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Pest Perspective

By Nikolai Rosenbaum on May 12th, 2023

There are few things we as a species hate more than parasites. Ticks, Fleas, Lice, Leeches, and above all others, Mosquitos. Even more so sicknesses; bacteria and viruses; ringworm, the common cold, rabies, and countless others. Above all else is our collective desire to treat, kill, and eliminate these pests and dangers from our lives, and bring humanity a little closer towards a world without pain.

On one hand, this hatred is understandable. Millions die yearly from the diseases they can carry, and they lack the physical and mental capabilities to make people understand why they do so, outside of a perceived malice or their own survival. It would be beneficial to us in terms of curbing casualties and medical costs to just do away with these species. We spend untold billions on treatment, and label them as monsters, useless to the ecosystem they live in, and something that should be done away with.

However, rarely are things considered from the perspective of the pest itself; it is not their choice to live as they do, nor are they likely fueled by malice to attack us. They are simply finding their own way to survive in this world, where inability to adapt and survive means death.

Consider this scenario; an alien race contacts humans, and declares that the way we live is a detriment to our solar system. We had no idea that we were causing trouble for them, and even then its unlikely that we could quickly change our methods of survival to accommodate them. So they label us as a useless species, something that should be wiped out for the problems we cause them, independent of our say and ability to stop them.

This is not to try to get anyone to love these creatures, but more so it is to try and show how it is intrinsically unfair to label these species as useless monsters that should be eradicated. To even expect such behavior of them is absurd. They are simply living out their role in nature as an additional method of controlling the populations of other species, a role they likely served long before us.

Nature is not benign or malevolent. It simply exists to survive, by any means necessary. Who are we to say what should and should not continue to try and live by this rule, just because it harms us?

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