Recently this post appeared on my Facebook feed. My heart sank when I saw the image and read the headline. I was grateful I couldn't click on it and read the whole story because I am becoming increasingly distressed by the relentless news of species extinction and environmental degradation. I think a new category of PTSD should be diagnosed.
Despite its ugliness and the many stoushes I have had there I still follow Facebook. Sometimes to stay in touch with my local community via the 'bulletin board' and sometimes to stay informed of where the global community is at. Since using up my allotted number of free articles I only get the NYT headlines. They give me a summary so I get the general gist but it's the comments I find most revealing because it gives me a snapshot of how the 'woman in the street' is feeling and thinking. I understand the politics of the NYT is a bit 'left' so I'm probably only getting one side of the story, though there are enough dissenting trolls to balance the discussion.
I scrolled down to read the comments for this article and was a bit taken aback by the level of self-hatred of the human species. This trend towards self-hatred and self-annihilation has been around for a long time but it seems to be growing. Here are some of the comments:
Why do humans have to destroy everything that’s beautiful!?
I hate my own species so much.
Humans are the worst. Killing magestic creatures for a momentary thrill.
I dont understand the humans, we wanna destroy everthing pure, in the planet, I'm really sorry for us, cause....we must pay for this....
Greed and money will destroy everything sacred or beautiful.
That's why the world needs Corona and all the viruses it can get!
We really don’t deserve this planet.
The problem with poaching -- and trophy hunting -- is that it leaves the wrong animal dead.
So Corona do your job. And do it good
“This is why we can’t have nice things in the Garden of Eden!”
Humans are the most dangerous animal in the world
Covid is like Mother Earth's superhero.
Wow!
Taking a planetary and somewhat philosophical view (as I tend to do) it now seems obvious to more and more people that life really is a cycle of creation and destruction. Over the past few thousand years humans have had a meteoric expansion to dominate and affect every sphere of existence on this planet. Now we are in the destructive phase.
I have been feeling this way about humans all my life - so much so that I have felt a sense of alienation from my own species. This hatred of a species, our species, is now on a scale that would have been hard to imagine 50 years ago when we were still 'on the rise'. Should I feel comforted that many others are now thinking along the same lines? I don't know. Regardless of my prophetic predictions this development is really disturbing to watch.
Those comments are like a poem written from my heart. I am not a fan of humans and have not been for most of my life. Our destructive nature has made this world the nightmare it is these days, and it's horrific. The number of species that we drove to extinction is enough to make me wish for Covid 19 to pay us back. I have often wished that humans would disappear in one painless moment. GONE. Let our beautiful planet heal and thrive without us.
ReplyDeleteI agree Robin. It's also clear we've learned absolutely nothing from history - and we are supposed to be so smart. Seems pretty stupid to me.
DeleteI regularly say I love people. And I genuinely do but at the same time I agree with every comment. Love people and hate humanity? maybe. Or maybe I meet the nice people but not the horrid ones.
ReplyDeleteand yes, ptsd from environmental distress, that's what I have
I have the same dilemma Kylie. There are times I really love people. The PTSD thing is prevalent - I read comments from people all over the world and many of us are feeling it. I guess there is humanity and solidarity in these moments of agreement.
ReplyDeleteIt was an immediate response for me, reading that headline. Humanity is the worst. It was a kind of disgust blended with immense sadness. The disconnect between what Kylie mentioned of ptsd, that we are really suffering now - and the damage that we project upon the natural world. Tough to find a place sorrow that is productive. Guilt is completely unproductive, I feel.
ReplyDeleteI agree Sarah - guilt begets self-loathing and that is paralysing. But we do have to take stock and accept what we have done - maybe that's the first step in the process. Many humans aren't even at that point - which adds another layer of stress to those of us who ARE. We all need to take responsibility and then we can start to move forward.
ReplyDeleteI find this phenomena has parallels with the Aboriginal 'issue' in this country. And on that front I am suffering too because I see the direct result of one set of humans not facing up to what really happened, taking responsibility and embracing the good stuff that I know in my gut and heart will come from true reconciliation. I have PTSD on several fronts - for the loss of beauty, species' mistreatment and extinction, for the economically dispossessed, for first nations people. My way of coping as you know - hide out in nature as much as possible, go surfing and make a difference in the lives of those at the bottom of this shit pile because as things get harder, they will be even more dispossessed in the hysteria and panic.
Yesss, so much of our nation's wounded psyche comes from a lack of recognition and ownership of the damage done. That's why the Uluru statement and the makarata could and should be our way forward. It's been so generously offered to us, after Folk spent weeks working it out in the desert. I truly believe enacting legislation via this document could help heal our country.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree - I can't believe how generous our first nations people have been and are continuing to be. It's one of the things I love about them - they way they share and their generosity. I love the concept of makarata too - incredibly wise. Way more unselfish than what the Western psyche is generally capable of.
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