(no subject)
Jun. 4th, 2002 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
botias
I have this theory that we are predisposed to relate to other beings in a handful of ways. Like say, lover, clan-member, offspring, relative (for the more positive ones, the negative ones are probably just different degrees of 'none of the above'). This is not to say that I don't appreciate the complexity of human behavior and relationships, but I think the ruts are there, and are easily tumbled into. My favorite example of this is when people place pets into the 'offspring' bin in their heads. Rats, fish, cats, dogs, it doesn't matter. These critters can provide a relative minimum of feedback, consider the case of fish, but still inspire great affection and even great love. I think this is a big part of why we prefer to adopt pets as puppies and kittens. "But they're so cute at that stage!" Well, yes and why do we think neonatal traits are just so lovable and the absolute cutest thing in the whole wide world? What's a little fur after all? So what if Shnookums will never learn to talk, I can infer all I the feedback I could ever need or want from her delightful expressions, so human sometimes...
I'm not even going to go in the direction of people who put members of other species into the 'lover' bin. I don't have much information about it beyond knowing it exists. For example, do most people that engage in sexual behavior with animals do so with them as individuals or do they just use them as objects? Given its highly taboo nature, I doubt that there are very many people out there who could claim to have a broad view of the subject. (I've always thought it would be nifty to be the world's leading authority on something-or-other, hmmm....)
I'm not going to assign value to our offspring relationships with our own species vs. other species either. I have a bias that probably crops up in my choice of words now and then, but I don't claim that it's a rational one. There are certainly plusses and minuses to both types. I do think that the bond is generally not as strong or as likely. One of the weirdest experiences I had after Connor was born was when I saw my cats for the first time. These heretofore 'little furry people' suddenly looked liked very like animals, alien, even threatening. The change, in only a couple of hours, was quite striking. I've found out since that this reaction is not unusual towards older siblings. (Surprise, surprise.) Your 'baby' of a few hours before, suddenly appears a much older, often threatening being. I would love to know more about the mechanisms behind all this. The 'why' is pretty obvious, older siblings are a genuine threat to infants, the 'how' is what I wonder about. As for my poor kitties, they have been permanently deposed. I continue to provide them with excellent care, but the magic is gone. It's a sorry thing to happen to a cat in its old age.
I'm not even going to go in the direction of people who put members of other species into the 'lover' bin. I don't have much information about it beyond knowing it exists. For example, do most people that engage in sexual behavior with animals do so with them as individuals or do they just use them as objects? Given its highly taboo nature, I doubt that there are very many people out there who could claim to have a broad view of the subject. (I've always thought it would be nifty to be the world's leading authority on something-or-other, hmmm....)
I'm not going to assign value to our offspring relationships with our own species vs. other species either. I have a bias that probably crops up in my choice of words now and then, but I don't claim that it's a rational one. There are certainly plusses and minuses to both types. I do think that the bond is generally not as strong or as likely. One of the weirdest experiences I had after Connor was born was when I saw my cats for the first time. These heretofore 'little furry people' suddenly looked liked very like animals, alien, even threatening. The change, in only a couple of hours, was quite striking. I've found out since that this reaction is not unusual towards older siblings. (Surprise, surprise.) Your 'baby' of a few hours before, suddenly appears a much older, often threatening being. I would love to know more about the mechanisms behind all this. The 'why' is pretty obvious, older siblings are a genuine threat to infants, the 'how' is what I wonder about. As for my poor kitties, they have been permanently deposed. I continue to provide them with excellent care, but the magic is gone. It's a sorry thing to happen to a cat in its old age.
