Lost our animal nature?

This morning I was meditating on sexual abuse because I was abused until I was about 10 or 11 and I’m having a hard time dealing with the grief. And I was asking myself: why are there so many people who stand by and let it happen?

Perfect example: dad abuses kid and mom pretends she does not know, but OF COURSE she knows. She might notice her kid is a little “off”, but thinks they’re still upset about being punished for mouthing off last week. She sees the cuts on her kid (which the kind did him or herself)  but buys the story about the cat or dog doing it. She notices that hubby is away from bed for too long, but buys his excuse about being hungry and getting a snack or that he was watching a late night game on ESPN. She does not WANT to know, because this means she has to DEAL WITH IT, and what would her family say? What would the neighbors think? It’s just so much fucking easier to make excuses and pretend it isn’t happening. After all, the kid is young…. they’ll forget… right?? It doesn’t REALLY hurt them… right????

Have you ever seen a mama cat or dog who just had a litter? Have you ever gotten too close to her young? What happens? Does the animal pretend nothing is happening? Hell no! They defend and protect: no questions asked. They make it very clear that someone harming their young is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, even if you meant no harm. This is animal instinct. Hell, even robins will attack you if you get too close to the nest. It’s all instinct.

Where has this instinct gone in humans? Have we become so “civilized” that we have forgotten our basic instincts?Are we so worried about iPhones and meCrap, working, making money, having the best of everything, and keeping up with the Joneses that we ignore out instincts? We ignore that out feet hurt so we can wear stylish shoes. We ignore that we’re hungry because we need to stay the perfect size. We overwork and ignore our need to rest. We go to work sick because we are afraid to lose our jobs (and sadly, that may be a valid fear.) If your mom dies, you have three days off work, then are expected to come back in and be Ms. or Mr. Merry Sunshine like nothing happened. We ignore our basic need to grieve because God forbid we appear sad at work. We go into unbelievable debt because we have to have the best house, the best clothes, the best car, and the best and newest toys. We look “perfect” because we think we have to.  We bury our “dirty little secrets” like dad is having sex with the kid. We pretend it’s all OK because it is imperative we must appear OK to everyone.   In our society, being abused is not a taboo, but talking about it sure is.

This is the society we live in, and we wonder why people attempt and commit suicide. (Well, WE on this site know why, but “society” doesn’t get it.)

We are forgetting we are animals.We should still have insticts, like eating when we are hungry, resting when we are tired, taking care of oursevlves when we are sick or sad, and fucking protecting our  young.

Yes, we are still animals, and this might be one good case for acting more like one.