The EXCEPTION to the Bug Rule

[CatherineS]

Ok I almost started a new account to bring this up bc it sounds so lame, but I genuinely am having an issue regarding the bug article and dint want to derail the original thread. So here goes...

I agree with Steve's point that insects' lives should be respected as with any other living thing. But here's the problem (and it's the same subject as Erin's)-- cockroaches. The disgust I have for them literally made it difficult for me to TYPE the WORD. It's so bad my friends know not to SPEAK the word when telling stories about "The time Catherine ran away screaming from..." I mean it's bad. And I don't know why I feel this way. I am so disturbed by both roaches AND my phobia of them that I one time forced myself to sit down and do internet research on them. In hopes that maybe if I learned some way they contributed to the world (you know what I mean) or by learning about them at all I could begin to see past this FEAR of them. But honestly the THOUGHT of one makes my skin crawl and I become super tense and afraid. When I learned about LOA my greatest fear was that BECAUSE of my fear of them if one popped into my head, like I walked outside at night and--as I always do--glanced around to make sure the path is clear (I live in an area where they're prevalent)--I might actually attract them. But I haven't had a run in in quite some time, thank god.

Oh my gosh, look at how long that was! See, I KNOW intellectually that I sound CRAZY! But I hav 2 points in writing this:

1. A theory I'd like some feedback on: So I used to joke about my theory that roaches were the only thing actually created by Evil/The Dark/Fear/whatever-- like they were actually some negative entity and I would cite (1) their incredible ability to survive nuclear attack, (the fact that they avoid the light-- if u flick on a light they hit the ground and run away, (3) it seems to me that on more than one occasion I've stumbled upon one and its reaction isnt to run away like most bugs but to fly AT me--like it WANTS to scare/attack me (ok that could be my absurd phobia-imagination), and (4) they seem to serve no actual good/purpose through my internet research. I crafted this all as a joke, but seriuosly... I mean could it be a possibility??
And I am willing to admit that I want this to be true only bc it would allow me an out from having to then learn to get OVER the fear so we can live in harmony--as unfathomable as that feels to me currently.

2. Does this specific fear of roaches say something specific about some underlying issue I have that I need to deal with (other than the obvious--that I need to accept the value of roaches)? I guess I'm asking if they could be a symbol of something else to me that I don't realize?? Like, why are THEY this terrifying to me vs. spiders-- I will pick up a spider or any other insect for that matter with my hands! what is UP with this random phobia???? It feels so juvenile!!

Wow that was a lot of words about a little insect ...

[dbstraight]

Roaches are creepy. They're huge for household insects. They're ridiculously fast. They're ugly. They're dirty. I really doubt that you're going to get over your fear by looking for their good side. They're just creepy. There's no two ways about it.

I don't think they're evil though. They're the result of natural evolutionary processes. They're filling a niche in the ecosystem.

In any event, phobias generally fall into the realm of psychiatrics. I think if you want to learn something about getting over your fear, you need to research fear, not roaches.

Best of luck. I live in New Orleans, so I know what it's like to have roaches around. Yuck!

[Still Growing]

The killing of bugs and rodents that are crawling around inside your home is a natural (modern day) survival instinct.

Deep in our phsyci there is a belief that they carry desease and spread germs.

In today's world with no plague and less desease they are of little threat in small quantities. I think its great to capture and release them outside.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by dbstraight

Roaches are creepy. [...] They're dirty.

People like to say that second one often, so I did some research a while back.

I'm not going to dig it up, but what I read says that they're actually quite clean since they actually clean themselves, and one of the only reasons they'd be dirty is because they'd be walking through our own self-created dirt!

They also only turn up in the first place because there's food stuffs for them to eat, which essentially means they're helping us clean up our own mess.

Please allow me to fix your statement:

Roaches are creepy. [...] We're dirty.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Still Growing

The killing of bugs and rodents that are crawling around inside your home is a natural (modern day) survival instinct.

Deep in our phsyci there is a belief that they carry desease and spread germs.

In today's world with no plague and less desease they are of little threat in small quantities. I think its great to capture and release them outside.

Indeed.

Most issues with bugs just stems from fear, unconsciousness, and eating crap. (The latter relates and contributes heavily to the former, I find.)

Today I had an ant on my arm and since I was in a car with someone, I couldn't "release" him, so I just watched him, making sure he didn't get smooshed.

At first I thought, "oh, and ant" (I kind of have a "wow!"-like response in the back of my consciousness when it comes to nature; it's just so beautiful and amazing; like Steve, I see nature as my friend and am happy to have it around me). As I kept watching, the mental label gave way to awareness as I actually perceived how it was crawling on my arm. Suddenly I thought, "why would we want to destroy such a thing? It's a wonderful, living creature. Look at how amazing and intricate it's movement is, and what it's able to do."

I catch and release bugs often, and make a conscious effort to be mindful of their existence, but this was the first time that I was “releasing” a living thing, not just a label that I know I should treat a certain way. It was a visceral, very experiential experience. My intellect wasn’t what gave rise to my actions. It was a feeling of connection; oneness and knowing.

