Wednesday, May 17, 2017

When a vehicle hits a deer


OK. I get that this type of accident can be lethal for humans. As well as causing a lot of damage/unexpected expense, etc. I really, really do. But folks, why do so many people blame it on the deer? Or praise culling the deer population as a solution? Or joke about free food? Or just ignore the fact that the deer lost their life in a horribly painful manner?

In other words, how can people be so cold? We invented the vehicles. We built the roads. We took away animal habitats to do so. What right do we have to blame it on the deer, who was just minding their own business, living their life? A life which, by the way, is seriously threatened by human intervention to begin with?

It makes no sense you guys.

I really wish, with all my heart that humans were not so desensitized to the feelings and lives of other living, breathing beings. They matter just as much as we do in the web of life. We are not the be all, end all of the natural world, no matter what you've been conditioned to believe. We are just a part of it. We are animals. Nothing more. Nothing less. We have no right to lord it over any other being. None.

Yes, we are animals that developed a bigger brain by eating more carbs, but we're still animals, just the same. And by the way, if our brains are so superior, why is it that we are the only animal that is systematically destroying the planet for the love of our “creature” comforts? Other animals don't cause pollution or environmental devastation, except when we manipulate or move them to suit our needs.

And sure, if someone I love is in an accident, I think of their safety first. That's only natural. But discounting the deer altogether, or referring to their part in the accident as if they were nothing but an inanimate object just feels so horrifically inhumane, even somewhat narcissistic to me.

When a vehicle hits a deer, the deer is just as much a victim as the people in the vehicle. Sometimes more so, because they are at a higher risk of losing their life than anyone involved. Yes, we need to be concerned for the safety of our loved ones in such a situation. Yes, it's a tragedy for the humans involved. But we should also be concerned for the deer.

Our senses of self importance and superiority astound me sometimes. But what's even worse is that many people find them justifiable. By showing a complete lack of empathy for other beings, they are essentially proclaiming other lives insignificant and meaningless in comparison to ours. It's so revealing of our blatant, purposeful ignorance and arrogance.

And yet, for some, the deer's plight remains invisible as does their awareness of the implications.

Nauseating.

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