Am I a weirdo?

[WillParkinson]

I have this weird "ability" to easily catch flies. At work recently the began doing some repairs that required doors to be left open. This let in many flies.

So I took a paper cup with a plastic lid. I caught as many flies as I could an put them in the cup. When I was done with my shift I went outside and let them all go (yes, they were all perfectly healthy, not a hair harmed). Someone at work told me I was a weirdo. I should have just killed them and been done with it.

I explained that as a vegan I do my best not to harm any living creature as long as it's not harming me.

They just shook their head and walked away.

So, am I a weirdo?

[LeftyMom]

1. Releasing them outside is the right thing to do.

I do that with bugs whenever possible. I've had pretty good luck with just waiting for flies to get close to the door and then opening it up so that they fly out. If they hang around inside my cats will harass, catch and eat them.

[Critters2]

2. I do that too. I've even been known to take whole spider webs, with the spider

outside when I find them in a building. Though I usually leave spiders alone, since they control populations of things I REALLY don't want in my house. But in the church or in other places where people seem to think they should be killed, I take 'em outside.

[blondie58]

3. no you aren't WillBowden

everything has a right to live- and a purpose in this world, although I haven't found out what a mosquito is good for yet! I usually let my cats catch the flies, but I capture spiders and put them outside.

[flvegan]

4. Only to them, Will.

I do the same thing (though, not with my hands grasshopper) and release any bug I can outside.

"I explained that as a vegan I do my best not to harm any living creature as long as it's not harming me" sums it up perfectly.

[WillParkinson]

5. Well, I did have to wash my hands about 30 times that night...

So at least I was uber-clean. :-)

[Tumbulu]

6. you all have rare kind hearts in a cruel culture

Insects have feelings, advanced ones. Do you know that normal little ants can live as long as 17 years? And that they commit suicide if stressed too harshly? (yes, an entomologist whose specialty was ants told me all these things).

As a small child I used to go to the windows of our house and tame the flies so that they would stay on my finger tip and then calmly walk them outside and let them fly free. It would take me about an hour per fly and it mostly involved being very still and patient. I am teaching my daughter how to do this. Sometimes you need to put a little salt on your finger so that they are happier.

My mother used to have me give sugar to the ants outside so that they were happy enough outside and not need to come into the house to get sugar. It worked. I tell people to try this and they think that I am nuts. Who really cares what these sorts of people think, really?

[chatnoir]

7. Not at all, I've done the same thing with any insects I've found

in the home or ofc. I've even found small black widows in the apt and captured them in order to release them outside. IMO, all life is sacred and everything has a right to live and a purpose.

What you did was beautiful, not weird.

[MuseRider]

8. No.

Every living being on this planet has a purpose. I have even learned how to catch wasps to get them outside. I HATE wasps even though they are really pretty cool and am terrified of them when they are in a room with me.

I say hooray for you. Our planet will not survive all the slash and burners. We all need to do this when we can.

[RebelOne]

9. I'm a vegetarian. I love animals, but bugs are another story.

I kill them all with no feeling of guilt.

[CrispyQ]

10. Becoming veg really helped me get over my fear of bugs.

Not sure how that worked, but it did.

Years ago I worked in a small office of women. Some huge, flying bug managed to get in our office & they were all standing around screaming. One of them had a file folder & wanted to kill it but she was too afraid to get close to it. I walked in & saw what was going on. I calmly got a cup & a piece of paper & proceeded to capture & release the bug. I was a hero for a long time after that!

As for killing flies, catching them is so much more tidy than swatting them & then having to deal with that. I pointed that out to a friend of mine once & she admitted the clean up part was gross, but I suspect she continued to kill bugs. :eyes:

Even if a bug rescue is more beneficial to both parties, I think many people suffer from a "humans dominate" mindset - that we have the right to do whatever we want to any creature less than us. So it's no surprise that we apply that to other humans, too.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

11. Nope, not at all.

I think many of us veggies take that kind of care with the animals around us -- it is just a natural extension of our vegetarianism. :)

When I work in gardens with snails, I do a "catch and release" with them -- I have a special pail I store them in until it is time to take them to the local park.

[MuseRider]

12. Ahh that is really nice!

I don't know what I am going to do next summer. This summer I tossed all the Tomato Hornworms into the woods and felt terrible if I squashed them trying to get them off my plants. I began cutting the branch they were on. They are so destructive. I don't know if they find their way back to the plants or not but that was my solution.

I love your snail story. Makes me smile, especially knowing that many people would give you real crap about that but you keep on with it. :hug: Love it.

[WillParkinson]

13. One of my earliest childhood memories involves snails...

We were at a lunch at a teachers house in the 4th grade. Ms. Thompson had a pond out in her back yard. One of the little snots that was there grabbed up a snail and crushed it. I cried so hard.

Ms. Thompson and another teacher got together and got me a membership into an animal group (I can't recall which anymore) but they knew how I felt about animals.

I think they'd be pleased to know their love put me on the path to love all others.