Head in the Sand

Do you have something in your life that you absolutely hate? Not just some song on the radio, or some jerk who won't leave you alone, but something that really upsets you? It could be abortion, or human trafficking, or abuse of children or animals. There are so many things to hate in this world. And what is the easiest thing to do about it? It's easiest to try to pretend that it doesn't exist. To 'bury your head in the sand' so to speak, and avoid thinking about it.

My recent 'head in the sand' topic is trapping, which I have written about before. I decided that it is something about which I should write a letter to my representative. I mean, really, why are they there but to represent the people? And I am part of the people, so I need to make my voice heard. However, I needed facts in order to write a legitimate letter. I can't just go in saying, "I think beavers are cute and trappers are mean. You should listen to me." I need to give examples of why trapping is wrong (once again, if you think trapping is good, don't bother arguing with me. We're all allowed to have our own opinions, and you're allowed to be stupid. But if you argue with me on this point, I will punch you in the face). And to give examples, I needed to find out what it really is. 

I did the same thing when I decided a few years ago that I had to have my own opinion about abortion. I knew it was wrong, but I knew it was wrong because I had grown up with my parents volunteering at the Freeport Pregnancy Centre, and they firmly believed that abortion was wrong. I needed to know why it was wrong, and in the course of my research, I discovered that people are scum, and I am embarrassed to be a human. And pretty much the same thing happened when I started to research trapping. And it has happened over the years whenever I have researched something that I think is wrong with the world. 

Several years ago, my Grampa gave me a copy of the poem 'The Monkeys' Disgrace'. I think about it more and more lately...

Maybe it isn't such an insult when Grampa compares me to a monkey...

The thing of it is though, we can't be like the monkeys and say, 'Well, that's nothing to do with us.', and we can't be like the ostriches and stick our heads in the sand, waiting for all of the garbage to pass us by. We have to know what is happening. I know that I cannot fix everything that is wrong with the world. It simply isn't possible. But I need to decide what I think are the most important things for me to fight for. And I need to be aware of those things so that I actually sound like I know what I am talking about. Time Magazine (Feb 20, 2005) had this quote from Clint Eastwood: 

"Extremism is so easy. You've got your position, and that's it. It doesn't take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots coming around from the left." 

I think that this kind of extremism is what a lot of people do. They can say they have a stance on things, and it doesn't take a lot of effort to hold that stance. Maybe some spirited debate among friends where they can make a big deal about what they "believe". But in order to change things, you have to know what it is you're actually against. Stop sticking your head in the sand, even if you have to learn things that you don't want to know. As G.I. Joe said, "Knowing is half the battle." 

So keep your head out of the sand.

Oh, the Inhumanity...

When Carla and I were little, Dad warned us to be careful of beaver slides. Those are narrow grooves cut into the bank of the creek which beavers use to slide into the water in places where the bank is too high to easily slip into the water without jumping. He told us that people still sometimes set traps for beavers, and that the bottom of those slides would be the best place for someone to set a trap. Now, this was said to me perhaps once, when I was maybe 7 or 8, about the time that we were able to start going to the creek by ourselves. And now, 20 years later, it still sticks with me. I was totally freaked out by the idea that there may be a trap at the bottom of a slide, waiting to snap shut on my foot. Even today, I will not go down a beaver slide without checking with a stick to ensure that there is no trap at the bottom. And Carla and I both worry when we have the dogs at the creek, because they love to use beaver slides. Heck...they're not going to jump into the water from 3 feet above it when they can run down a convenient little path. And those traps don't discriminate. Just because they're set for beavers doesn't mean that they'll not catch a dog's leg, or a little girl's foot (or a big girl's foot at this point...).

Over the years, I never found a trap at the bottom of a beaver slide. But the idea still scared me. We found the occasional trap in the creek, but the worst damage that we'd get was a stubbed toe when we'd kick one on the bottom of the creek. These were old traps, rusted shut so tightly that we couldn't even pry them open without breaking them. I sort of came to believe that no one here really traps anymore. Maybe in Montana, or places like that, but not in Illinois. But I still never went down a beaver slide without checking first. And I still held my breath if I suddenly saw a dog using one.

