Coming out of the closet

My brother is currently subbing a class that includes David Jung and Christian Watkins. I do not know how I feel about this.

But that's not the point of this entry.

Today in a discussion for my writing class I came out of the closet. As the crazy tree-hugger of the group.

For class we read an urban planning article about an idea called a, "zoopolis", in which wild animals co-exist with humans. I didn't agree with the final conclusion, as you don't need to live with lions to be able to appreciate them, but the arguments were truly compelling. For me, at least. It discussed the boundary humans establish between animals and themselves, believing animals to be free of feeling and comprehension, bringing up the persuasive fact that white people used to think the same about black people. The gist was that people need to open their eyes and realize the destructive elements of city-building. Either we make room for the animals, or we accept them into our cities.

Obviously I didn't expect anyone in my class to be for the "zoopolis", but I didn't expect the reaction that it did receive, ranging from, "Humans are the superior species by nature", to, "I think it's justified to kill animals who wander into our towns".

So I came out blazing. The superiority argument is arrogant. We're the reason why the animals are forced into our cities, because we're destroying their habitat. Urban planning needs to account for the fact we are not the only sentient beings in the world. I'm the one studying environmental science. I'm the one who knows the impact humans have had on the world.

But apparently the majority of my class is very right-wing. It was a very interesting discussion, and I'm proud of my stance. I hope the next discussion can be about global warming. I'll smoke them with my evidence.