You love animals. You'd rather spend time with your
dog or cat than whoever just won the Nobel Prize or has almost come up with the definitive cure for cancer. I get it. But try to understand that I do not share your feelings.
When an animal appears to be heading in my direction, I immediately panic. The fight-or-flight
mechanism kicks in and all I want is to be away from the animal lest it touch me, which is my main dread, possibly even stronger than the dread of being bitten. Hence I will attempt to scale a wall or leap onto a parked car. Anything to get away from the animal.
I don't go around poisoning dogs' food or throwing
darts at cats. Not only would that be against my values, but I couldn't bear being close enough to an animal to cause it harm.
I know that for some of you, these expressions of
hatred toward animals arouse hatred towards me. Since I don't believe in Free Will, I know you can't
help yourself if this is how you feel. I'm only asking
that you make some effort to understand my feelings and know that I am not alone in having them.
Being afflicted with this fear for almost a lifetime,
I understand it well and know what comprises it.
It's a combination of disgust and fear that combine into loathing.
When I read about behavior therapy that suggests one look at photos of animals, progress to being
in a room with an animal, and graduate into actually touching it, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. The sad truth is that I'd rather continue to suffer from this affliction than embark on the cure
described.
Although many of my friends are animal lovers and
try to protect me from them when we're together,
strangers often grow hostile if they see me trying to
avoid their pet, or if I express my feelings about it.
These so-called lovers morph into haters.
If you say you hate spiders or rodents, no one gets
angry. Say you hate cats and dogs and people lump
you with Hitler, Pol Pot, and Saddam Husein.
Think about it. Please.
