# Any human supremacists out there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 27, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024 "2006-03-27T02:00:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/1 "2006-03-27T02:00:32Z")
I would use the words humanist or humanitarian but they both mean something else. Human supremacist means exactly that, people whose primary loyalties lie with the survival of our species. If necessary to the expense of everything else. People often try to serve a cause greater than themselves. Whether it is guerrillas fighting for freedom, missionaries converting infidels, doctors without frontiers or good cops trying to take a bite out of crime, we glorify personal sacrifices for the greater good. Just like an ant might sacrifice itself for the greater good of the colony. My question is: is there a movement that is solely dedicated to the survival of our species without any moral, ideological strings attached. Something like : THE HUMAN RACE SHALL PREVAIL! BOW BEFORE MANKIND OR BE DESTROYED! šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/2 "2006-03-27T02:02:04Z")
This list shall be useful to me and my Cetacean brethren. Yes, foolish primates, reveal yourselves! You shall be first up against the coral when the revolution comesā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/3 "2006-03-27T02:13:03Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > This list shall be useful to me and my Cetacean brethren. Yes, foolish primates, reveal yourselves! You shall be first up against the coral when the revolution comesā€¦ Does anyone else hear the ā€œCraaaab peopleā€ song from _that southpark episode_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/4 "2006-03-27T02:14:09Z")
Woops! leave it to me to read cetacean as crustacean. I got nothing in the way of whale jokesā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/5 "2006-03-27T02:15:41Z")
Yep. Count me as one of those ā€œpeople-firstā€ nutters. As much as possible, protect other life-forms. But when it comes to the crunch, monkey-boys first. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/6 "2006-03-27T02:27:01Z")
Well, I donā€™t think itā€™s quite what you mean, but I think human beings have responsibilities towards other humans that supercede other ethical considerations towards other species. For example, I support the use of animals in medical research. The possibility of curing human diseases trumps the ethical obligation to not cause suffering. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/7 "2006-03-27T02:34:54Z")
Perhaps they donā€™t qualify under your rules, but some eastern-bloc communists would probably have identified with those statements. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/8 "2006-03-27T02:41:24Z")
> [@kellner](#): > > Perhaps they donā€™t qualify under your rules, but some eastern-bloc communists would probably have identified with those statements. Well, donā€™t most people agree with that statement? I mean, I donā€™t think there are many people who think that animals are better than people or that you should put animalsā€™ well being over peoples. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/9 "2006-03-27T03:07:44Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Well, donā€™t most people agree with that statement? I mean, I donā€™t think there are many people who think that animals are better than people or that you should put animalsā€™ well being over peoples. I thought the OP was referring to a more extreme position that advocates sacrificing everything else - certainly nature, if necessary some number of individual humans - as long as it is seen as beneficial for the survival of humanity, even if it could be avoided without immediate problems. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/10 "2006-03-27T03:37:49Z")
Iā€™d say those trying, and wanting, to go to Mars. And possibly terraforming the planet to get the conditions right for survival. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/11 "2006-03-27T04:00:26Z")
> [@kellner](#): > > I thought the OP was referring to a more extreme position that advocates sacrificing everything else - certainly nature, if necessary some number of individual humans - as long as it is seen as beneficial for the survival of humanity, even if it could be avoided without immediate problems. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/12 "2006-03-27T06:15:37Z")
Iā€™m one of them. See [this article](http://www.cs.usu.edu/~degaris/artilectwar2.html) by Hugo de Garis. I didnā€™t get my ideas from him, but mine and his mesh up quite nicely. Iā€™m a Terran, though ā€“ it would be a shame to have to try to assassinate him if his research into AI ever got seriously moving. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/13 "2006-03-27T07:15:45Z")
