# No, I Don't Like Butterflies. Yes, You May Harass Me Mercilessly. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 2, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525 "2003-03-02T04:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/21 "2003-03-02T21:19:14Z")
I cannot believe that you people hate my brethren! I think I’m going to have to find out where all of you live and send mass swarms of butterflies in an attempt to make you see the error of your ways! ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/22 "2003-03-02T21:58:32Z")
**Pers** , this is one more thing we have in common. Butterflies and moths… ick! ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/23 "2003-03-02T22:44:42Z")
Much as I’d like to rush to your side to defend you against onslaughts of raging butterflies (and wouldn’t Raging Butterflies be a great band name?), I can’t even do so in the guise of Your Friendly Neighborhood Hired Killer[sup]TM[/sup]. Butterflies are not considered pests, as they don’t sting or destroy crops or property. They may even be a protected species because they cross-pollinate flowers. At any rate, they’re innocuous. And they’re pretty. Moths, yes. They’re destructive. But not butterflies. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/24 "2003-03-03T00:01:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\*But butterflies don’t batter against lightbulbs or lurk around your bedroom at night. \*\* Of course they do. And they do it on purpose, because I hate (yes, hate!!) the little buggers. Usually they attack me and fly right in my face. I will not squish them, though, I will drop down to the ground and scream until somebody comes and takes care of the damn thing. And don’t tell me they are pretty. Ever seen a butterfly up close? Nasty, creepy, crawling things they are, zig-zagging around aimlessly so people who hate them may not avoid them. Yes, I will proudly stand up and declare: I hate butterflies, too! For the life of me I will not understand why this evokes so much hatred in other people. An insect’s an insect’s an insect. If you hate cockroaches nobody will ask you to get psychological help. Yes, they are pests and butterflies are not, but I don’t think a person who hates cockroaches thinks: “Gee, this cockroach is a pest, ergo I’ll hate it.” It’s a gut instinct. I demand equal rights to have a gut instinct about butterflies. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/25 "2003-03-03T04:34:45Z")
**Pers** You’re squishing \*gay butterflies \* ! 😃 I understand your fear. I love butterflies. But, let us just say that if there ever was a feild trip for kids to an \*Earwig \* exhibit, I’d have the heebie jeebies all day. ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/26 "2003-03-03T05:11:51Z")
Well, I have to say this takes the cake. Not **Persephone** , although hating butterflies is bizarre enough. (For the record, they’re my favorite animal, period.) But **Toaster** , who not only hates butterflies but likes cockroaches enough to pet them. Truly surreal. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/27 "2003-03-03T06:27:31Z")
[sub]Flutter-flutter-flitter-flutter[/sub] flitter-flutter-flitter FLUTTER-FLITTER-FLUTTER **FLITTER-FLUTTER-FLUTTER FLUTTERFLITTERFLUTTER!!!** Heh-heh-heh… ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525/28 "2003-03-04T00:20:39Z")
> [@](#): > > matt wrote: > > Did you know that the Spanish word for butterfly, mariposa, is also slang for a gay man? I never knew that. I just knew about the [Mariposa Grove](http://www.htmlhelp.com/~liam/California/Yosemite/MariposaGrove) in Yosemite National Park. (Yes, it’s always about Yosemite, all of the time.) Regarding butterflies—they are pretty! My dad collected them. His favorite was the “Dog Faced Butterfly” (don’t ask me how it got that name). I was forever being asked to do paintings and pottery with Dog-Faced Butterfy designs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-i-dont-like-butterflies-yes-you-may-harass-me-mercilessly/158525.md?page=1)