Do you think stepping on bugs is wrong - why or why not?

[Knight of Albion]

Am I the only one who finds it sickening that you would consider crushing tiny people to be no big deal? You seem to be presuming that they would be reasonably intelligent if they can build technology. For all intents and purposes, your hypothetical tiny people seem to be the same as regular humans intellectually. If you were shrunk down to their size but remained the same in terms of ability to think and reason, why should the value of your life decrease (as you seem to imply that they have little value simply because they are small)? I am not following your reasoning at all.

If someone shrunk one of your loved ones down to the size of an ant, would you value their life any less?

A great post. Well said.

 

[Knight of Albion]

And remember, you are like an ant to God ... but you still want and expect love, help and mercy.

Follow the chain of love that connects all creation.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Am I the only one who finds it sickening that you would consider crushing tiny people to be no big deal? You seem to be presuming that they would be reasonably intelligent if they can build technology. For all intents and purposes, your hypothetical tiny people seem to be the same as regular humans intellectually. If you were shrunk down to their size but remained the same in terms of ability to think and reason, why should the value of your life decrease (as you seem to imply that they have little value simply because they are small)? I am not following your reasoning at all.

If someone shrunk one of your loved ones down to the size of an ant, would you value their life any less?

He either has sociopathic tendencies or is a troll. I would say more but I don't want to get into trouble.

 

[Knight of Albion]

Just because something is small and deemed to be less aesthetically pleasing to the eye doesn't make it any less worthy of help and kindness ...

 

[SheWhoSeesYou]

And remember, you are like an ant to God ... but you still want and expect love, help and mercy.

Follow the chain of love that connects all creation.

If God exists, he doesn't actually seem to show a whole lot of mercy.

 

[Thrylix]

Am I the only one who finds it sickening that you would consider crushing tiny people to be no big deal? You seem to be presuming that they would be reasonably intelligent if they can build technology. For all intents and purposes, your hypothetical tiny people seem to be the same as regular humans intellectually. If you were shrunk down to their size but remained the same in terms of ability to think and reason, why should the value of your life decrease (as you seem to imply that they have little value simply because they are small)? I am not following your reasoning at all.

If someone shrunk one of your loved ones down to the size of an ant, would you value their life any less?

Wait, what? I never said the value of their lives decreased based on their relative size. What I am trying to say is that it is less of a fault to crush something that you are much bigger than, regardless of intelligence. Does godzilla walk on tip toes around humans when he's defending them from some other giant monster? He's bigger than they are; some are going to be crushed. Them's the brakes.

Well, you said you don't see how there would be any real harm done to them. Death is certainly real harm. Unlike ants, they do have loved ones who will grieve over their loss. Imagine their horror when they run towards the destruction after hearing such a commotion and seeing the blood and guts splattered everywhere. It would be days, at least, until they know who they even lost.

Well, sure some would be killed, but I meant their would be no harm to them in a broader aspect. I wouldn't be wiping out their city. I guess I wouldn't feel too bad because like ants, I know they could repopulate and rebuild. I think the people of the city would hardly blame me for my actions either, recognizing me as a massively bigger organism with an interest in their society.

What would you do with them anyway?; Put them in a shoe box with some holes and shake them a little to get them moving around again?

If they think you are God I'm not sure what there is to gain. They could think of offerings that might please you. I'm pretty sure they could find ways to entertain you too. Don't you think?

I honestly can't think of any.

 

[Parsimony]

Wait, what? I never said the value of their lives decreased based on their relative size. What I am trying to say is that it is less of a fault to crush something that you are much bigger than, regardless of intelligence. Does godzilla walk on tip toes around humans when he's defending them from some other giant monster? He's bigger than they are; some are going to be crushed. Them's the brakes.

If the act of destroying buildings and lives is accidental, that's one thing. If one does it on purpose (or if it happens because there was intentional carelessness involved), that's another matter.

 

[Aupmanyav]

If God exists, he doesn't actually seem to show a whole lot of mercy.

And why did he make some thing small and some thing big? Poor rabbits.

 

[Knight of Albion]

If God exists, he doesn't actually seem to show a whole lot of mercy.

No mercy? If you could read the records of your soul's journey thus far you would be staggered by how many 'second chances' you have been gifted...

