Zug-Zwang said:
If you are a Pagan or Wiccan,you might believe that everything has a right to live,maybe even a murdering child molester but that logic would mean not protecting yourself and your family.
Speaking as a Wiccan, the right to exist of that "murdering child molester"
is weighed against the harm that person has done, and if they've commited
murder and molested children, you don't get much more reviled by Wiccans
than that. As far as protecting one's family, a common axiom among the
Pagans I know is "Your rights end where mine begin." A Wiccan would not
have a problem stopping an intruder if the alternative is their own harm, or the harm of their family.
Now, to go back to your original proposition, which was the elimination of
tics, fleas, roaches, and rats, your supports so far for your stance seem to
be the potential of harm present in each organism, and the "disease vector"
risk. If you're going to eliminate something because it's a disease vector,
then prarie dogs need to be eliminated in the United States (host for
a type of flea that carries the bubonic plague, and there's still about 15
cases of the plague here a year), armadilloes need to go away (leprosy),
and a great number of domestic animals around the world (rabies,
viral and bacterial infection from claws, etc.)
An entire group of lifeforms cannot be wiped out without an impact on
the environment. Some of what you propose eliminating are scavengers
who are part of the decomposition cycle. Your post reminded me of
a piece of fiction I read once (I say fiction because it's set in the future,
not because of the philosophies involved) wherein a Jain ran into problems
with a farmer who offered her honey. The Jain felt the honey was stolen,
the farmer noted the locusts who'd destroyed his crop the previous year
were not concerned about stealing food from him, and informed the Jain
that he wished all insects would die. The Jain died and was later reincarnated
into a world with no insects. There were no insects to process other animals'
waste. There were no insects to pollinate plants. There were no insects
for other animals to eat. Without pollination, certain plants were not
reproducing. Without plants, herbivores had nothing to eat and
photosynthesis was not taking place. Humans faced shortages of food
sources (animal and vegetable) and oxygen. Through science and effort,
Man was able to carve out a subsistence living by doing what insects
did as part of their existence. Also, simply eliminating a species does not
prevent another one from moving in to the created niche. If you get rid
of rats, something else becomes the new rat.
Oh, and your frined with the two kids with health problems from the roaches?
Child PRotective Services refers to that as failing to maintain a clean home
environment, and punishes the parents, not the roaches.
!
