Man Is A Bad Animal
Man Is A Bad Animal
The true mark of a sentinent being, one that is self-aware, is the knowledge of mortality. That this physical existence is not all there is, that it comes to an end, that in some way the days are numbered.
Mankind is a truly sentinent being. But then again so are Hindu Cows. Realising that life is a cosmic joke, they just accept with a Zen-calmness the chaos of life, and relax. More people should do it.
That said though, Cows are equal to man in the sentience stakes. After all, the smell of fear rising from herds of cows being trucked to an abbatoir is palpable. Like electrictity it crackles in the air. Have you ever seen a cow try to commit suicide?
To avoid the impending bolts, the sluices, the processing of a living animal into mere Meat, some cows try to commit suicide. With the limited means at their disposal, the animal repeatedly headbutts the nearest available strong surface (wall, side of the truck, steel truck door, etc.) in an attempt to somehow annihilate itself from the atrocity due to be committed upon itself. In some way to avoid unconsciousness, in some way to remove itself through absence from the situation.
A burger has never tasted so good. Knowing that we are tasting a suicide.
In cannibalistic lore, man inherits the qualities of what it eats. Tradition was for the victor to devour the meat of the defeated enemy. In The Cow Holocaust we are the Nazis. And by the same token, if we inherit their properties, we also inherit their behaviour. Sat in pens, moving and eating endlessly without purpose, following a set few repetitive tasks in an endless treadmill, and as we reach the end of our useful life, the fat we accumulate is inherited by others who use our resources as meat to survive.
One could argue that the thing that truly distinguishes Man as a different class of animal than the rest of the herd (and man is a bad animal), is religion. Man is a bad animal. A carnivore, a parasite, a selfish animal that treats the planet as if it is the only creature that walks upon it. As if the rest of the planet (and the 70% of it that is covered in water) is merely a playground that he can use as he sees fit.
Though personally I�m still furious at whomever ate that damn apple. Surely that was the most stupid thing anyone�s ever done, and the most overblown example of someone mistaking power for authority.
Man : The guy that made everything says we can�t eat the apple of we�ll spend the rest of our lives in turmoil
Woman: Isn�t that a bit over doing it? Besides nobody tells you what to do. Eat The Apple!
Man : (CHOMP!)
God: I told you not to do that!!
(Big Hand comes down from the clouds and sweeps everything away).
Religion is the thing, the single belief system that simultaneously elevates and denigrates mankind from the other animals. Whilst tribes of humans were off in the jungles and fields hunting each other by spear, musket and nuclear weapon, animals were living contentedly next to each other. Maybe the odd polar bear attacked a penguin for food, or the odd Tiger wrestled with a basking shark for dinner, but by and large, you didn�t see tribes of sheep herding up other sheep who looked slightly different and stoning them to death because they didn�t believe in a God with a different name.
Man is a bad animal.
home | reviews | rants | poems | writings | trivia | news | links | about mark
(c) Mark Reed, 1991-2002. Except where indicated.