And in a free will world do not seek to pass blame for the cruelty, apathy and indifference of man.
All will be recompensed.

 

[SheWhoSeesYou]

No mercy? If you could read the records of your soul's journey thus far you would be staggered by how many 'second chances' you have been gifted...

And in a free will world do not seek to pass blame for the cruelty, apathy and indifference of man.
All will be recompensed.

The one I refer to, as outlined in the bible, has a lot of blood on his hands. I don't blame anyone for anything that happens here, because I don't believe any being is responsible for us.

Wait, what? I never said the value of their lives decreased based on their relative size. What I am trying to say is that it is less of a fault to crush something that you are much bigger than, regardless of intelligence. Does godzilla walk on tip toes around humans when he's defending them from some other giant monster? He's bigger than they are; some are going to be crushed. Them's the brakes.

Well, sure some would be killed, but I meant their would be no harm to them in a broader aspect. I wouldn't be wiping out their city. I guess I wouldn't feel too bad because like ants, I know they could repopulate and rebuild. I think the people of the city would hardly blame me for my actions either, recognizing me as a massively bigger organism with an interest in their society.

You're original objective was to stomp on their town, and watch them run like all hell, or at least that was the objective with the ants. Now that they're people it seems like you mostly want to step on a few structures, and that some people will inevitably end up under your foot. There is a difference between simple logic and morality though. Logically, they'll be fine. The whole world will always be fine if being populated is all it takes to be fine. If our lives gets cut short we won't suffer over it, because we'll be dead. A person is too unique and complex to simply be removed from existence by the weight of your foot. What about the ones squirming between the treads of your shoes? What will do about them?

I honestly can't think of any.

Yeah...I don't know. Clean your toes? Build replicas for you? Well, if they weren't so terribly small, I guess they would be a little more useful for something.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I haven't mistreated or killed anything larger than a wasp, probably. I'm considered a pretty nice, well rounded guy by all my friends and I like most animals.

Mindless bugs are different, in my opinion.

They are certainly different... all the higher lifeforms depend for their existence on those lower down the chain. Bugs continued existence is very important to life on earth.

Killing things that do you no harm displays an attitude that lacks empathy or
or an understanding of nature. It is callous and thoughtless.

However we all probably kill any number of bugs in one way or another with out being aware of it. What you are describing is wanton destruction. Your friends seem to display equally poor judgement.

 

[Knight of Albion]

The one I refer to, as outlined in the bible, has a lot of blood on his hands. I don't blame anyone for anything that happens here, because I don't believe any being is responsible for us.

Yes, but the Bible is the work of man and where man is involved God tends to be misrepresented.

The God who apparently hurls plagues and catastrophes at people ...yet is a God of Love.

The God who apparently condones flesh feasts and animal sacrifices ... yet the same God in the same book who advocates a vegan diet and states that animal sacrifices are an abomination to Him and that He never asked for or wanted such things.

Which is true? Clearly they can't both be.

Love is the fulfilling of the Law - and compassion its practical application.

 

[Aupmanyav]

As far as possible. One cannot be totally non-violent, our blood kills billions of bacteria every day. This was established in the story of 'Dharma-vyadha' (the pious butcher) in SrimadBhagawat Purana some 2,000 years ago. What would we eat, even vegetation is life.

 

[Avi1001]

Yes, dude, it is wrong to stomp on bugs. Instead, we should be harvesting them and converting them to biomass. Thermal oxidative conversion. Protein conversion (non-religious conversion) . There are ethical and moral issues which need to be considered more fully.

I'm 21 years old, had to go to a picnic today. I got up to throw something in the garbage and at the garbage can noticed a horde of ants bustling around a little ant mound. I was bored so I lifted my foot over them and stamped it down. After flattening them and their little home under my shoe, I walked back to the blanket.

When I sat back down, I leaned over to check out all the crushed ants stuck to my foot. My friend and I sort of snickered because the ants I carried through the grass on the bottom of my feet were only half-crushed and squirming in the treads of my running shoe. Then out of nowhere some guy who I didn't know saw me and called me a "white bully" and "inhumane" because I step on bugs. I told him to bend down and kiss my stinking feet. I know, not nice, heh.

