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Well-Earned Misanthropy. Flawed Species. Animal and Environmental Abuse.


I don't recall working a job that wasn't a people-oriented job, one that faces and serves the public and not only interact with co-workers. Sometimes, I find it to be some kind of a twisted joke for a misanthrope like me to be a public servant. I've done a pretty good job at sublimation, always courteous and accommodating to people even after becoming aware of multiple forms of animal cruelty from the outright beating of an animal to covert forms like stuffing one's face with a cheeseburger. I try not to blame the individual for specific offenses, but I hold the whole lot suspect by dint of being human. I would prefer to entrust my life to a wild animal than a human being. We are a seriously flawed species with issues rooted in vanity, greed, common stupidity.

I had a good laugh at a comment made by a reader in a newspaper editorial about the environment and those who protect it. The reader concluded that environmentalists tend to coddle an anti-human mentality. I am still amused by this opinion as I write. Well, it seems to me that nature does not maliciously attack itself, and so the destruction must come from another entity. Just add a cognizance of the pain and misery found in animal abuse and the coddling turns quickly into misanthropy. 

Hey, at one time in my life, I started out with a plain white canvass. Humankind has since then done a pretty good job at laying on an El Greco painting on it, unfortunately. But I still don't consider myself as having gone off the cliff. I am barely holding on with my fingertips. I thank and appreciate those who have remained unsullied by life's trampling. Not all humans are abusive or apathetic towards animals. I barely recognize you but you still give me strength to carry on.

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