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Take the save-the-planet blueprint behind zero population growth one step further, and you’ve got the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (or “VHEMT” for short, except that that “T” doesn’t stand for anything, and seems to have been inserted solely to make the resultant acronym vaguely pronounceable as “vehement”).
Species self-destruction as a green act. It’s the chic approach, I’ll grant you. Not that anyone’s pushing anyone else off a cliff, as summarized in the VHEMT’s unofficial motto: “May We Live Long and Die Out”.
As for the story behind the group’s logo:
V stands for Voluntary – a value to keep foremost among us as conditions change. The V shape also depicts the confluence of logic and love to make a receptive and balanced point.
Our world is shown undergoing a revolution of 180 degrees: the opposite view of what we’re used to. Our direction must shift radically for us to preserve life and restore ecosystems. Also, upside down emblems are symbols of distress.
Very symbolic. I’d also like to point out that this is another example of a “V”-based logo resemblant of the one used in the 1984 film version of 1984. I observed the first instance years ago, on the packaging of Atkins Diet products. Maybe Atkins is in on this — stealth population-pruning via nutritionally-deficient no-carb self-starvation? As I said back then, draw your own conclusions.
To avoid that totalitarianist vibe, they should adopt this cheerier artwork as the VHEMT logo:
It’s not as compact stylistically, but using cutesy artwork of a dinosaur and (I presume) dodo bird to get the self-snuffout message across is a better bet, I think. Heck, even the zero-pop folks wised up years ago and adopted a friendlier label to further their cause.
And yes, this post serves as a complementary companion to yesterday’s piece about the concept behind Alan Weisman’s “The World Without Us”.
I haven’t seen the 1984 logo, but the VHEMT logo also resembles VO whiskey’s. It’s also like a peace sign made with two fingers and the palm out, or the victory sign with the back of the hand out.
I think it looks most like the letter “V” in our alphabet. Merely a coincidence?
As you point out, we’re not promoting “species self-destruction” so we’re not trying “to get the self-snuffout message across.” Voluntarily ceasing to breed will greatly decrease human deaths.
The fact that Population Connection isn’t able to advocate Zero Population Growth because of prevailing attitudes reveals the depth of our cultural conditioning. Human breeding remains the sacred cow in our living room.
Les
Comment by Les U. Knight — 09/05/2007 @ 10:07 AM
To see the 1984 logo from the film, click here. The banner across the center of the “V” is the common design element, I think.
Thanks for the input. And also for demonstrating that, like many a social advocate, you seem completely devoid of humor when it comes to your cause.
Comment by CT — 09/06/2007 @ 12:04 AM
Thank you for the 1984 logo. Sure does look a lot like the VHEMT logo, alright. At the risk of being a nuisance, do you know when that was created? As you say, it’s a common design.
The first two paragraphs of my comment were meant to be funny, so I’ll have to accep criticism that I’m completely devoid of humor — that’s not too subtle to be funny — when it comes to my cause, though I’d hate to believe it myself. Don’t you think the line “human breeding remains the sacred cow in our living room” has some humor?
I might have to contract out the humor writing if my lines keep falling flat like this.
Les
Comment by Les U. Knight — 09/09/2007 @ 8:12 AM
I didn’t say it was “a common design”, I said that the banner across the V, in both logos, was the common design element — i.e., the feature they had in common that made them look so similar to me.
I don’t have any inside info on the film logo. But since the movie 1984 did come out in — yes — 1984, I’d guess it was designed that year, if not earlier.
(And if all that was another attempt at humor… better luck next time
)
Comment by CT — 09/09/2007 @ 4:22 PM