Animacism

>"If you crush a cockroach, you’re a hero. If you crush a beautiful butterfly, you’re a villain. Morals have aesthetic criteria." This quote is often contribute to the infamous German Philosopher: Friedrich Nietzsche. Whether he said it or not, the talk is real. Yesterday, I was coming back from my work. And there was some extra traffic ahead, and road was kind of blocked because of the public. When I reached to the point, I found out that a truck has knocked down a donkey. Who was at fault? I cannot say that because the donkey did not survive, even if he did, nothing was going to change. Why? Because just like a cockroach, a donkey is no hero. No special kindness attached toward it. Yes, people did care, as they were quite harsh with the truck driver. However, there were folks who were laughing.  >They were laughing and saying: "Gadha mar chora h (the donkey's dead)." I do not get it, what is there to laugh about? Probably it was a stray one, as I have seen people leaving their old donkeys on the road, because they are not useful anymore. Not something to generalise, I am just saying it does happen. Anyways back to the point of laughter. Why laughing? Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, or perhaps the donkey's life simply did not matter enough for people to feel sad about it. If not sad, at least pretend being sad? My next thought was that quote, because it is still written on the wall of my elementary school. What if it had been a horse? Would the reaction have been the same? Would people have gathered around with the same expressions, or would there have been sympathy? >Why a living, even non-living, thing is valuable depending on its value? The easiest way out is to blame the capitalism and move ahead. Or maybe, there are people dying - thanks to the absurd wars - and this stuff feels nothing. I mean we may have become so familiar with death that another dead body, whether human or animal, barely surprises us anymore. Or perhaps I am overthinking a situation that meant nothing to those people in the first place. Who knows? >The deregatory term: Gadha/Donkey Those familiar with Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi will know the word gadha (donkey) is used as an insult in our colloquial language. Call someone a donkey, and you are calling them stupid. I wonder if we have ever considered how strange that is. Imagine an animal that has spent his life carrying loads for humans become a symbol of stupidity. So why not call it a "hard working" animal. Why the stupid one? Is it the appearance, or just a label? Or maybe, I am just overthinking about something lame. >We call the animals with "it." The language has its own ways of doing things. We use the term "it" for a strange one. But if it is a pet, we love to call that it with a name or he/she. Okay this may sound like a delusional approach, because if being a realist, it is just a grammatical term. And yes, I would love to agree on this point, but none can deny that these "its" also have feelings. Their heart is not a mere pumping machine. They, too, experience pain, fear and, in their own ways, affection. We may not understand their language, but that does not mean there is nothing to understand. A donkey may not write poetry about its suffering; and a cockroach may not make us question our existence, but does that make their existence is just for beneficiary. >Animacism. There is no such word in formal dictionary. Basically, it is a blend of "Animal and Racism." Yes, I know, I am out here inventing words now. Lol. But maybe we really need a word to question the way we treat different animals differently, based on their appearance, usefulness or the labels we have attached to them. Not every thing - living or non living - is loveable. But, it does not mean that we have to hate it just because we do not love. There is also a neutral approach for it. Take cockroach as an example: they can result in respiratory problems. A danger for the human life, right? But here is a fun fact: **cockroaches are afraid of human beings**. That is why whenever they see us, they start to run, hide. Just survival instincts. >Worst scenario? They start to fly, and you are taking a sh!t. Suddenly, all that philosophy flushes out, and you are fighting for your life. The poor creature is probably just as terrified as you are, but there you are, two living beings experiencing a crisis for entirely different reasons. Jokes aside, I am not suggesting that we should let cockroaches take over our homes or stop protecting ourselves from creatures that can pose health risks. But there is a difference between protecting ourselves and treating another living being as though its existence has no value whatsoever. Just because we do not love something; it does not mean, it deserves out hatred. ......................... Peace 🕊️ ......................... Picture is taken using Infinix Note 50 Pr0. _{Posted via [HiveSuite](https://hivesuite.app/@storicious/animacism-yo1w7wyt)}