The Human Condition

[Doreen Peri]

Like the rest of the animal kingdom, human beings need food, shelter, and sleep to survive. So these needs are not specific characteristics of the human condition.

But unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, human beings need clothing. This is part of the human condition. Why? Because it would be pretty disgusting to watch a buncha naked flabby people walking around this place! Imagine all the rolls of fat and hairy butts we'd have to look at! So, as humans, we want to be respected plus not get sick on our stomachs every time we gotta ride the subway, so we do the wise thing and cover ourselves up with fabrics. Some cover themselves up more than others, some with more expensive fabrics with somebody else's name scribbled on them, but still, for the most part, the covering up is a protection of our most vital organs and it also helps keep us warm in cold weather and keeps us under cover from eggs which might be thrown at us 'cause somebody thinks we're ugly or sumpin.'

Also, unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, human beings like to do the wild thing not just so our human gals get in a family way and 9 months later present us with a little rug rat on a leash that needs to be cut by another human being who has paid beaucoups bucks for the privilege. No. We are human and our condition dictates our need for arousal and sensual stimulation, not like the rest of the animal kingdom who are perfectly satisfied to reproduce themselves without any gratification at all. Our human condition also makes some members of our race gallavant from one such escapade to the next, apparently because the grass is supposedly greener on the other side of the fence. Animals do this, too, of course, but they don't seem to get upset about it like humans do.

In addition to that, human beings cry a lot. This is part of the human condition. We are human and so our tears are not like the tears of the rest of the animal kingdom, meant only cleanse the lens. No. Our tears are a result of the human condition itself which manifests itself in something we call emotions. Our tears cleanse the spirit. We cry when we're angry, we cry when we're sad, we cry when someone calls us names, we cry when people ignore us, we cry when we're happy and joyful, and we cry when someone makes fun of us. No wait! That's just me. Never mind.

The human condition also is different than the condition of the animals in the animal kingdom in that we don't hunt and kill for our meals, we just hunt and kill because we hate other people or we think they hate us and want to kill them before they kill us first. These types of actions, during the latest stage of evolution, have been carefully entitled "pre-emptive strikes," by those who want to make us believe that we can't help but continue killing other human beings because they have designated themselves as some type of analysts of the human condition who have powers which exceed the human condition and are supposedly god-like.

This brings me to jealousy. Unlike the other animals in the animal kingdom, human beings get jealous of how much another human being has and where they live and who they live with and the fact that they have more stuff like money or jewels or oil or power than they do. So, the human condition makes human people act in crazy ways, like when someone is driving a brand new Mercedes too slowly in the passing lane and the human who is trying to pass in his 1985 Ford Taurus decides to run him off the road and flip him the bird. Human beings have been known to call this "road rage," but really it's just plain old jealousy.

But it's also anger which is part of the human condition. Humans get angry when somebody calls them names or ignores them or treats them with disrespect or yells at them and they also get angry when someone gets angry at them. No wait. That might be just me.

Anger is a major part of the human condition because the other animals in the animal kingdom don't get angry, but they do act similarly when trying to survive sometimes, but not because they're angry. A lion, for instance, might run a leopard off of his territory because the leopard is trying to hit on his lioness, but not because the leopard is driving a Mercedes too slowly in the passing lane and the lion is driving a 1985 Ford Taurus trying to pass. But it's not about jealousy with the lion, it's about territory.

Come to think of it, it's about territory with humans, too, which is why the human condition these days, due to some evolutionary advances, has decided it's OK to try to take the land of other human beings and occupy it and call all the other human beings that live there enemies. A simlar thing happened back during the days a bunch of white skinned human beings took the land of a bunch of red skinned human beings and now the red skinned human beings all live on what's called reservations and the white-skinned human beings buy their handmade pottery and beadwork. But that was way before the human condition had evolved to the stage that it is now, where humans want everybody on the earth to be free and one particular set of human beings have decided to free the world by stockpiling a bunch of weapons which could blow the planet to smithereens and attacking anybody else who has the same kind of weapons.

And then there are the human beings who also have the same human condition who think that the god they believe in is better than any other god and just like the human beings with the weapons who can blow up the planet into smithereens who believe the same thing about the god they believe in, these human beings strap bombs to their backs and also steer planes into big buildings, all in the name of their god who they think is ruling their human condition and forcing them to do these things so they can die and live in paradise with a bunch of sexy virgins who will do the wild thing with them at their every whim while they feed them peeled grapes and listen to ancient classical lute music.

