The “it” thing always got to me too! I’ve taken it a step further since reading Braiding Sweetgrass, and ask “WHO is that?” when I see a new insect or hear a new bird song. <3
I’ve also occasionally called animals “people”, sometimes without thinking, which maybe gets confusing for others and is probably a sign that moving away from “it” is doing its job in my brain of making them living beings, not things.
Psychopomps in mythology can also help transport folks through liminal space and change, so I hope this psychopomp energy brings you felowship through your time in London.
Two comments - I share the opinion/belief with a number of friends that certain animals, like foxes, are bodhisattvas, put here to guide & help us (and all creatures). One good friend in Vermont firmly believes ALL dogs are bodhisattva's.
For me, the bs about "it" is just one manifestation of all the eff'ed up crap that evolved out of the Enlightenment, the philosophy that we humans were "enlightened", above and separate from the other living things in the world, and, not only that, that "god" had chosen us to be in control, not only of our own fate, but the rest of the world's, all it's creatures and resources. A direct fall-out from this was the American "Manifest Destiny", which was little more then an excuse to take over the continent coast-to-coast and wipe out the Native American nations. Also to exploit all the natural resources however we saw fit. It is a HUGE part of 18th and 19th century American history and why our environment is the shit-hole it is today.
If you haven’t read it I can recommend “Fox And I an Uncommon Friendship” by Catherine Raven, she does not anthropomorphize or turn Fox into a pet, just a friendship.
When I read that you were staying in Brixton I immediately heard "Guns of Brixton" in my head. There was a fantastic David Attenborough series on BBC this year called "Wild London" that documents the city's rich nighttime wildlife. You might be able to watch it online.
I highly recommend an Indian restaurant called Dishoom. There are several locations in London and the food is fantastic. Last April we went to the one in Kensington and the place was bustling with a terrific ambiance.
I don't imagine you have any "free time" but if you do and are interested in exploring the North of England one of my best friends (a musician) lives about 25 minutes south of the Lake District. It is a beautiful part of the world, and only 3 hours by train from London. Contact me and I can give you more details.
That series reminded me of Bob Gilbert's The Green London Way, which would get someone from Brixton to Kensington along green paths. In twenty miles, of course.
Another wonderful post Neko! It instantly reminded me of the lyrics from the song « Cast Your Fate » by Québécois band Marie Celeste (translation may be off a little as my French is beginner level!)
Love this 🦊🌟🥰 and agreed re pronouns for plants and animals! I've been in the habit of calling our house and garden plants "guys" in the non-gendered sense of the term, which my daughter finds funny, but I think it captures the same spirit 🪴 🌱 🌿
Thanks to my beloved grandmother, I use "guy" for everything. She used it non-gendered as well. It also has the added benefit of reminding me of her and keeping her alive.
There is a beautiful chapter in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass for young adults. I read it with my students before we go to the wildlife refuge. She argues that English is the language of capitalism where everyone can be “owned”. She offers the term “kin” for any non-human relative. It’s beautiful to see how quickly 11 year can understand the concept and use different language. Specifically the language of Animism. This was a great post, Neko! Thank you!
I love foxes, I’ve had four memorable encounters with different foxes. First one was over 25 years ago during a landscaping stuff, we went to get mulch from a local landfill area. Suddenly three juvenile foxes jumped over the piles and just ran and played with each other…they were totally oblivious of us and it was so amazing to watch ❤️🦊🦊🦊
The second time I was bicycling to work in the morning and suddenly a fox ran across the road (fast!) ahead of me…by the time I registered it was a fox a huge hare ran across the road chasing the fox! They zigzagged in the field 😂❤️🦊🐇 I think it was another young fox who was not aware of protective parents yet 😅
Third time…again during my morning bicycle commute to work. It was very foggy and the fox sat in the middle of the bike lane. I had to stop because he didn’t move, just stared at me. So we kinda stared each other for a few minutes…he finally gave up and walked slowly to the woods. This fox was absolutely gorgeous! 🦊
Fourth time I thought I saw a huge cat 😅…and this was in the town centre…but when he came closer I saw it was a fox. He walked non chalantly across the street, used the zebra crossing and then walked the sidewalk, crossed another street and then ran to the forest/park. 😊
In keeping with recognizing that every living creature is vital, I try to remember to say who is that when noting some living being. A bird flies by. Who is that? An insect is on the plants. Who is that. Deer in the yard. Who is that? Who pooped in the yard?
