The PG 13 Discussion

[WarBlade]

Second item, I suspect (but have no data to back it up) that children who've been raised on a farm, or at least who had experience hunting, have less trouble in combat and are less prone to "combat fatigue" than those raised in sheltered suburban neighborhoods.  Those raised (and allowed to roam) in inner cities probably come close to the rural kids.

That reminded me of something. When I was little my mother insisted I got exposed to spiders. "See how they spin a web to catch flies?" "Look at how they crawl upside down and slid down this skinny thread they make?"

etc.

Apparently her father had done the same for her and it was actually years before I ever encountered situations where I learned that there were people who'd go leaping up onto chairs at the mere mention of such things as spiders or mice. Conversely I know three boys living down the road from me who's mother has instilled such wonderous knowledge as, "A slug! Kill it! I hate slugs!"

:blink:

Some time about year ago I was down there and found smashed up remnants of snails smeared around various parts of a concret path and driveway. The kids aren't afraid of snails and slugs . . . they just hate them, because they've been taught to.

Back to my mum.

For all her father ever taught her about how harmless spiders are (we only have one species here that could be considered even remotely dangerous and that's a recent import), he left out a lot when it comes to animals and bugs.

Example:

Let me introduce people to a picture of my left hand.



You've probably noticed the insect in that picture even before the fact there's a hand under it. This is a weta. Not a very big one either. Just a six legged bug, too heavy to hop anywhere and won't bite.

A couple of months after this picture was taken, I was handling one and showing it to my mother.
Mum: Is that safe?
WarBlade: Uh, yeah.
Mum: But they bite!
WarBlade: No Mum. They don't bite.
Mum: But I heard they do.
WarBlade: They don't.

Anyway there I was trying to teach my mother, who quite happily picks up spiders (with commentry like, "there you go little spidder") and helps them outside, about wetas, when the little bastard decided scampering up my arm and into my hair would be a good plan. Now feeling the tickle behind the right ear and stuffing fingers up to stop it crawling any further is one thing, but actually parting hair to disentangle the little blighter without pulling it apart is damn near impossible to do just on tactile sensation alone.

WarBlade: Ah Mum. Can you grab it please?
Mum: No!
WarBlade: Heehee it tickles. Mum! Just pick it up! It's completely harmless!
Mum: Oaaawww. Eeeeeeeaaaarrr. Okaaaay. Euuuuu. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Wrinkled noses, various noises of displeasure etc.

She had the weta back out in under five seconds (once she finally moved) and didn't seem to distressed about it crawling around on her hand, but even still, a lifetime of disinformation added to something she percieves as "ugly" had her putting it into a tree branch where she could peer at it closely without actually touching it.

Some people are so irrational sometimes. :huh: