Last Leaves

On Sharks

You know what the scary thing about sharks is?  It's not their size or speed.  It's not their rows of razor sharp teeth.  It's not even their black, soulless eyes.  It's the fact that they can't be reasoned with.  In a situation where you come up against a shark you can't talk your way out of it.  You can't trick the shark into not attacking.  It all comes down to whether or not it feels like you're food.  A shark is almost like a force of nature in that you couldn't stop it from doing what it's going to do anymore than you could convince a tornado to stop tearing through a trailer park.  Now don't get me wrong the teeth and idea of being eaten are all very frightening because we've spent so much time at the top of the food chain that there are very few things out there, besides ourselves, that are really a threat.  It's when we come up against something that doesn't care one way or another what we think, feel, or do that we really get that sense of dread.  It's a primal fear that we've held onto since man was living in a cave, hiding from things bigger than him.  Man is, for the most part, a rational being, who just happens to do a lot of irrational things from time to time.  We have serious problems with anything that completely disregards the rules of a rational world.

The thing is that in today's world we've started to come up against people who may as well be a shark when it comes to rational thought.  At least from our own perspective.  We can't even begin to understand how "those people" could think that way.  They seem determined to destroy us or at the very least damage our way of life.  I'm guessing from their side we're the ones who are alien in our beliefs.  So that fear comes sneaking back up and we're back in the cave all over again.  A lot of horror movies tap into that with the faceless juggernaut that won't stop killing everyone in its path.  Sure no one wants to be torn apart with a chainsaw, but it's the fact that the bad guy is going to kill you regardless of if you try and reason with them.  So many times in movies the victim will ask "Why are you doing this?"  Sometimes the bad guy will give some kind of cold or heartless answer designed for shock value, but more often than not the killer says nothing.  They kill because they're a killer.  There may be a back story of how they became what they are, but in the end it really doesn't matter.  We could understand what causes an earthquake to shake the ground.  That doesn't change the outcome one way or another.  The damage has been done.

So how do we deal with these fears?  Many of us are fortunate enough to not have to worry about being chased through the woods by a machete-wielding lunatic or coming face to face with a hungry shark.  Still it can be almost paralyzing to know that forces way beyond our control are at work with no regard to how it could slam through our little lives.  Some would argue that when faced with any danger, no matter the source, we're going to default to one of two reactions.  The fight or flight.  While I agree this is essentially true, there is a lot of nuance to these reactions.  Especially since we're just starting to grasp the fact that our bodies are aware of the danger and fear surrounding a situation before our minds have processed the whole situation.  Does that mean we're going to constantly be at war internally with our rational minds against the physical reaction our bodies have to threats?  If we believe that reason and logic aren't an option to be used to deal with something or someone who can't be reasoned with then is it our only option to respond without reason?  At that point do we stop being a human and turn into just another shark?