Which reminds me of another thing! The human condition also includes being able to create stuff, not only weapons which can blow the planet up to smithereens, but stuff like music and poetry and literature and movies that depict the human condition. This is the good part, if you couldn't tell. And they also can create something called love, which I don't think the other animals in the animal kingdom can do very well, except, of course, my long-haired black cat named Wink who likes to sit on my lap and purr when I pet him behind the ears.

That's all I know about it.

[bennie]

Good read, Doreen.

I'm not sure that we need clothing. I think that's just social fucking conditioning. We're ashamed of our imperfect bodies. Yes, social conditioning. And, the fucking media!

I also don't think paradise would have classical lute music. I think it would be At the Drive-in.

I cry quite a lot too, Doreen. I just have dirty lenses, what's your excuse?

[mousey1]

Heh Heh Doreen! Heh Heh!

This was too funny and too cute and too right on! (And too long!!!....no no I'm just kiddin')

Doreen, the Queen of the run on sentence. Don't listen to me that's just my jealousy talking . That used to be my title I love the run on sentence I could run on and on and on and on and on without taking a pause for breath and without letting anyone else who cared to read me take a pause for breath so I guess you could say my writing was very breathtaking in a breathless sort of way if you get my drift and I'm sure you do as you're very clever that way and I don't think I got enough sleep last night or coffee this morning so just ignore anything you read past Heh Heh because that was my best line anyway and because if you read anymore you will pass out from lack of breath and perhaps a little bit of BOREDOM. Ya, I still da Queen!

Anyway, thank God for clothes. Well, actually perhaps we should be thanking the serpent in the Garden of Eden, he pointed to the tree which pointed to the need for ye olde fig leaf.....Yay for the serpent! I love being naked but really it's too cruel, just too cruel!

Thank-you very much for this read Doreen you made my day and gave me a chance to play. Gracias(and I'm not even spanish )

[Doreen Peri]

hey bennie! - I'm not ashamed of mine. It's got what I'd call "character"... ya know what that is, right? Hell, I've abused it enough, I deserve it! But I'm not too hip at everybody else looking at it any more and which brings me to my excuse.... yep that's it... if you were me and had to look in the mirror every day, you'd cry, too! But it's certainly nothing to be ashamed about. LOL!

mousey1&only - Moi? Queen of the run-on sentence? Listen here, girl, I've worked many a long hour to learn how to write whatever I wanna write for as long as I wanna write because when I write, it's the only time I can get a word in edgewise since all these other people are writing all kindsa stuff and saying all kindsa stuff, too, and nobody ever seems to have enough time to listen to what I have to say, so I write it down anyway and if they wanna read it, good, and if they don't, well, to hell with 'em, that's what I always say, 'cause if they're not smart enough to wanna take the time to hear what I have to say, you'd think they'd be smart enough to wanna read what I have to say, anyway, but if they don't, well, hell, there's no way I'm gonna force 'em, and that's just the way it is and now that you mention it, there's a lot to be said for the serpent, that wiley beast, I mean, I really love the connivin' dude 'cause he was smart enough to hiss at eve and make her believe his damn lies and what's not to like about that, and so I, too, want to thank you for making my day by bringing him into the conversation and I promise that I won't ever write a run-on sentence about him or anything else, unless it's punctuated properly so you'll know when to take a breath while reading it, which is the least I can do, considering there's so much I have to say that I need to write down 'cause nobody's listening. Thanks for listening.

[stilltrucking]

and we cry when someone makes fun of us. No wait! That's just me. Never mind.

I remember a clothing shop in College Park it was in the little strip mall on route 1 at the south gate. They had the coolest looking clothes, very ivy league. and a sign in the window for the man who wants to make ten thousand a year before he is thirty.

food for thought, I never thought much about the tears, the best I can do these past 20 years is misty eyed sometimes. But when I was a kid and watched those news reels from WW!. Tears would stream and I was

[mousey1]

Doreen da Queen. Damn!!!!

Must you always best me?

Awfully funny tho. Gawd I love runon sentences. I am so easily amused. Sad really.

See.