Tom, are you mad at me about something? If you are I’m not coming out from under this bed.
No Fraidy, of course not. It’s those humans again. No matter what happens they only think of themselves. They think they own the world, and they treat every other living creature as if we were just things.
Oh, Tom, I know that. Why do you think I stay under the bed? What have they done now?
It’s more about what they haven’t done — what they just don’t understand.
Just the other day there was a big earthquake in a place called China. A lot of humans were killed, and a whole lot more were injured and homeless.
I’ve never trusted humans, but that’s still sad news. How many were killed?
A lot, Fraidy, more than a litter, more than all the cats in my colony.
But why do you seem so angry?
I’ll tell you why. All the news will talk about is how many of THEM were affected. They don’t even think about the rest of us. How many animals died that day? How many dogs and cats were buried in the rubble? How many birds lost their nests? How many fish choked in the mud? How many beehives are gone? If all the bees disappeared it would be a world-wide tragedy. If all the humans disappeared the earth and all of us on it would be much, much better off.
Do they really hate us that much?
I don’t think they hate us. They just don’t care about anything but themselves. If we suffer they don’t care. If we get in their way they just kill us. Once humans tried to kill all the cats, but… . wait, Fraidy! Don’t run under the bed! There’s one more thing I need to tell you! I’m sorry I mentioned the cats.
My human wouldn’t try to kill me, would he?
Don’t worry Fraidy Kat, some humans really do love us, though it’s usually because we help them or keep them from being lonely. And some humans even care about how many of us are becoming extinct — even though they mostly just care about the animals that seem impressive to them, or cute. The people in that country where the earthquake happened love the giant panda. They think of it as very special, even though they don’t feel that way about the rest of us.
But the reason I’m so upset tonight is because of what I read in one of those newspapers that they’re always littering my territory with.
Now, the item that I just read was about how a TV news programs had been reporting on the human lives that were lost. And then, in the same segment, they reported that the giant pandas were all safe.
That was good, wasn’t it?
Oh Fraidy, you just don’t understand. This newspaper thought it was an example of “trivializing” a tragedy.
When I read something like that I get really, really angry. But then I feel like crying.
I’m heading back under the bed!
