BakeNecko, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, informs the keeper that his—the keeper’s seeming ability to ignore the slaughter and suffering of millions of his planetary partners while producing lighthearted commentary about his personal ride on the big ball, does not speak to indifference, but to a coping mechanism for dealing with an awful helplessness.
It is the same obtuse thing as laughing and dancing at war bond drives, celebrating veterans—both the dead and the living, expressionless viewing of gory battlefield scenes, seeing casualty stats as simple numbers; and denying the verity of being a member of the species with the greatest ability to slaughter and maim each other, as has been done down through the length of history.
Those despicable men who unfailingly emerge to lead the unspeakable slaughters are, of course, of the keeper’s “most intelligent” species, but survival in the face of the resulting moral helplessness makes necessary certain diversionary tactics: talk about the weather or the grandkids could come off as insulting or ignorant, but it isn’t: It is just us!
