|
|
|
Written by Greg Bird
|
|
Friday, 30 April 2010 |
How come there is no such thing as an insect rights activist?
I’ll tell you why. It is because they are, ugly, annoying little pests. People are always concerned with panda bears, kittens and other adorable creatures. But for some reason, the same level of concern is non existent if they creature in question is a member of the insect family.
I don’t want to defend the little buggers (pun intended), but it is one of those things that keep me awake at night. My good friends at PETA will strike up a protest at the slightest hint that a chicken may have lousy living conditions, even though it is destined for the dinner table, but they have never (as far as I know) raised one outcry over an insect.
I keep waiting for them to complain about all the bugs that get eaten on Fear Factor, but they never do. I guess they think it is beneath them.
But bugs are not the most intelligent of creatures though. How many times have you been driving down the road and had a bug splatter all over your windshield? I know it has happened to me thousands of times, and I have never hit a bug from behind. They always fly right into the windshield. I admit, bugs are brave suckers. They see my big head coming at them at 50 miles per hour and don’t flinch. They scream “Bring it on!” just before they hit the glass.
I imagine in the bug afterlife there are a lot of conversations that go like this, “I was just flying around and I suddenly exploded,”
I sometimes like to think somewhere in the insect community there are bug scientists trying to discover the mysteries of glass. Little insects wearing white lab coats hold press conferences to discuss the seemingly random slaughter of their brethren. “The best we can figure is there are invisible force fields that appear at random.”
Windows must confuse the heck out of bugs. All night long, they constantly fly into my bedroom window, trying to get to my light. I would imagine that after five or six unsuccessful attempts to get past the glass they would give up. But not bugs. It is like they have a dire need to get inside, no matter what the cost. And you have to give them credit. They never give up. It’s like they have a child’s belief system. “If I don’t believe in it, it will disappear.”
And once they do get inside, good luck convincing them to go back out. They constantly swarm on the window, trying to get back into the wide world, but can’t. Even if you open a window and try to coax them out, they won’t go. In the meantime, twenty more bugs have flown in and all will soon be with their friends, bumping their heads on the glass in a vain attempt to fly to freedom.
I try to take pity on them, but it’s so hard to do. I avoid swatting them, knowing that for the most part it isn’t their fault. Their life span is so short anyway, it doesn’t feel right to mercilessly end it so soon.
But at three in the morning, when the buzzing and bumping conspire to not let me sleep, watch out!
|
|
