If you had the power to end all life on Earth (or the Universe) would you?

[RosebyAnyName]

Yes. Humanity has caused too many problems not just to other humans, but to the planet and all life on earth. Humanity really has gotten out of control, and if I don't push the button now then, based on the facts, the top 1% will make it happen in the next 100 years anyways with climate change. It will just be slower, more painful, and will result in more collateral damage, but everyone will still die regardless.

 

[Anonymoususer1234]

No. Genocide = bad.

 

[oneeyed]

Only if the following are true...
I get to wear a gold gauntlet with fancy jewels in it
I also need to snap my fingers as I press the button
The button is the red one from staples that has "Easy" printed on it
I get to say, "I am inevitable"

 

[february in alaska]

If it's only humans, and not other animals and plants and forms of life, AND it's painless and instant, I would. Which probably makes me a terrible person and a hypocrite based on the fact that I strongly believe people should get to choose for themselves whether they live or die

But I think I could take the blame and still feel like I was doing it for the greater good.... I've seen just how fucking awful our species is. There are individual people I love, but as a whole humans are a parasite to every other living thing and this planet, and the world would be better off without us

 

[lucas28481]

I believe there is the unlikely but nevertheless possibility that in the future, medical science will advance to the point humans become practically immortal, this would amplify the suffering to everyone with mental illnesses. and it could be used as torture for some criminals, holding them for indefinite periods of time isolated in cells. (where it would be considerably hard to ctb

Humans were never meant to live in the conditions we live in anyway - crowded cities with little access to nature, mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety were far less prevalent in hunter gather societies. We live a sedentary life with no need to exercice, we don't sleep enough. Children are raised to think in a particular way to fit in to society

I would end all life in the universe, if there are other signs of life in the universe, there is the chance that they have even more problems than we do on earth.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Yes, I would though I'll admit I'm biased as humans have done nothing for me except made me miserable. If I had the power to kill them all, I would use it

 

[grahf]

I'd rather have power to end anyone who want to ctb and let alone everyone who enjoy live

 

[mtoro998]

Only if the button ended the lives of all government, cops, and pedos because the world would probably actually be a good place without them. Anyone else should be able to decide if they want to live or not.

 

[sserafim]

What about if you had the power to prevent the first reaction billions of years ago that created life?

 

[bluedream]

Even if you think eliminating humanity ends human suffering, it doesn't. It ends all chance of ending human suffering, properly. no solution, just death. I'll choose that for myself, but not for anyone else.

 

[mtoro998]

What about if you had the power to prevent the first reaction billions of years ago that created life?

There were probably hundreds of thousands or millions of years were life wasnt bad. We just live in a fucked up time now where sheeple let thier government overlords control everything and make this place hell for some unknown reason. In the past they would have chased those clowns out with sharp blades.

 

[ultrasharpy123456]

as long as it's instant and painless yes of course

 

[Ces-io]

That's just mass murder with less steps. I wouldn't want to end anyone's life, as that is not my decision to make. Everyone deserves to decide for themselves.

 

[ringo99]

All of humanity? No. But there are a select few towards whom I feel raw hatred and would like nothing better than to smash their faces to a bloody pulp. The closer I get to ctb, the greater my rage grows against those who wronged me. How THE FUCK do they get to go on living while I suffer? The best (worst?) part is that all of them aren't that difficult to find.

 

[A Human?]

Yes. Without hesitation. I'm sorry, but we are a virus and I hate everything and everyone with the unquenchable energy of a nonstop killanova. I would love to take reality with me as I go.

i never asked reality to be born, yet here i am. It's only fair i return the favor and rob all reality of its agency.

I'd press it twice, if there was a guarantee of maximum agony in the final moments for everything that has perception.