Now, I've been stepping on bugs my whole life. I know jains respect all life and believe that what I do when I see a bug is wrong. But how is that explained? I thought they believed in reincarnation but how does that work? Do they believe that bugs are reincarnated from people?

If I'm stepping on uncle bob, is that really such a bad thing? I guess my thoughts would be eh, better luck next time. There was probably a reason he ended up as a tiny ant on the bottom of my shoe.

 

[Straw Dog]

Realistically, they are more like little biological robots. Is it wrong to destroy them individually? I don't know. If there's no practical reason for doing so, such as domestic hygiene, then it's just senseless interference grounded in baseless aversion. It's probably a big mistake to destroy entire species as they may play a vital link in the ecological balance of a certain region or even have global ramifications, such as the colony collapse syndrome of the bees. I don't think killing individual insects is nearly as bad as killing more complex organisms.

 

[Thrylix]

You're original objective was to stomp on their town, and watch them run like all hell, or at least that was the objective with the ants. Now that they're people it seems like you mostly want to step on a few structures, and that some people will inevitably end up under your foot. There is a difference between simple logic and morality though. Logically, they'll be fine. The whole world will always be fine if being populated is all it takes to be fine. If our lives gets cut short we won't suffer over it, because we'll be dead. A person is too unique and complex to simply be removed from existence by the weight of your foot.

I think when something is a thousand times smaller than you, it's uniqueness kind of stops mattering. Each ant may have some unique characteristic to them that we don't notice but that doesn't stop them from being squished like they were nothing each day.

What about the ones squirming between the treads of your shoes? What will do about them?

Probably just leave them stuck there? They won't be stuck there forever, one way or another.

Yeah...I don't know. Clean your toes? Build replicas for you? Well, if they weren't so terribly small, I guess they would be a little more useful for something.

Hah, I can clean my own toes but making a hundred little people crawling on my feet to do the job would be a funny sight. I think that forcing them to rake up foot crud when I'm bored isn't as bad as stepping on them outright, though. As for replicas, there would be no point; I'd just demolish them, make them rebuild again, just to give the little guys something to do, heh. Would you also consider that to be harmful?

 

[SheWhoSeesYou]

I think when something is a thousand times smaller than you, it's uniqueness kind of stops mattering. Each ant may have some unique characteristic to them that we don't notice but that doesn't stop them from being squished like they were nothing each day.

Probably just leave them stuck there? They won't be stuck there forever, one way or another.

Hah, I can clean my own toes but making a hundred little people crawling on my feet to do the job would be a funny sight. I think that forcing them to rake up foot crud when I'm bored isn't as bad as stepping on them outright, though. As for replicas, there would be no point; I'd just demolish them, make them rebuild again, just to give the little guys something to do, heh. Would you also consider that to be harmful?

We can't appreciate an ants uniqueness, because they are ugly, mindless, and pestful. We can relate to the tiny humans, although, now that I think of it, they would probably be just as pestful as ants can be. They would probably have a short life span and be accustomed to sudden death, just like ants.

Oh my goodness! The ones stuck in your shoe I especially feel sad about...

That's good that you clean your toes, but I'm sure they could do a much better job getting into all the nooks and crannies; making everything nice and soft and smooth. Just don't make them clean the bottom of your shoes too! See, that's working together. They clean your toes; you don't step on them. They build things at your request; you demolish them; they don't get stepped on. Geez Louise.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Also carry a string broom as the Jain monks do, to brush aside insects softly from their path and walk barefoot. Also keep a cloth over your mouth so that no insect accidentally goes into your mouth. Jainism is good for kind people.

 

[Thrylix]

We can't appreciate an ants uniqueness, because they are ugly, mindless, and pestful. We can relate to the tiny humans, although, now that I think of it, they would probably be just as pestful as ants can be. They would probably have a short life span and be accustomed to sudden death, just like ants.
They clean your toes; you don't step on them. They build things at your request; you demolish them; they don't get stepped on. Geez Louise.

Would you really see that as unfair? If I wouldn't step on them, what's the harm?

 

[dendrophilous]

I don't think the issue is the value of insect life, but rather what the very action says about you. That you would go out of your way to destroy something weaker than you is kind of a personality indicator.