This spring a mother fox would bring her 4 kits to play in our yard at dusk and sometimes in the early morning. She was the perfect parent: letting them scamper independently while she investigated the environment. Eventually the kits began visiting on their own until their number decreased and they no longer came at all. There was something mystical and wise about them; I always felt chosen whenever they appeared.
Foxes are such brilliant creatures. All creatures are brilliant, I think, but foxes belong firmly in that misty category of animals which haunt the margins--they flit about during the gloaming hours, they live within spaces wild and humanized alike with no care for our staked claims, they wind through our myths and folktales. Tricksters, yes, and reminders of other, older ways of being. Of that magic you mentioned that is one and the same with nature.
Also, I so appreciate your staunch support of "they" over "it". This perspective reminds me of how Jane Goodall always embraced the personalities of the chimpanzees she studied, and how Robin Wall Kimmerer gave us the "ki" and "kin" pronouns for all beings that honors their place in the living world rather than artificially separates them from it. Being bold about these things is a critical act when standing up for the natural world--thank you for writing about it!
I think "it" applied to animals is a convention that supports preying on animals, obliterating their rights or eating them. We even invent special words. A Beef does not moo in the pasture A Venison does not walk in the woods; IT is a thing to consume or buy at the energetic soulful breathing sentient being. IT isn't just about eating but all subjugation and invalidation that requires we disenfranchise other species from rights of personhood. When IT is just an object, not a name, this reinforces the hierarchy of species-ism & makes animal rights sound ridiculous to people who perceive animal as resources. Does every inanimate object have rights? Perhaps so. In indigenous cultural lore, many perceive such. When we begin to conceive of WHO is on our plate and what spiritual energy is imbued in everything, life itself expands into a seamless interconnected tapestry of the pulsing universe, no mere reserve of humans alone. Thank you for this reflection on WHO is chirping outside my windows now, some feathered individual being who sings in my world every day, blesding me with his or her music, not a question of WHAT breed like a taxonomy or table of elements. Who. 🙏 Namaste
The “it” thing always got to me too! I’ve taken it a step further since reading Braiding Sweetgrass, and ask “WHO is that?” when I see a new insect or hear a new bird song. <3
I’ve also occasionally called animals “people”, sometimes without thinking, which maybe gets confusing for others and is probably a sign that moving away from “it” is doing its job in my brain of making them living beings, not things.
Psychopomps in mythology can also help transport folks through liminal space and change, so I hope this psychopomp energy brings you felowship through your time in London.
I hope so too. Thanks!
Two comments - I share the opinion/belief with a number of friends that certain animals, like foxes, are bodhisattvas, put here to guide & help us (and all creatures). One good friend in Vermont firmly believes ALL dogs are bodhisattva's.
For me, the bs about "it" is just one manifestation of all the eff'ed up crap that evolved out of the Enlightenment, the philosophy that we humans were "enlightened", above and separate from the other living things in the world, and, not only that, that "god" had chosen us to be in control, not only of our own fate, but the rest of the world's, all it's creatures and resources. A direct fall-out from this was the American "Manifest Destiny", which was little more then an excuse to take over the continent coast-to-coast and wipe out the Native American nations. Also to exploit all the natural resources however we saw fit. It is a HUGE part of 18th and 19th century American history and why our environment is the shit-hole it is today.
Sorry for the rant.
Not sorry!
If you haven’t read it I can recommend “Fox And I an Uncommon Friendship” by Catherine Raven, she does not anthropomorphize or turn Fox into a pet, just a friendship.
Second this! That book touched me so deeply.
When I read that you were staying in Brixton I immediately heard "Guns of Brixton" in my head. There was a fantastic David Attenborough series on BBC this year called "Wild London" that documents the city's rich nighttime wildlife. You might be able to watch it online.
I highly recommend an Indian restaurant called Dishoom. There are several locations in London and the food is fantastic. Last April we went to the one in Kensington and the place was bustling with a terrific ambiance.