Really, when we kill bugs, we're not killing the bugs, we're killing our fear. We say, "oh god, look, it's [my fear]! Kill it!" Never mind the poor creature getting smooshed so that we can feel better, when we're the ones with the inefficiency in the first place (fear is optional, and irrational in such a situation, so it's an inefficiency).

That seems rather monkey-like to me. Time to upgrade to "human", methinks.

[CatherineS]

Yeah, Bruce, I get the ant story but that's me too-- I totally would be ok with--even fascinated by--an ant on my arm, really anyinsect....EXCEPT roaches. And it is this ridiculously huge fear I have of just THIS bug that makes me crazy. How can I transfer my understanding/appreciation of all other bugs to include the whole group--roaches inluded. Oh god it gives me the shivers to even WRITE that!! Or maybe dbstraight's right and I'm approaching this the wrong way... not really sure if this is pointless or not.

MAN I want to believe they're EVIL!

[Natsu]

I agree with the point of roaches. For example, I have nothing against moths, crickets or ants. But roaches get the best of me.

When I was little, I could pick up a cricket in my hand and have a look at it. Never with a roach. When I grew up I lost that ability, to pick up crickets and locusts. I grew afraid of them, something that royally pisses me off, because there is no reason to be afraid of them. I am bigger. they are no threat to me. Of course, when I find a cicada or locust feasting on my orange tree, they get sent one-way somewhere else. The tree is growing and those bugs may kill it, so they can well continue their lives... somewhere else.

In time, when I moved to the country (reason why I have ten trees in my back yard), I started living with bugs, and the fear of them diminished, though I can't still touch them with ease. By the way, no matter how clean you keep the houses, once the floor's wet, bugs get in. Specially spiders in corners, and those little black ones who curl themselves up in a ball, like an armadillo...Pill bugs? I always liked those ones, when I was little I used to touch them to see them curl up into a ball. I never tortured insects. I don't like them much, but I don't like to see them suffer either, they make a great display of suffering.

But... Roaches. Oh, roaches. The fear, the loath, the hatred. I don't exactly hate them, but I just don't understand why the fear and the loath for them have to be so incredibly high. If I have to take a moth out of the room, I can take it with my hand and put it outside the window. Whereas if by chance, my skin contacted barely with a roach, I'd jump and let out a scream of terror.

It's not every bug. It's roaches.

It's not the dirtiness, though they are dirty. But flies are terribly dirty (more so than roaches), and though we don't like them (they are a pain in the ass, always bothering you and buzzing in your ear), we don't fear and loathe them as much as we fear and loathe roaches. And it's weird, because flies are far dirtier than roaches. Hey, some flies live off carrion, and others off excrements. They are damn dirty. Still, roaches are more hated.

I am just trying to think about the reasons, because I think there must be.

First of all: ants go to food, flies go to carrion or excrement, but roaches generally appear whenever there's human dirt. You'll find roaches in sewers, dumpsters, and trash cans. A fly is dirty, but it will go to natural dirt. Roaches are aplenty in accumulations of OUR dirt. I wonder if there's something deep there.

Secondly: as roaches appear where things are dirty, untidy an unkempt, if you find one in your home... yes. You are dirty, untidy an unkempt. No one cries if the lone moth or the lone spider gets at home. No one wonders if there's a queue of ants going for the trash can. But if you have a roach at home, it means you're dirty. Or there's a plague, any of those two. Whatever, it feels wrong. The roach shouldn't be there. You should clean up.

Third: This may be far-fetched, but... Is there some atavic instinct that makes us dislike them that much? Yes, they look almost alien, but all bugs do so compared with mammals and birds, and yet roaches are still more hated than, say, moths.

Is it because they've been on earth before us... and they'll stay on earth much later? I just wonder if it has something to do with the fact that they are... ubiquitious, almost in space and time.


Whatever the reason, I am afraid I have to admit a deep disgust, loath and added fear of those bugs. And again, I hate that. There is no logic in such fear. The roach can't hurt me. I don't fear other bugs half as much. I don't even fear wasps half as much, and wasp bite can be tremendously painful, whereas I never met anyone who got physically hurt by a roach.

So, I quite agree with the person who started this thread. Even among insects, roaches are more disgusting than others. Possibly for no logical reason. It's not the dirtiness: there are dirtier bugs we hate less. It's not the appearance, all bugs are equally alien when compared to us. It's not the danger, a wasp or bee can hurt you (and that's not counting allergies), and still we fear roaches more.

So, what do you think the basis is?

I have thought about this long and deep, because I share that fear, and I thought that if I understand it, I might fight it better. But I still haven't found a logical reason why I should loath and fear this bug more than any of the others.

So I'd love to read other people's opinions.

[lasti]

Originally Posted by dbstraight

Roaches are creepy. They're ugly. They're dirty. I really doubt that you're going to get over your fear by looking for their good side. They're just creepy. There's no two ways about it.

There were already people on this world who thought this about other people. That doesn't mean that they were right.
Have you never made the experience that you can reduce your fear by connecting with love?