Rationality flies out the window for a lot of people whenever they have an unpleasant belief system about someone or something. They justify their actions based on something they have heard or have experienced, and often on bias and ignorance, rather than on simple inquisitiveness, openness, and intuition. I had an interesting interaction the other day when the man who is supposed to do the remodeling on my existing shed, to transform it into half chicken coop and half potting shed. As we walked past my chickens that were in the temporary pen I had set up, I was explaining to him that I had needed to make sure it was predator-proof because a neighboring cat was coming over to inspect them. He replied that I could trap the cat. I told him that the cat belonged to my neighbors across the alley, but he reiterated that I could trap it and take it to the shelter. I simply said that I did not mind the cat – I just did not want it to get to my chickens. Clearly this man does not like cats, which I have found to be a common trait among men with inflated egos. It is actually a very sweet cat and looks to be still a kitten. It comes over and meows at me, I think because he wants my cat to come out and play. Its owners have a very small dog and one day I watched the dog and the cat playing together in their yard. It was adorable.
At the end of the man’s short visit, he told me that he would bring something to “take care of” the very large red ant pile next to my gate. I said, “No, no. They are decomposers. They are very important so I want to leave them there.” He went on to tell me about a little girl that had been bitten by ants all the way up her leg. I only said that I knew where the ant house was and always made a point to go around it. I have diatomaceous earth, which I could use, but that would kill them. They are not bothering me and I leave them alone.
A few months ago I had numerous black ants appearing in my kitchen. Whenever I saw one I would trap it in a jar and put it outside through the cat door. My intuition told me that if I waited it out, they would all find their way out on their own, as they were just waking up from their winter hibernation. There seemed to be quite a lot of them and just when I was getting to the point of ordering an herbal repellant, they disappeared. My intuition was right and I am glad that I did not waste the $30 on the repellant.
I have an irrational fear of large spiders, but I no longer act irrationally towards them. They are my allies in the garden and I respect them and appreciate them for that. I have learned in fact, that some spiders are really our best friends. The medium sized black jumping spiders do us a great service by eating houseflies, which carry germs. I choose not to allow my own fears, phobias, or dislikes to cause me to act irrationally towards other species. Everything has a purpose. Everything has a right to exist. Will humans ever learn to co-exist?
