Those were some really mature answers you got there. /s
The reason imo why we think its ok to treat bugs bad is because of hierarchy. We expect bugs to be beneath us and those who treat other humans bad largely come off as if others were beneath them. It is enforced through our competitive capitalist system. It gets drilled into us by playing mostly competitive games.
I think to solve this, one could ask why we rarely play cooperative games. Its always about domination and „proving yourself“. This benefits those in power because we‘re less likely to cooperate and not need their approval anymore. Its even in most movies.
Thats how we devalue bugs and other „vermin“. As someone who has lizards I touch grasshoppers (food) a lot and they are quite interesting and I cant stand if they die slowly. I‘m aware that their lives are worth something but I also aknowledge that my lizards need protein at times. I view it through the lens of potential. Humans have the potential to fly to the stars, bugs have the potential to keep our biodiversity running (=very important).
I’m pretty sure my opinion on mosquitoes does not reflect my attitude or behavior towards humans.
I agree
I don’t like fishing.
It’s not because “eww, worms” or “eww, fish”. It’s two things. The big thing is, I don’t want to hurt some small animal like a worm or bait fish, just so that I can hurt some other animal by dragging them into an environment where they can’t breathe. Oh, but the humane thing to do is toss them back? Imagine being pulled out of an airlock into the vacuum of space, photographed, measured, and then put back in the airlock? I don’t need to do all of that to some critter just for fun. Which brings me to the second thing about fishing that I don’t like : It’s not fun. It’s boring. It’s so boring. Just stand here and hope a fish eventually bites.
The fun in fishing is that you get to just sit there, have a beer, and turn your brain off. There really isn’t an expectation to be super busy while fishing. If you have a busy lifestyle, then an occasional “turn your brain off” is super nice.
There are a bunch of other ways to do that without hurting animals too, though.
I dunno, I’ve met some bitterly unkind vegans that might answer this question for you pretty conclusively.
Were they bullies?
I asked myself this the other day: Why do I have empathy for most animals, but when it comes to insects, I just don’t give a single fuck? If I accidentally stepped on a kitten I didn’t see, I’d be emotionally fucked up. But when I step on a snail I didn’t notice until hearing the crunch, I don’t feel bad in the slightest.
It’s not because they are pests, I don’t think. I don’t like killing mice and rats, either and opt for non-lethal means of removal if and when I have a problem with them in my home. But I’ll straight genocide bugs in my space.
Probably because most invertebrates are not known to be sentient?
What is sentience?
No. Bugs can get fucked.
I teach my kids not to kill bugs unless they are doing something bad or dangerous, otherwise just move them.
Killing things should not be a default action for convenience sake.
Including ladybugs?
