Spring Visitors

          The top picture is of a common squash bug and the bottom an assassin bug-a 'blood sucking cone nose' specifically-both species abundant in the east. (Click on pics to enlarge). They look similar and there are many different types of both species, but generally the squash bugs are harmless except to plants while assassin bugs mostly feed on other insects.  The latter can inflict a painful bite if mishandled, but ignore humans otherwise.

    A friend sent me a text saying that squash bugs were frequent visitors to his house in spring, yet when he mentioned this to other people their immediate reaction was to "squish them". This reminded me of the human intolerance to insects which I attribute to ignorance and fear, and of course that same negative impulse applies to snakes and spiders and, unfortunately, to skin color, sexual orientation, religious and political differences, and many other biases equally hard to expunge from our behavior. Personally, I have grown from a child who killed insects as though they were not living things to a person who respects their right to live as much as I value my own-at least until they are attempting to harm me, at which moment I defend myself. That is a template for how I treat other human beings; do me no harm and we shall live in peace. 
    So insects enter our house searching for food, or warmth, or by accident, or simply because they have been sequestered in the walls all winter and now search for an exit. When a fly is beating itself against a window it wants nothing but to get out of the house; why should I 'squish it' for wanting to be free? Fear and ignorance are powerful motivators of our behavior, but not our only tools for improvement.

Required Reading For White People

 " It is hereby enacted and declared, that baptism of slaves doth not exempt them from bondage; and that all children shall be bond or free, according to the condition of their mothers." -Act Concerning Servants and Slaves, section 36

...just part of the systematic dismantling of human rights in the year 1705 by the Virginia legislature known colloquially as the  'slave codes'. This is part of the American history that some white people label as 'critical race theory' and wish to be forbidden in schools. The book is a collection of many short essays detailing the true history of the United States as experienced from the perspective of African Americans. The complicated intertwining of economics and the so-called Christian faith of that time and the genuine immorality and brutality -as well as the fear in southern elites regarding the growing slave population and the threat of rebellion-all this is discussed in this book. That many whites still fear to examine honestly our collective history and claim that it will cause 'bad feelings' in schoolchildren and other such nonsense reveals how far we have yet to go in race relations. It always amazes and dismays me that some people claim suppression of free speech in the 'woke' culture-yet have no problem suppressing the discussion when they are uncomfortable with the subject matter. In truth, there is a profound difference between  speech promoting narrow minded intolerance and speech promoting inclusion and tolerance in a holistic examination of history. Yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater may be free speech, but it is also a dangerous betrayal of the public good; so deliberate expressions of hate and intolerance become a cancer on society.          Personally I am not afraid of these discussions and have no problem admitting my white male privilege. I cannot possibly know the experience of a black or Hispanic or Asian or Indigenous person so the least I can do is listen to their grievances and try to rectify them. Some of my ancestors-and I speak collectively of my race-were legitimately what can be called 'white trash'. That is a lesson to be learned that we all should be willing to embrace for our growth as a society. Yet because the news still has videos of unarmed black men being shot during traffic stops and because the police are still mostly policing themselves, and because realtors still undervalue black owned homes, and because blacks of all socioeconomic levels still receive lower levels of health care, and because of other enduring inequities, I can clearly see that many persons remain crippled by ignorance.