But a couple of days ago, about 20 years after those warnings, they came true. Fortunately, not with the dire consequences I expected. I didn't step on one, the dogs weren't even with me. But I found 2 traps at the bottom of beaver slides. In areas where I have gone with the dogs for years.
First, I found a conibear trap. (Yes, I have been doing research on traps tonight. When I get upset about something and want to make things change, I do a lot of research on it. The only way to change the world is to know what is happening. That's why I also know more than I really want to know about subjects such as abortion and human trafficking.). I had never seen a conibear trap before, and wasn't entirely sure what it was. Though I was 100% certain that it was a trap. Below is what a conibear trap looks like.

Interestingly enough this image was taken from a page which teaches how to get your dog out of a trap should he/she get caught in one. Something important to know. This trap closes with roughly 90 pounds of pressure, and is called a 'body-gripping' trap. The basic idea is that the beaver will slide headfirst into it, get caught by the neck, and drown.
The second trap I found, which was within about 2 feet of the beaver's dam (which I found to be even more unfair, but that's just my opinion) was your typical leg-hold trap.

 This one though, was pulled up out of the water.

It was obvious that it had caught something and had been pulled along with it, only to be stopped by the cement block it was wired to.

By this time, I was pretty well seething. And then I turned the trap over.

I'm fairly certain that this is a beaver's paw. I'm no expert in identifying animal paws, but that is what it looks like, and it makes sense that it would be a beaver caught in this trap. There are strands of flesh dangling from it, and it looks like it was chewed and pulled on frantically until the paw came free from the leg. And really, where does that leave the beaver? Yeah, it is free, but it has a bleeding stump of a leg, and is most likely in shock. From what I have found, it is possible for a beaver to survive with a missing front paw, but that's only if it doesn't bleed to death or wind up with an infection.

I cannot even fathom how these traps are still legal. I am far more on the side of 'hunting sucks' than most people in this area. I do not get how killing animals can be fun, and it mystifies me when people are talking about the beauty of the deer or whatever they're hunting. If it's so beautiful and you love watching it, why kill it? But I do realize that, especially in places where the ecosystem is jacked up, hunting is a necessary evil. But seriously? There is absolutely no circumstance where you could convince me that trapping is necessary. If you have to kill something, no matter your reasoning, do so quickly and humanely.

I'm in the midst of trying to find bills that are being proposed which will end or at least put more restrictions on trapping. So far, I haven't found much. If you know of anything, let me know. I will also keep looking. It is not tradition, it is not a way of life that needs to be saved. It is a barbaric, inhumane practice which needs to be stopped.

This blog is actually remarkably calm for the way that I feel right now. And it only became that way through a lot of editing. It took a much harsher direction a few times. And I felt completely justified in my fury. But passion that turns into anger does nothing for anyone. If you want to make a difference, you have to be passionate about your cause while still being able to remain under control. It may be a constant struggle, but caring and knowing how to constructively express that without spouting off some of the things you'd like to say is part of being an adult. Though, at the moment, I'd be ok giving up being an adult. And I frequently feel tired of being part of the human race in general. We're messed up...

 

 

 

Day 43: Over and Out

My folks are home, so here's the last post of this set. Yay...
I guess I am glad that I did these blogs, though I feel like the main thing I learned was that I am a boring person, and I quickly run out of things to say.

A few other things I learned:
1. I enjoy using gifs. Especially of things that make me laugh. I've never used them in blogs before, and I figure that I can at least add them in there to amuse people in case my writing is too boring.

 

 

2. If I post a blog that has a title which makes it sound potentially negative, it gets 3 times as many views. For example, blogs about my siblings, things I struggle with, etc.

3. I am really harsh toward people. Though, to be fair, I'm pretty harsh toward myself as well.

 





4. No matter what subject I am writing about, my animals can come into it in some way, even if I am the only one who sees the connection.

 

5. I don't like feeling like I have to write every day. At least not like I have to write something for public consumption every day. It makes me feel like I can't focus enough on what I am writing because I have to also be thinking of what I'm gonna write the next few days.

 

6. I tend to ramble and have no idea what I am saying. I don't reread what I have written, because I know that if I did, I'd react like this:

Followed quickly by this:

So I don't check things over again. Pretty much ever. Sometimes, a couple of years later, I will reread my blogs. And them I'm surprised because I don't remember writing any of it. Sometimes I'm impressed, but sometimes I wonder what sort of madness I had whirling through my brain while I was writing.  

 

  

I am going to try to write more.... just not daily. And not with a planned out agenda. Though, you may have noticed that toward the end, everything sort of fell apart, and I was totally making it up as I went. So I guess from now on, I'll write as the mood strikes me, and see where that takes me.

Thanks to anyone who read this thing the whole way through :~)