Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post - Where have we gone wrong? *may trigger :p*

Jazuela · 04-30-2008, 10:31 AM

Totally and completely agree with Disillusionist. I'll add another bit, just so this doesn't end up a one-line "me too" post (which I abhor).

Our species didn't get to be second-best only to cockroaches by saying, "Oh, hello pretty kittycat, here, take my hand. And my foot. And my ribs, since you're so hungry." We got where we were by fiercely, viciously, savagely smacking that lion over the head with a heavy stick. And if we were lucky, the meat from that "kittycat" wasn't diseased, and our family lived to evolve even more.

Our crops, once we became farmers, didn't grow by our saying "What a lovely stalk of corn you are, and what pretty rutebegas! Grow, lovelies, grow!" We grew crops by killing the plants' natural predators: rabbits, deer, etc. etc. If it weren't for our violence against other animals, those crops would be feeding Fluffy and Bambi, not ourselves.

Even the organic farmer has to put something out to keep the pests from enjoying a meal. Whether it's organic dried blood (to ward off deer, rabbits, and cats, in particular), or planting chrysanthemums to keep insects away (the source of pyrethrum, one of the most common insect repellants for crops on the market), everyone is out for themselves, and will penalize others to get their needs satisfied. Green-freak organic farmers are not exempt from the food chain, whether they want to make it sound prettier or not.

So when we play muds, we get to not only do what we do anyway, but we get to pretend, for a few hours a day, that it is a GOOD thing. That killing stuff is a good thing, that whacking a lion over the head means we are awesome. That slitting the throat of a rich salesman is, perhaps not legal, but not taboo either.

We get to nurture our most primitive instincts for a little while, instead of suppressing them for the greater civilized good. It's also fun to pretend that the kobold you're smacking around is really your boss, or teacher, or stupid big brother, or ex-husband, or personal trainer, or the nasty neighbor next door. Or even the neighbor's annoying yapping snapping little lap-dog.

04-30-2008, 10:31 AM	#21
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	Re: Where have we gone wrong? may trigger :p Totally and completely agree with Disillusionist. I'll add another bit, just so this doesn't end up a one-line "me too" post (which I abhor). Our species didn't get to be second-best only to cockroaches by saying, "Oh, hello pretty kittycat, here, take my hand. And my foot. And my ribs, since you're so hungry." We got where we were by fiercely, viciously, savagely smacking that lion over the head with a heavy stick. And if we were lucky, the meat from that "kittycat" wasn't diseased, and our family lived to evolve even more. Our crops, once we became farmers, didn't grow by our saying "What a lovely stalk of corn you are, and what pretty rutebegas! Grow, lovelies, grow!" We grew crops by killing the plants' natural predators: rabbits, deer, etc. etc. If it weren't for our violence against other animals, those crops would be feeding Fluffy and Bambi, not ourselves. Even the organic farmer has to put something out to keep the pests from enjoying a meal. Whether it's organic dried blood (to ward off deer, rabbits, and cats, in particular), or planting chrysanthemums to keep insects away (the source of pyrethrum, one of the most common insect repellants for crops on the market), everyone is out for themselves, and will penalize others to get their needs satisfied. Green-freak organic farmers are not exempt from the food chain, whether they want to make it sound prettier or not. So when we play muds, we get to not only do what we do anyway, but we get to pretend, for a few hours a day, that it is a GOOD thing. That killing stuff is a good thing, that whacking a lion over the head means we are awesome. That slitting the throat of a rich salesman is, perhaps not legal, but not taboo either. We get to nurture our most primitive instincts for a little while, instead of suppressing them for the greater civilized good. It's also fun to pretend that the kobold you're smacking around is really your boss, or teacher, or stupid big brother, or ex-husband, or personal trainer, or the nasty neighbor next door. Or even the neighbor's annoying yapping snapping little lap-dog.