I had just taken my youngest daughter to school and we were waiting in the porch of the main doors of the school. There was a cranefly in the corner of the window and I was telling her about how harmless they were when a nasty little boy arrived and went completely beserk, yelling 'Kill it! Kill it Mr. Git!' and instantly started whacking it. I was shocked and upset by this aggressive display of playground bloodlust and I told him to stop but he pulled its legs off and smashed it with a football.
I took the poor thing away but it was too late. I watched it twitch in my hand for a moment and then it died. I informed the school secretary but there was not much that could be done as I didn't know the boy's name. I don't really think that was true and I think it would be nice if the school saw teaching children to respect living things as important.
I am not usually such a wuss (OK I cry at Disney films, what of it?) and I'm certainly no hippie-dippy treehugger (I like baths too much). I couldn't live without meat (Can you be Vegephobic? I think I must be.) and I have, in my time, squished countless flies, ants and wasps. I even lobbed a book at a mouse once. But these were all intruders into my home and whenever I can help a bug escape by opening a window I will. I've never felt this way about a cranefly before. Maybe it's to do with my time spent in the children's hospital (and hearing about far too many kids dying) that seeing such an unnecessary death, even of an insect, now cuts deep. :' (
Excuse me, I'll go back to watching Alien Quadrilogy now....