 

[Sprite_Geist]

No. I only want to take my own life; this does not mean that other people should be forced to die along with me. You are correct in saying that a species-wide "kill-switch" would stop all human suffering, but this would also remove the choice that every person has (or should have) when it comes to trying to remedy their pain. For (some) people this involves staying alive, and attempting to repair their circumstances if they believe that there even is a chance of improvement; for other people - like us - we might choose to do the opposite.

 

[Exiled]

Nah, I'm all about free will. Just because I feel like I'd be better off dead, doesn't mean my neighbor feels that way.

I am sure you didn't mean it this way but this can paint suicidal people in a bad light. We don't want to hurt anyone. We just want to stop hurting. Nor do we want to take autonomy away from other people. We aren't trying to take people into the pits with us, we just want to be able to go there without prevention if we so choose.

 

[KANCEL]

Nope, just me

 

[hibikikyuxx]

Maybe. Maybe not. If there was a button that ends the lives of all abusers, rapists, and murderers, then I would 100% press it.

It's funny though how there are people in the comments saying "No, you have no right to decide what's good for others, free will blablabla", as if procreation isn't normalized in society even though it's selfish asf and creates a whole new person that is forced to slave away for decades and experience suffering all because of their parents.

 

[sserafim]

All of humanity? No. But there are a select few towards whom I feel raw hatred and would like nothing better than to smash their faces to a bloody pulp. The closer I get to ctb, the greater my rage grows against those who wronged me. How THE FUCK do they get to go on living while I suffer? The best (worst?) part is that all of them aren't that difficult to find.

Well they're going to become slaves to capitalism for the rest of their lives. The thought of the people I hate having to work for a living fills me with glee and joy. I guess it's called schadenfreude. They'll also have to watch themselves grow old and decay in front of their own eyes before they eventually die from old age. Hopefully a painful death ;)

 

[kiveran]

Nope. I was happy (mostly) to be alive for a portion of my years. I wouldn't make that decision for others. And as for the universe itself, it's actually kinda cool, speaking as an amateur/wanna be astronomer. That said, I can grasp why eliminating all suffering eternally for everyone would lead some to do it.

 

[sserafim]

Even if you think eliminating humanity ends human suffering, it doesn't. It ends all chance of ending human suffering, properly. no solution, just death. I'll choose that for myself, but not for anyone else.

"Life is suffering"

 

[Gorgone]

This question is funny, it makes me think of the plot of Endwalker (currently the newest expansion from FFXIV, highly recommend)

No. Like many others have said I would never want to take away the choice of living from another person*. No matter how terrible I feel, now matter how hopeless and frustratingly bleak the rest of the world and what happens in it may seem, I don't have the right to take away someone else's opportunity to live.

*Stipulation that I absolutely do believe there are people that deserve to die, but with this question it's more about the eol of an "average" person, whom would be neither good nor bad.

 

[cantthinkofusername]

i would do it, if just for a painless, consequence free death
i know that its selfish, i know most people prefer life to death, but id still do it
i think in an ideal world, no one would exist, and nothing would happen, ever, for eternity

 

[Green Destiny]

I believe in individuals right to choose what they want. And such a decision should not be left to one person imo even if I don't like the human race all that much.

 

[Ulrich]

I would. I can form an opinion on whether it is right or wrong by virtue of the hypothetical, but if I were in a situation where it is fully realisable, I would not be evil if I went ahead with it, nor would I be good. No one would know. It would be as if humanity never existed.

But since there is no practical way to achieve this with certainty (eliminating all human life on earth in an instant, without exception) I can see how others would view it as evil.

 

[Iamtired]

My grief says yes, my empathy declares NO.

We are already doing it. Why rush it? Humans kill and take from each other EVERY SINGLE DAY. Every day there's a new tragedy to unfold. Everyday a child is born into poverty and the fight over resources continue. Every day someone else's greed kills.

I think that I would kill the people who run the show first- and somehow just let humans decide how to exist without monetary unit and material wealth as the ultimate force that drives existence. It would be utter chaos probably but it's better than watching this shit play out. And I won't want to live to watch it. I don't live for it.