Luddly Neddite
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- Sep 14, 2011
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College student's turtle project takes dark twist - Yahoo! News
We often stop to (safely!) move turtles of the road and have taken about a gazillion to our vet. Killing such a defenseless and benign creature sure as hell would not make me feel "dominant". Indeed, it would make me feel just the opposite.
Many years ago, when I still fished, I saw a fisherman hook a turtle, cut off his head and throw the body back in the water.
While living in Tucson, I remember seeing a pickup swerve to the other lane in order to hit a family of tiny quail chicks and their parents.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef6Ggl1-MAw]Gambel's Quail chicks emerge from their nest - YouTube[/ame]
What do others think about this?
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) Clemson University student Nathan Weaver set out to determine how to help turtles cross the road. He ended up getting a glimpse into the dark souls of some humans.
Weaver put a realistic rubber turtle in the middle of a lane on a busy road near campus. Then he got out of the way and watched over the next hour as seven drivers swerved and deliberately ran over the animal. Several more apparently tried to hit it but missed...
The number of box turtles is in slow decline, and one big reason is that many wind up as roadkill while crossing the asphalt, a slow-and-steady trip that can take several minutes.
Sometimes humans feel a need to prove they are the dominant species on this planet by taking a two-ton metal vehicle and squishing a defenseless creature under the tires, said Hal Herzog, a Western Carolina University psychology professor.
"They aren't thinking, really. It is not something people think about. It just seems fun at the time," Herzog said. "It is the dark side of human nature."
We often stop to (safely!) move turtles of the road and have taken about a gazillion to our vet. Killing such a defenseless and benign creature sure as hell would not make me feel "dominant". Indeed, it would make me feel just the opposite.
Many years ago, when I still fished, I saw a fisherman hook a turtle, cut off his head and throw the body back in the water.
While living in Tucson, I remember seeing a pickup swerve to the other lane in order to hit a family of tiny quail chicks and their parents.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef6Ggl1-MAw]Gambel's Quail chicks emerge from their nest - YouTube[/ame]
What do others think about this?