So, here's a question for you: why is it that we, as a species, kill bugs? As you all know, I'm the resident bug slayer in the house, and it suddenly struck me that I'm not sure why I'm comfortable killing bugs. I mean, I don't relish in it or anything, but I'm willing to do it.
The thing is, I've killed approximately one non-insect animal intentionally in my entire life. It was traumatic, and I would not do it again. Sure, many unfortunate critters fell to the wheels of my car when I lived out in the sticks as a teenager, and I felt bad, but none of those were intentional. Besides, if a possum can't be bothered to look both ways before crossing, I don't see where I can be held responsible. I have historically, however, slain a good number of insects quite on purpose.
I even consider not doing it. When called upon to face one of my typically eight legged foes, my inner tree hugging, hippy freak says that I should really catch the little fellow and simply release him back into the wild. You know, all humanitarian like. Then one or more of it's hairy little legs moves, and the little hippy is all, "Oh %#@$ that noise. Kill it! Kill it with fire!".
At first I figured it was xenophobia. I mean really, what could be more different from a person that a furry, multi-eye having, exoskeleton wearing insect, other than perhaps some of the freakier deep sea critters? (Make no mistake, however - if I find one of those things crawling up my wall, it's so getting hit with a shoe.) Then I thought back to a trip to Florida, where the relative I was staying with threw something at a gecko on the wall. I was appalled, as it would never cross my mind to try and eliminate a gecko for any purpose other than perhaps collecting their skins in exchange for bottle caps (skill multiplier for anyone who gets the game reference). Geckos don't really share a lot with people beyond an apparent concern for car insurance costs, so my xenophobic theory doesn't seem to hold water.
Therefore, like so many things in my life, I have no idea why it is considered acceptable to do this. I wouldn't think it acceptable to hurt an uninvited animal in my home unless it was directly threatening my family. Why can I freely smack a spider into oblivion and not only have it be acceptable, but be hailed as a hero (okay, maybe not hailed, but I should be dammit), and yet if I did the same thing to a puppy who wandered into my house, I would be promptly vilified? What if the puppy had eight legs? Then would it be acceptable?
I'm thinking no - then it would just end up on the internet, and I would be mega-vilified.
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