statement that 'their act of terrorism was unjustifiable, incoherent, immoral, and disgusting. The philosophy we represent is explicitly one of non-violence. We believe it is up to each individual to make their own reproductive decisions.'
