although he is a detestable insect. I was just thinking about animals lately and animal life and how people fight for animal rights and what not. I know this one might seem a bit mad, but hear me out. I'm not protesting for insect rights here. I'm just trying to understand the logic of why we hold animals and insects to different standards.
I will start by saying that I try my best to make a conscious effort not to kill anything at all. I think each living creature has value and I try not to interfere with nature too much. I don't like spiders, they scare the shit out of me, but if one is in my home I will leave it be so long as it isn't actually on me. Same with flies, they annoy me to f**k! But plenty of people annoy me too and I can't just go around killing everyone who annoyed me because there would hardly be anyone left alive.
Mosquitoes and anything that tries to parasite from me are fair game as fair as I'm concerned. I swat those little bastards mercilessly. Same with any animal that tried to attack me. I would kill it. I believe self defence makes killing permissable.
But what about the mentality of people as a whole? A lot of people value the lives of animals like cats and dogs, but don't value the lives of insects and these same warriors of justice who protest for animal rights and what not will still be the same kind of people that will mercilessly step on a spider because they don't like spiders. Even though the spider was just minding its own business.
Is it because they are smaller and therefore more insignificant? This is an erroneous assumption! Everything has a place in nature's ecosystem. Nature is a delicate balance and everything plays a part.
Is it because insects can spread disease? Animals also can spread disease.
Is it because they have no purpose? Who are we to say that? Most of us go out and work jobs to earn pieces of paper, does that serve any purpose?
Is it because they are annoying? They can be. But so can my pet dog. That doesn't mean I should kill it for getting on my nerves.
Is it for pest control? Well animals can be pests as well like Cornfed mentioned in the thread about hunting animals for fun. Remember these are questions directed at people who value all animal life, but not the life of insects.
Is it because people are idiots? Most likely. It makes no sense to be frightened of an insect a 100th of your size. Let's hope if extraterrestrials do visit earth that they don't see humanity as insignificant as humanity sees insects.
