This is a story close to my heart. I live at the Jersey Shore. Every June and July, female turtles creep from the bay and go in search of high ground to lay their eggs. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them never make it. Their journey takes them across paved roadways, where many are squished. I’ve seen them.
Research by two young men show that a certain percentage of the turtle killings are intentional.
Nathan Weaver, a student at Clemson University placed a plastic turtle in the road near his campus. In the course of one hour, seven out of 267 vehicles, 2.62 percent, swerved in order to hit the turtle. Read:
Clemson student’s turtle project takes a dark twist, on CharlotteObserver.com.
A psychology professor quoted in the story explained the intentional killings as “the dark side of human nature.” He said,
“They aren’t thinking, really. It is not something people think about. It just seems fun at the time.”
I think the good professor is wrong. I think Weaver was observing sociopathic behavior. Experts estimate that 1 percent to 4 percent of the population are sociopaths. Well, the 2.62 percent of drivers who swerved in order to kill the turtles fit right into that range.
Mark Rober, a NASA engineer, conducted a similar experiment using a rubber turtle, snake and tarantula. He observed 1,000 cars, and 6 percent of of drivers intentionally ran over the animals.
Turtles were hit 1 percent of the time and snakes 1.8 percent—again tracking with the estimated number of sociopaths in society. Tarantulas, however, were hit the most, by far. If I were to interpret this, I’d guess that the tarantula-killers perceived them as dangerous.
Here’s a video of Mark Rober’s Roadkill Experiment.
[youtube_sc url=http://youtu.be/k-Fp7flAWMA]
MoonDancer! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
All I know is that I’m leery of ANYONE who either uber-loves animals or uber-hates them. I don’t mean loving their pets, but over-the-top stuff.
Although I would very much love to have a dog, I know that I cannot make that financial and physical committment, just yet. Maybe, never again. But, it still doesn’t prevent me from going to sheep dog trials, petting other dogs, and loving my friends’ dogs.
Now, I have no desire to ever own an iguana or tarantula.
Brightest blessings
Truthy, I dont think I am over uber or under uber, i am just uber when it comes to critters.
MoonDancer
I don’t know the thread either. I only remember bits, and I was SOOOoo clever. Mebbies not as clever as I wish I were!
My response was to think about giving him a chance. I have grown/matured in 10 years. I know you have too. Mebbie he did as well. But, practice what you’ve learned in these years, about not handing someone the keys to harm/hurt you. Boundries baby. b/c at my age, meeting people is difficult, and yer my age darling. So instead of rejecting before you know, I say be curious. See if he’s matured/got his act together. You did and gosh it’s pretty darn attractive.
Moon, I don’t know what I meant when I typed that. I think that what I meant to type was that I really need to OBSERVE, watch, and listen to people (as OxD mentioned LONG ago) and learn how to better “read” them and their actions.
The exspath always went on and on and on (ad nauseum) about how much he “loved” our pets and, yet, when he left he made NO effort to see that at least the innocent creatures were fed or had their medications. So, he wanted to see me suffer, OKAY, then. But, he simply walked away from the pets, too.
Thankfully, I got to spend my dog’s last months with her, alone, and cared for her with as much gentle love and kindess as I could. I have her ashes, and the ashes of all of our previous pets that passed. And, he’s asked for NONE of them which just goes to show how much they really meant to him…..
Brightest blessings
I love critters. Am a farm kid so no prob w/snakes or mousies, and a healthy respect for critters to give a WIDE berth to, like coons.
So when I met my rancher husband, I was SO impressed b/c his photo album had LOTs of photos of dogs. That was the image. I found out their dogs did not die of old age. I rescued a kitten from his brother (also an spath but with NO MASK, the guy was so SURE he was right about everything that he was a Fricken control freak jerk, doing petty crime to bully/beat who he didn’t like, etc. This GREAT TO TAKE HIS KITTEN FROM HIS BARN b/c he was going to starve/beat/kick it since it was just an animal.) That kitten was my baby, went on walks with me like a dog. And BLEW my husband’s mind when it died of old age. The FIRST animal he ever had that died of old age. And my X! is in his 50’s.
Just b/c someone seems to love animals doesn’t mean they do. Just means they know to use them as an image b/c girls get all fuzzy when they see kittens, and photos of dogs. I went years without an animal, not b/c I didn’t like them but b/c I worked weird hours and couldn’t be sure I’d be around to care for them.
The more I think about spaths, the more I conclude NOTHING is black and white, except the absense of humanity in them.
KatyDid….100% spot-on. It’s like Skylar says: 180 rule. And, you are SO right about the absence of humanity.
They move through a sea of humanity looking, smelling, eating, and “functioning” like a member of the human race, and they are like those animals and insects that simply MIMIC.
Brightest blessings
Moon dancer you said
” I have talked to him a few times a week ago but have kinda pulled back..I keep remembering the bad things he did and the negative things he did to others..”
Rule #1: WHEN SOMEONE SHOWS YOU WHAT THEY ARE, BELIEVE THEM THE FIRST TIME.
you also said:
“I am very lonely and in need of a friend”.”
This leaves you VULNERABLE when you are lonely and looking for Friendship or love. Makes you put up with stuff.
You said “Maybe it could be better this time because I have changed? ”
Like this time you can make it better. I think you need to see rule #1 again,
TruthSpeak
Actually I don’t agree with the 180 rule. There is MUCH I do agree with Skylar, her spath reminds me MOST of my spath, they did a LOT, though a LOT alike.
But my spath would tell the truth but withhold just a TINY piece, BUT that tiny piece would change EVERYTHING. He was not the opposite, he was just 1% off, but if you sail 1% off? You hit the rocks.
RAt poison is 99% PURE WHOLESOME CORN MEAL and 1% poison, but it will kill you…so the combination of pure+poison=deadly poison, the opposite of wholesome. I think it is simply semantics and it doesn’t matter if it is 50% lie and 50% truth, or 99% truth and 1% lie, the end result is that it is DECEPTION~! Deception=lies.
well, my spath told SO much truth, (99%) i only knew about the 1% in hindsight. i think i could have figured him out if he was 50% lies.
but yer right, it was ALL poisonous deception, as Donna says from one of the first articles I read from her… He was the lie from hello to goodbye.