Horrible Human Being or Gallows Humor?
The woman asked what I knew about the shootings in Texas. My reply was basically, “Just another whacko that couldn’t handle what they asked for. If you join the Army, odds are you are going to war. When you’re a lifer, it should be a given. He didn’t want to be deployed, couldn’t get out of it, freaked out and lost it. Simple. Disappointing. Let him rot.”
So she started looking it up online. I looked over her shoulder and saw a BIG ad for hotels at Fort Hood. 75% off room rates. Being me I had to comment.
“Hey look at that! Boy look at that deal. I’m sure they are hurting for customers, now that the population has dropped.”
“You know, you are a truly horrible person sometimes…”
“I thought I was a retched human being?”
“That too”
I think we have two basic choices in situations like this: we can empathize or objectify.
For those of you that don’t know, I have a BA in Anthropology (Link) with a minor in CS (Link). Anthro has 4 sub-fields, cultural, linguistics, physical (or biological name varies by school) and archeology. To get the degree you have to take classes in all of them. While in school I wasn’t sure what I wanted so I took more than required in each this included a class in osteology which is studying the human skeletal structure. Part of the class is knowing what is not human. Bear paws without skin look very human to the untrained eye, especially after a dog has chewed on it. My professor consulted for the KBI (Link) and the CBI (Link) (if I remember correctly). He showed us lots of samples for animals with similar physiology. He also showed us lots of photos and x-rays for the cases he has worked on. I have seen crime photos and x-rays for what happens when a 6′ plus male gets drunk and proceeds to use his 15″ hunting knife on his girlfriend. I know that you can use a dead pig to check cutting marks on the rib cage. You can use this info to extrapolate the amount of force used by the previously noted individual to damage the front side of the ribcage AND the spinal column in a single thrust. Yes, this guy shoved his knife through his girlfriend with enough force to damage multiple ribs in the front and take a notable chuck out of her spinal column as the blade exited her back. I know that breast implants look like a jellyfish stranded on a beach when they have left a dead body. During putridification, your body turns to liquid as the cell walls are destroyed. You literally melt. Yummy, ready for lunch? I’ve read about female genital mutilation in Africa. I’ve held the skull of a homicide victim. On and on… I know a bit more than most.
I ended up specializing in Perceptions of Reality, which is what led me to years studying the world’s religions, philosophy, and logic. This requires a lot of history classes to gain cultural context and an overview of the ebb and flow of faith. So I am also well versed in the ways that religions spread. Some of my friends were unhappy with how “disrespectful” I was at the Vatican. The automated tour guide is spouting off about how they are “preserving the cultures of the world”. I started laughing. “No. You came into a stable population, enslaved everyone, took everything of value, especially gold, and forced everyone to convert. If they didn’t convert, you killed them. If they did convert, you still killed them but in a much slower fashion. If you couldn’t overtake the local religion, you co-opted everything to bring them into the fold then you killed them.” (If you have questions, I can point you to volumes that prove out these points over and over again.) The Vatican spin-doctors were telling the big lie, just like Hitler. “No really, we’re here to help you reach God. Sure you have to do it our way and only our way or we kill you but we’re here to help you. ” That doesn’t sound like any form of cultural preservation that I have ever heard of and I studied the topic. Islam doesn’t even bother to co-op. They destroy imagery and kill those that disagree. Sounds very loving doesn’t it.
What is that old phrase? “Kill a few and you’re a murderer. Kill thousands and you are a conqueror.”
Studying Humanity can be rather depressing. Knowing all of the ways that we have killed each other doesn’t exactly bring a smile. Anyway…
Sidebar: CS seems much safer in a way. Programmers don’t usually die violent bloody deaths while typing on their keyboards.
So you see, I know what I’m talking about when I say we are a truly savage creatures. I am not longer surprised (or concerned) when someone pops off and goes on a killing spree. There are a million reasons why we are so volatile. It actually surprising that it doesn’t happen more often than it does. I wasn’t surprised by Columbine. It wasn’t the parents “fault.” It was everyone’s fault. Everyone in that community contributed to a situation where two kids lost it and started killing their peers. The conditions that lead to this situation were started long ago and continue to this very day. I could start another rant on that topic too, but I’ll leave that for another day.
We are not raise in a vacuum. We cannot become members of society by living on an island. We are all part of this swirling mass of humanity. We are all expressions of culture, biology, and ecology. In the end, we are all just trying to get by, trying to do right by our own code of ethics, trying to raise our children in the midst of a violent chaotic world.
So which is better: empathy or objectification?
Neither.
It just is. This is what we are. This is how we act. There is no morality tied to that. It just is. Are you doing the best that you can, in this moment? If so, then good on you. If not, do you care enough to try? The choice is yours and the expression of those millions of little choices is reflected in all of us, the swirling mass.
We are not perfect. We are not 100% right, 100% moral, or 100% sane. We are what we are. Flawed. Imperfect. Evolving to meet the challenges of an uncertain future. Some do better than others. Some don’t survive to feel a lovers touch. Some see their children die. Some live to see the world change. Some come completely unhinged and start killing everyone around them. But the simple fact remains, we are trying.
So you’ll have to forgive my sarcasm. I objectify to keep an emotional distance. I know the truth about “man” yet I refuse to give in to it. I refuse to pop off and going on my own killing spree. We all know there have been days… and being raised a good Texas redneck, you have to know my firearms proficiency is quite high. Give me a gun and I can field strip it in under 5 minutes. The ONLY skill that proved I was a worthy male to my ex-wife’s family was my ability to sight in a new rifle in under 10 minute using only 5 rounds, the hood of a pick-up, a post that was too tall, and a couple hand tools. They missed the years hunting with my father. The long hair and college degree distracted them from seeing the realities before them. Yeah, I know how to kill. I can. I have. I’ve literally put supper on the table, so to speak. And hopefully, I will never have to use that skill on my fellow man. I disgress, yet again.
My point is, “I am trying.” We are all trying to do the best we can. Right?
So don’t worry about it. Take a deep breath. Say your prayers or pause a moment in remembrance and move on. Do the best you can. I will do the same and maybe, just maybe tomorrow will be a better day. And if someone cracks a joke at what you think is an inappropriate moment, consider that it may be the best and only way they can get through the terror and chaos with any shred of sanity intact.
Hotels are 75% off in Fort Hood.
Yes, I’m sure they are… and I am still a retched horrible human being. I’m good with that.
So what do you think?
