Just a minute ago, there was a tiny green bug on my monitor screen. I raised my hand to swat it as usual, but then it occurred to me that perhaps I shouldn’t. Who knows what kind of experience of life it has – maybe it’s a lot more sentient than we imagine. Maybe it’s the dumbest, happiest creature in the universe. Is it really worth risking something like that just to save myself the very minor annoyance of having it on my screen?
Then I figured that it must be a vegetarian, and it sure isn’t gonna land on any vegetables in this apartment, so I may as well kill it rather than have it starve to death in 12 hours.
Monitors only attract bugs when their Gods desire sacrifices. It is my duty, as a user of a monitor, to obey the will of the Monitor Gods and sacrifice the little bugs.
I usually figure out what the bug is… totally forgetting what I intended to do with the computer in the first place. Then I determine whether or not it will live dependent on
is it harmful or beneficial?
can it survive in a household environment and if not, do I care to take it outdoors?
Most important factor… Are the cats bored and nearby? If so, it is “Meet the cute kitty, lil’ bug!”
Ants are immediately killed on site regardless of the situation if I find them in my apartment. Ants lead to more ants, I want the rare amount of times I see them to remain rare.
Everything else, including spiders which terrify me, gets the protection of a catch and release policy.
I’m one of those people who always hates killing bugs. I will kill flies and wasps because they buzz around so quickly and are hard to capture. Anything else, particularly slow-moving bugs that seem harmless, I try to just put them outside.
If it is on MY monitor, and you squish it, you will be cleaning my monitor for the rest of your life. No fingerprints, no streaks. Get to work. I can’t believe you would have just touched my monitor screen. How would you like me to pour coffee all over your desk? Would you like some smears on your glasses? <dirty monitors are a MAJOR pet peeve of mine>
I will however, swish it off of my monitor and squash it like the bug it is.
I came here for the benefit of your monitor. Don’t swat bugs on it please. Try catching the bug with a soft tissue, or vacuum it up with one of those little whiny vacuums.
Aye. You never know when you might catch something at just the right speed and angle … I cracked a car windshield once trying to swat a mosquito. Missed the little )$%@#)(, too.