IanNazr

True; but I question the people who more harshly or disdainfully judge a guy like me who steps on bugs often for no reason versus someone who trophy hunts or even fishes recreationally. Not only are those activities more premeditated, they require one to have the stomach for causing and witnessing much greater suffering caused as a result of their own actions. Imagine watching an intelligent creature such as an elephant in its death throes or struggling to breathe after being shot. There is very palpable distress and emotion... that some people seem not to mind. Less serious reply: How about a home right above the blue arrow? Tenants come and go often for me. More serious reply: bugs taken together have a tendency to make every square foot of dry land on the planet their home though. For bugs, being in constant danger is a package deal. Look how quickly a fly will move if you go to swat it with your hand. They have ways of escaping and avoiding danger. True; they aren't asking to be stepped on, but regardless of how mindless they are, bugs still capable of sensing and reacting to danger. That being said, I have to assume that they can perceive the pair of ominous, white, alien objects pictured above as dangerous when they make the mistake of crawling anywhere near my feet. 😛 Right?

That's an interesting take on it. Why is the act of specifically stepping on them condemned, I wonder. Is it because death by a gigantic foot is more certain than fishing? If the intent to kill is the problem... I wonder if we could reasonably compare stepping on bugs to trophy hunting. In that activity, death is pretty certain. Like recreational fishing it is a socially acceptable "hobby," except this one involves killing some pretty intelligent and sometimes endangered animals... for really no good reason except for a thrill and showing off. Reasons I would also say are more questionable than when a guy like me steps on ants in my driveway. Some people, usually superrich men, literally fly overseas and pay tens of thousands of dollars to corrupt government bureaucrats to participate in this significantly premeditated act -- like the adult children of Donald Trump. I think this redefines the expression "going out of your way to kill something." 😛

Is it possible that I may be discounting external motivations to sport fishing that are at least as legitimate or redeemable to those which influence the kind of attention I give bugs? Yes. But let me attempt to shed that bias, and I struggle to see an equivalency or parallels. Whether I go to raise my sneaker above an army of hungry ants, or step on a spider, or smash a pesky bee, the goal is often to repel or destroy unwanted invaders either because they are annoying, may sting or bite, or in the case of spiders, are just creepy. Sport fishers aren't trying to repel invaders, though. Rather, they are traveling often long distances to seek out the animals' habitat without any intention of using them for meat. I wonder what external factors would influence them to do such a thing? What concerns me more though is the jarring difference in the degree of planning and intent. Swatting down a bee is an unthinking, split second decision. Similarly, not much thought or planning goes into stepping on a spider for some overly dramatic girl; if they want me to see me demonstrate my machismo, why not? Even walking over to stamp my feet on invading ants is relatively spontaneous. By contrast, people who sport fish literally plan ahead, prepare for, and travel long distances to go and do something that will injure and and potentially kill. It brings "going out of your way to harm something" to a whole different level, even if we cast aside motivation for the time being. There is long term planning and time investment that goes into sport fishing, there are gears turning in the person head, they look forward to it. Think about that... even if the people aren't cruel-minded, their commitment to an activity that hurts significantly more complex animals seems to be. I'm not saying bug squashers and sport fishermen don't sometimes overlap. But I'm critical of how one activity is embraced while the other one is written off as immature or cruel.

Off the top of my head I only know a couple people who fish; one is a friend who I know squashes all spiders on sight and will flick or swat down any flying insect that is bothersome. I doubt either would object to the style of attention I give bugs. As to the cruelty of sport fishing: its cruelty seems almost sinister by contrast. It's literally hurting animals to "pass the time." This is called a "hobby." When it comes to bugs, it's more habit than hobby. Plus, when I eliminate a spider or ants, it's often a solution to a problem... perhaps a lazy one, but there is often some utility there. It puzzles me that fishing for sport could ever be seen as more acceptable.

Firstly, I'm the kind of guy who steps on bugs, not around them. If there's a bug in my house; I don't "rescue it." I squash it, then flush it. So, that's my very non-objective starting off point on the subject, and I just want to be upfront about that. With that said, on to the meat and potatoes: Over the course of time I have noticed a small number of people who immediately dislike it when I step on bugs, with varying degrees of distaste. Some examples: I'm at a restaurant and a creepy looking spider is crawling on the floor near my seat, so I quietly slide my foot over and crunch it. Then someone at the table goes: "that was mean" Or, a bee lands on my glass so I sneak my hand up from the side to give it a flick (which I'm pretty good at btw) and then hear "it was just hungry" right after I've stomped it. Or if I'm playing tennis with a buddy and I stop to bulldoze an ant mound with the toe of my sneaker, he'll half-jokingly go "Come on... what did they do to you?" missing the obvious point that I'm purposely doing it for no reason. This sort of reaction is more the exception than the rule. Most girls love when I step on a spider for them. Even when I go to step on ants, the most common reaction is indifference. Meanwhile: catching fish and releasing them is more brutal but rarely condemned. Fish which are caught then released die all the time, bleeding to death, intended or not. Releasing doesn't mean "not lethal." And everyone who does catch and release fishing is aware of that outcome. The idea of this activity being a "hobby" seems worse to me. That means its done for entertainment, doesn't it? Even worse that it is ritualized. And these are vertebrate organisms with a significantly more developed central nervous system which experiences pain. But people do this to "pass the time." When I go to stamp my feet on a line of ants during an outdoor lunch, there's a chance I'll get a look from someone... but probably not if I were fishing. However, attack of the Sharp Flesh-Tearing Hook seems more unpleasant than the Attack of the Giant Sneaker. The smell of my feet would be more intolerable. Obviously I'm not a bug or a fish but given the choice, getting one's face punctured by a hook and dragged 100 yards until its torn out and you can't breathe seems worse than being crushed instantly under a gargantuan white rubber thing. So why is one tolerated but not the other?

Every patient has the right to refuse treatment. However, I am for strongly encouraging vaccinations by prohibiting service, participation, or traveling when applicable.

Everyone will say scishow which is a pop science meme show but SEA is a good one for space related stuff. Also PBS has a space program that a physicist hosts.