Mario Buenfil, 73, a water engineer in Mexico City who has been involved with the movement for 20 years, said: “For me, it is very good news that this kind of group exists, because an ordinary person, with this kind of philosophy, feels alone. five.
However, the words “voluntary human extinction” often elicit appalling reactions, and terms such as “ecological fascism” and “Malthusian” are often campaigned within the group. John Seager, president of Population Connect, a nonprofit that advocates stabilizing populations through voluntary measures, likened it to a sideshow. However, if the group’s provocative name and seemingly belligerent stance suggest a hot-tempered or even threatening founder, Mr. Knight is unlikely to be anything else.
Tall and gentle, Mr. Knight has bright and pensive eyes, like a combination of Bill Nye and Fred Rogers. Although Mr. Knight may be opposed to creating more people, but he shows great compassion for those who already exist.
As a substitute teacher at a high school for most of his working life, Mr. Knight was well-liked by his students. He spends hours every Sunday morning picking up trash from a nearby main road. During an interview, he paused to appreciate two succulent garden spiders basking in the sun on cobwebs strung between hedges and lawn chairs. The sighting is a reason to celebrate, Mr Knight said, after so many creatures were killed during last year’s heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. Declaring himself a serial monogamist, he lives alone, but his girlfriend lives next door and is fully supportive of his cause.
Marv Ross, Mr Knight’s former college roommate and longtime friend, said: ‘He doesn’t have a big ego, he’s always cocky, he doesn’t try to argue with people. “He was always funny, making his message as amusing as possible, and I have seen him do that many times. He will distract those who are upset with a joke or a smile.”
As a child growing up in a tolerant family in Oregon, Mr. Knight watched logging companies cut down the state’s forests. After enlisting in the Vietnam War (he served but was never deployed), he attended Oregon Teachers College and participated in the local program on No Population Growth, which This reinforced his determination not to have children. “It’s always about the ecosystem, because of the damage people do to the environment,” he said.
