[Lady Sidhe]

I think that mankind is probably the only animal on the planet that doesn't actually have a niche. We could be obliterated, and the world would just go on merrily without us; kill off certain species of insects, however, and the food production would go all to hell. Mankind really doesn't serve a purpose, as most other creatures do.

I'm not implying that mankind is evil in and of itself, only that we tend to use up our resources rather than preserve them by using them wisely, hunt species to extinction for luxuries, and generally do a crappy job in the stewardship of the earth. We seem to believe that because we're human, and therefore "superior," that that gives us license to rape, plunder, and pillage unchecked, without considering the future.

And I kind of agree with the idea that we're a threat to ourselves. People kill people for a pair of tennis shoes. Animals don't generally kill for no purpose (although, yes, a male lion who takes over a pride WILL kill off the cubs of the previous leader, it isn't something that happens all the time), but for food or in self-defense. Animals don't generally pollute their environment so that it becomes a health hazard.

And by "animals," I mean, specifically, "non-human, non-mechanical, living beings, up to and including insects, invertebrates, fish, and avians."

Human beings more resemble viruses, in that they tend to harm or destroy the host (rather than a symbiote, which lives in harmony while using it's host, and sometimes benefits the host as well).


Oh, and to answer the original thread:

My family. That's it. My little girl and my husband.



Sidhe