"I would rather live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep." But would you? One third of tiger subspecies have gone extinct in the last century directly from human activities, and of the ones still alive, four are endangered and two are critically endangered. We've poached and deforested 97% of tigers out of existence already, from over 100,000 in the early 1900s to only 3,200 that are left in the wild. 15,000 survive in captivity, but although they live longer there, what kind of life is that? What is the cost of protection, for any and all things? Not a single soul in this world would choose a cage over freedom, and watching a creature pace inside its box, with guilty lenses instead of rose tinted ones, still colors the experience of being up close. Tigers are mostly nocturnal creatures, but instead of getting to sleep all day (#relatable) they get poked and prodded to pose for photos with happy tourists even in the ethical sanctuaries. Understanding something experientially with all of your immediate senses has a different effect on you than when you only understand something intellectually, and petting an animal that has been stripped of its power and of its normal life is simply sad. They're still being hunted, and without serious intervention tigers are on track to become extinct in the wild within the next decade #stopmakingthingsgoextinct
This is my view right now. The tranquility and beauty that lace island life are painted in the clouds. But witnessing this joke from the other side of the world brings tears to my eyes that even the food poisoning of the last 12 hours can't summon. I don't care if you've heard this before. I don't care if anyone actually reads this. I just need to write it some place outside my mind so I know it exists. Almost everything in the world can be traced back to love and fear, and today fear won. As a woman, an LGBTQ+ ally, a survivor of sexual assault, a supporter of science, a believer of climate change, and someone who has friends of all races and varying beliefs, I am truly saddened at the thought of returning to the place I had always seen as progressive with stubbornly hopeful eyes. I'm sorry if this is cliche, but this election was elevated to the level of personal and moral offense. As someone who usually prefers to observe rather than to make noise, and as someone who is aware that multiple friends and family members voted today in a way that makes me feel small, I can't help but feel the need to let out these turbulent emotions. Maybe it's egged on by the fact that I've been puking all day, but even being in this beautiful place can't erase the deep sadness for the values of love, acceptance, truth, and equality that were blatantly ignored for material values and bygone views. If anything, this just shows how much work our out-of-date education system needs, because ignorance is not bliss, and tolerance comes from understanding. Everyone's connected in this strange universe, whether you'd like to believe it or not. I hope one day everyone sees that.
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AuthorWhen the feelings are ripe, the words must flow Archives
April 2019
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