British-born and Berlin based electronic producer Scuba (aka Paul Rose) took to Twitter on Saturday to share his thoughts on how to solve all of the world’s problems — a written test fitted with “a localized self destructing device” that would eliminate anyone with a who scored lower than 50%.
Solution to the world's problems: everyone on the planet takes a test simultaneously, adjusted to be of equal difficulty but appropriate /1
— Scuba (@ScubaOfficial) September 2, 2017
to the region. Results are instantly judged by a central database. Every test is fitted with a localised self destructing device, which /2
— Scuba (@ScubaOfficial) September 2, 2017
will be activated for the lowest 50% of performing papers only. Which happens, eliminating half the world's population. Upper 50% are /3
— Scuba (@ScubaOfficial) September 2, 2017
then provided with tools to clean up the mess around them. Thoughts? /ends
— Scuba (@ScubaOfficial) September 2, 2017
The overwhelming reactions against Scuba’s proposal were immediately negative — with many pointing out what he’s proposing is essentially eugenics.
so eugenics basically
— kai li (@kailimusic) September 2, 2017
You know that social cleansing happens already right? You're talking about mass genocide based on a 'perfect test'.
— Adam Janota Bzowski (@AdamHalogen) September 2, 2017
https://twitter.com/M3SAMUSIC/status/904480989099032576
https://twitter.com/kal3bee/status/904856071247941632
This morning, in a move that was part damage control and part “this was my plan all along!” Scuba took to Twitter and Facebook to explain that the dark picture he painted was “a horrific dystopian scenario” that will be the center of his newest record.
Hope you all enjoyed debating this horrific dystopian scenario. Now here's my new release. 👍 pic.twitter.com/fxyJf9tjMB
— Scuba (@ScubaOfficial) September 5, 2017
The more elaborate statement on Facebook read, “I’ve spent a lot of time this year thinking about the paths we could be headed down over the next few decades, a lot of which seem to point to dystopian scenarios in society and the environment. I’ve also made some music inspired by those sorts of fears, some of which is coming out on Hotflush next month.”
Full text: “Like a lot of people I’ve spent a lot of time this year thinking about the paths we could be headed down over the next few decades, a lot of which seem to point to dystopian scenarios in society and the environment. I’ve also made some music inspired by those sorts of fears, some of which is coming out on Hotflush next month — watch this space.”
Experiments in eugenics and social cleansing are closer to reality than his language around “dystopian scenarios” suggests. At the outset of the 20th century, countries like Canada and the United States favourably adopted eugenicist policies on populations deemed “unfit” by the pseudo-science. Though it declined in popularity following Hitler’s adoption of those same ideals during his own ethnic cleansing campaign throughout Europe in the late 1930s, examples of forced sterilization can be found in North America as recently as 2010.
If satire is what he was aiming for, maybe he should’ve started his tweet with “a modest proposal.”
