Thrylix

No, why would it be?

This thread is inspired by an old thread I made about whether or not it is wrong to step on bugs, but with a different subject. There is an episode of the Twilight Zone called the Little People where a couple astronauts get stranded on a distant planet and while repairing their ship, they stumble upon a race of tiny humans a who are sophisticated enough to build houses, boats, trucks, cities, and appear in all aspects to be identical to the humans in every way except their size. You can probably guess what happens next. An alien version of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. One of the astronauts decides he's going to be their God and begins to dominate the little people through fear and cruelty, based on no godly qualities except the advantage of having evolved to be massively bigger than them. It was a cool episode. Anyway, what's interesting and possibly shocking to some, is I don't think I'd act very differently from that guy in his circumstance. I could see myself becoming a tyrant to them and enjoy every second of it. If I somehow came across a planet of tiny little aliens that were the size of ants to me, I don' think I'd have much of a problem with crushing a few of their towns, provided that that no one (or at least no one who mattered) would find out or try to punish me for it. I'd actually think it's hard to blame a guy like me for taking advantage of the size difference. I would love the chance to be revered as a god, even if I'd very much be an old testament god. Well, except that instead of meting out discipline with lightning, I'd be tyrannizing the little aliens with nothing but two giant stinking feet. If they needed me to press a giant sneaker-shaped footprint in the middle of their capital to remind them to worship me, then that's fine. Actually, I'd probably do that anyway. Here is where you may disagree, but to me it seems like nature taking its course and I don't think I can fault some giant alien who came to Earth doing this either. In the immediate moment he's planting a huge foot down on NYC, I'd probably think the alien was a giant jerk, but looking at the big picture, I know I'd be too insignificant to this being to even get his attention, much less communicate in any meaningful way. And does Godzilla care about the humans he steps on? Besides, I already step on bugs all the time, often purposely. In spite of what I'd do in the above situation, I wouldn't consider myself to be evil, immoral, or unethical. Rather, I'm generally considered to be an all-around great guy by friends and coworkers. I help people all the time for nothing in return, have donated to charities, given people rides, and I even volunteer as an EMT when I can. I run competitively, coach track for no pay. I've never been arrested, vandalized property, or wanted to hurt anyone. What do you think of the behavior I described? How would you behave when in a situation where you gain absolute power over others? Would you be kind or cruel? Or would you walk away from the situation? Try to stay respectful of one another!

They have nervous systems but I don't know that the pain they feel causes the suffering and grief a person feels when injured. Every so often I'll step on a spider and he'll get stuck to my shoe and squirm around. The spider may be in pain but it's not suffering.

Can they adapt to the sole of my foot, though?

That's true. I know little about arthropods. Crabs and spiders are damn ugly and I can't help but see them as sinister for some reason. Ants are ugly too. Which is why I have no real issue killing them.

Do you really think it is sadistic, though? I don't go out of my way to kill them or chase them around maniacally. It's more like I'll be standing on the sidewalk, look down and see a busy little antmound, and idly plant my foot on it. To me it's as habitual as kicking a rock or an empy soda can on the ground, both of which are equally pointless but are things we do all the same. As to the fate of the ants, I'm really too distanced to care about what they do or don't experience. They are too simple an organism. If there were a tiny intelligent species the size of ants, I maybe wouldn't step on them. ...Maybe.

I leave butterflies alone too. Spiders or ants, inside or out, I'll usually step on if they're in my vicinity. Well, inside I won't step on them but instead vacuum, or else they will get gunked up in the carpet.

My age is in the first post. And probably a wasp.

I'm 25 years old, have a professional job, and I still tend to crush any bug in my path. If I'm playing tennis or running and I see a spider or beetle crawling around my sneaker; I'll be honest - I'll probably squash it. I've never had a problem stepping on bugs, and I've definitely stepped on more than my fair share of the little guys. However, I've seen some people object to the act. I'm considered an all-around good guy by people. But if I were being honest, I wouldn't have a second thought about flattening a bustling anthill on the sidewalk, and I've done that plenty of times. What would be the logical objection? Some people say insects feel pain but I can think of more painful ways to die than getting squashed instantly under the sole of a giant running shoe. Besides, when something is that small in size, do you really need a reason to step on it? The smell of my feet could kill these little guys. I know that insects are overall important to our ecosystem, but will a few crushed ones make a difference? Should we care about the life of an insect?