> [@kellner](#): > > I thought the OP was referring to a more extreme position that advocates sacrificing everything else - certainly nature, if necessary some number of individual humans - as long as it is seen as beneficial for the survival of humanity, even if it could be avoided without immediate problems. I would not put myself in that camp. If it came down to humanity v. Earth, I would choose Earth. I donā€™t know if I could place a solid reason behind it for doing so, but thatā€™s the choice Iā€™d make. Plus Iā€™ve lived with enough cats to know human ainā€™t that supreme. > [@Gozu](#): > > Woops! leave it to me to read cetacean as crustacean. I got nothing in the way of whale jokesā€¦ Old bumbersticker: Save the whales ā€¦ collect the whole set. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/14 "2006-03-27T07:28:00Z")
Iā€™m another of those humanist nutters, as silenus says. šŸ™‚ > [@Agnostic Pagan](#): > > I would not put myself in that camp. If it came down to humanity v. Earth, I would choose Earth. I donā€™t know if I could place a solid reason behind it for doing so, but thatā€™s the choice Iā€™d make. I seriously have never gotten this attitude. Granted, I hope its never a choice between either having humans or the earth butā€¦if it WERE a choice Iā€™d choose humans any day (and twice on sunday). YMMV. šŸ™‚ -XT ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/15 "2006-03-27T07:48:48Z")
Butā€¦itā€™s not like we live in a vacuum, which just happens to have a few plants and animals hanging around. Earth is a complex eco-system, so, in the end preserving our environment and trying not to make other species extinct will help _us_ not to become extinct. I mean, worrying about melting ice-caps and de-forestation isnā€™t just about aving penguins and amazonian birds, itā€™s about realising that we are bettter off if we can live above sea-level and breathe the air! So yes, Iā€™m all for animal testing (if itā€™s humane as possible) and have no problem eating meat (but not battery-farmed eggs), but I think that sometimes you need to look at the big picture, which means putting human need for a new shopping mall or oil-drilling platform second to the human need to still be around in a few millenia. Part of being the at the top of the tree, and sentient means that we have a responsibility to look after the planet and preserve our environment. I donā€™t want to live in a wasteland devoid of everyother non-human life-form, just because we could (which, BTW we canā€™t). ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/16 "2006-03-27T11:00:59Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Iā€™m another of those humanist nutters, as silenus says. šŸ™‚ > > I seriously have never gotten this attitude. Granted, I hope its never a choice between either having humans or the earth butā€¦if it WERE a choice Iā€™d choose humans any day (and twice on sunday). YMMV. šŸ™‚ > > -XT But, if you _automatically_ choose humans over the earth, no matter the specifics of the argument, arenā€™t you either actually or, if not that, maybe more importantly, eventually condemning the humans as well? Do you never see any eventuality whatsoever that might force the question? Or is it just so unlikely to have to be answered in our lifetime, the question is rather irrelevant? Even so, do you see it entirely outside the realm of possibilities our descendants will never have to answer that question? (Note: Iā€™m more than willing to be told Iā€™m way off base, Iā€™d like to hear the arguments. I had a couple thoughts I almost posted, but Iā€™d almost rather wait to be told Iā€™m way off base to elaborate. Iā€™ve been in a weird, fatalistic mood this last week or two, and I worry it might be clouding my arguments/thought processes. Also note Iā€™ve not decided where I ultimately stand on that question. I just think thereā€™s quite alot of variables that preclude siding with either ā€œsideā€ as a foregone conclusion. Or possibly, itā€™s the ā€œattempting to quit smoking and turning 34 in the same weekendā€ thatā€™s turned me off humanity in general. Iā€™ll let you know in a week or two šŸ˜‰ ) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/17 "2006-03-27T12:23:48Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > This list shall be useful to me and my Cetacean brethren. Yes, foolish primates, reveal yourselves! You shall be first up against the coral when the revolution comesā€¦ I, for one, welcome our new Cetacean overlords. šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/18 "2006-03-27T12:37:39Z")
Also, because the good old Earth is such an ecosystem and everything depends on everything in some way, shape or form (food cycles, for example), isnā€™t it possible that humans are no more important than any other bit of life? Of course, we can argue that we are, you know, because weā€™re biased towards wanting to life. Thereā€™s nothing necessarily wrong with that. What would be wrong is to guarantee our survival over every other living thing. A world in which there is ONLY humans is no world in which i want to live. ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/19 "2006-03-27T16:07:41Z")
We can get another planet but not another human race. In a pinch, I officially cast my vote against the mudball circling the sun and its untrustworthy non-human inhabitants. Labrador puppies notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024/20 "2006-03-27T22:09:59Z")
Not me! I side with the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-human-supremacists-out-there/350024.md?page=2)