FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

BoothEatsBUGS wrote:They're crickets. Nuff said.

This is exactly what I mean.
What makes us any better?
We humans think of ourselves as the most "intelligent" and civilized out of all creatures on Earth. We can't see that we are the least intelligent also the most cruel and savage creatures to ever roam the planet. We're the only ones to kill for the sake of killing. We wage pointless wars against each other and commit acts of barbarism that NO other organisms would do. We steal, lie, kill, hate, abuse, discriminate and enslave others ... the list never ends and we call animals insignificant.
We were put on this planet just as they were, and if it weren't for evolutionary luck we would have been wiped out by others a long time ago. We have the capacity for emotion and knowledge, which we use that for all of the wrong reasons. Sure things happen in nature, but they aren't forced to happen by organisms on the outside and if you do it for pure pleasure, they aren't the animal, you are.
Anyone can just say "they're crickets" but can't say why they're reasoning is just.

In a choice between bugs and plants, bugs win.
You say things aren't forced to happen by organisms on the outside. By owning any carnivorous plant, every bug it catches has in a way, been forced into that situation by the owner of that plant.

Over the years, I've kept two Tarantulas, which ate live crickets and locusts, which never bothered me, I keep cats, one of which I taught to hunt. Know it catches every fluffy creature, from mice, to magpies. If that makes me an evil person, then oh well. But my plants, I grow them for not just their beauty, but their grotesque ability to kill thousands if insects.
They were designed to kill, i just enable them to.

Nickicipi wrote:We wage pointless wars against each other and commit acts of barbarism that NO other organisms would do.

Not entirely true. Ant "wars" have been well documented. They organize and fight competing colonies to the point of entirely killing off the other colony and enslaving any survivors.

Also, it's been shown that Lions and some monkeys will kill babies in order to impregnate females. Lactating females do not ovulate, to stop the lactation the male will kill the infant.

Bottle-Nose dolphins have actually been documented killing for the sake of killing. Granted it's usually the result of sexual frustration but still...

Monkeys on countless occasions have been seen stealing. Though faulting stealing is a tough one because it requires the person/animal to have a concept of ownership.

Nickicipi wrote:Sure things happen in nature, but they aren't forced to happen by organisms on the outside...

See above about the ants. And let's not forget the plethora of fungi and other parasites that literally use a form of mind control on their prey.

I do agree with you that humans can be responsible for many terrible things, and I do agree that you shouldn't find joy in watching something die(there is a difference between not caring about it and actually finding delight in it), but to say we're the ONLY species doing "bad" things is factually incorrect.

Generally I'm ok with feeding insects to the plants. But I have a major soft spot for jumping spiders (have 1 as a pet ) and praying mantises. When I was a biology teaching assistant I had to feed live pinkies to the snake (the thing was afraid of everything but pinkies) and a blue tongued skink. My profile pic is of my little girl ginger, feeding live mice was painfully hard for me so I had the teacher handle the feedings so I wouldn't feel horrible about it.

Grow vegtables if the violence "bugs" you.

See what I did there?

No, I don't feel bad. I also don't feel bad for the cow that becomes my steak, or the calf that ends up in my veal parmesan, no matter how cute it was.
Why? We cultivate these animals for food, without us, they'd have never lived anyway. So, we terminate the existence that we forced. Vicious cycle and what not - Beef, it's what's for dinner.

Same goes for feeder crickets. How long would they survive in the wild? Not long, I'm sure, considering I don't see crickets taking over my yard. Life is rough.

Again, I feel no empathy for bugs.I don't see the point of feeling empathy for the little bugs that can crawl into your mouth when you sleep, or empathy for the microbes that you wash off your hands, or for the spider you crush as you are walking around, so why should I feel empathy for the bugs my CP eats?

By the way, many ant wars are not pointless. They reduce competition, and oftentimes provide a nutritious food source (the larvae and pupae of the other colony)
In fact, many ants do not make slaves from their enemy colonies.
Only a few specialized species do this.
These species are FORCED to do this, as these ants have jaws that cannot be used for feeding themselves.
So, they take the pupae of other species so that they can eat.
If they did not do this, the colony would perish.

So ant wars are NOT absolutely pointless.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about human wars...

dude
booth is right
if you really feel so bad then dont grow cp's
as long as they live insects wont
so if it hurts you to see nature take place then get something more average

bananaman wrote:By the way, many ant wars are not pointless...

You're right, though nowhere did I say they were. OP said humans waged pointless wars and I countered that ants also wage war so I can see where the confusion comes from.

I really wasn't trying to imply that ant wars are as pointless as some human wars though. Just showing an example of another creature that engages in war, even if their reason is more justifiable. But you are right, the ants that do wage war do so out of a need to survive.