I don't imagine you have any "free time" but if you do and are interested in exploring the North of England one of my best friends (a musician) lives about 25 minutes south of the Lake District. It is a beautiful part of the world, and only 3 hours by train from London. Contact me and I can give you more details.
That series reminded me of Bob Gilbert's The Green London Way, which would get someone from Brixton to Kensington along green paths. In twenty miles, of course.
Another wonderful post Neko! It instantly reminded me of the lyrics from the song « Cast Your Fate » by Québécois band Marie Celeste (translation may be off a little as my French is beginner level!)
« Y’a des animaux sauvages
Et ils te ressemblent
Y’ont du cœur au ventre
Y vont te comprendre »
There are wild animals
And they look like you
They have heart in their bellies
They will understand you
London foxes are incredibly bold and generally not afraid of humans, so I think you will meet your landlord sometime very soon!
Love this 🦊🌟🥰 and agreed re pronouns for plants and animals! I've been in the habit of calling our house and garden plants "guys" in the non-gendered sense of the term, which my daughter finds funny, but I think it captures the same spirit 🪴 🌱 🌿
Thanks to my beloved grandmother, I use "guy" for everything. She used it non-gendered as well. It also has the added benefit of reminding me of her and keeping her alive.
Also, "kid." As in "this kid has some really soft fur."
Love that. I call everyone kid, as in “hey kids” and “cool kids” 😎 🙌
There is a beautiful chapter in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass for young adults. I read it with my students before we go to the wildlife refuge. She argues that English is the language of capitalism where everyone can be “owned”. She offers the term “kin” for any non-human relative. It’s beautiful to see how quickly 11 year can understand the concept and use different language. Specifically the language of Animism. This was a great post, Neko! Thank you!
I hope you see your fox! 🦊
I love foxes, I’ve had four memorable encounters with different foxes. First one was over 25 years ago during a landscaping stuff, we went to get mulch from a local landfill area. Suddenly three juvenile foxes jumped over the piles and just ran and played with each other…they were totally oblivious of us and it was so amazing to watch ❤️🦊🦊🦊
The second time I was bicycling to work in the morning and suddenly a fox ran across the road (fast!) ahead of me…by the time I registered it was a fox a huge hare ran across the road chasing the fox! They zigzagged in the field 😂❤️🦊🐇 I think it was another young fox who was not aware of protective parents yet 😅
Third time…again during my morning bicycle commute to work. It was very foggy and the fox sat in the middle of the bike lane. I had to stop because he didn’t move, just stared at me. So we kinda stared each other for a few minutes…he finally gave up and walked slowly to the woods. This fox was absolutely gorgeous! 🦊
Fourth time I thought I saw a huge cat 😅…and this was in the town centre…but when he came closer I saw it was a fox. He walked non chalantly across the street, used the zebra crossing and then walked the sidewalk, crossed another street and then ran to the forest/park. 😊
Always read and love your writing Neko, best of luck with the show, and hope to see it on down the line in NYC🕺🍀👍Duncan
In keeping with recognizing that every living creature is vital, I try to remember to say who is that when noting some living being. A bird flies by. Who is that? An insect is on the plants. Who is that. Deer in the yard. Who is that? Who pooped in the yard?
This spring a mother fox would bring her 4 kits to play in our yard at dusk and sometimes in the early morning. She was the perfect parent: letting them scamper independently while she investigated the environment. Eventually the kits began visiting on their own until their number decreased and they no longer came at all. There was something mystical and wise about them; I always felt chosen whenever they appeared.
Sounds divine
Foxes are such brilliant creatures. All creatures are brilliant, I think, but foxes belong firmly in that misty category of animals which haunt the margins--they flit about during the gloaming hours, they live within spaces wild and humanized alike with no care for our staked claims, they wind through our myths and folktales. Tricksters, yes, and reminders of other, older ways of being. Of that magic you mentioned that is one and the same with nature.
Also, I so appreciate your staunch support of "they" over "it". This perspective reminds me of how Jane Goodall always embraced the personalities of the chimpanzees she studied, and how Robin Wall Kimmerer gave us the "ki" and "kin" pronouns for all beings that honors their place in the living world rather than artificially separates them from it. Being bold about these things is a critical act when standing up for the natural world--thank you for writing about it!
I think "it" applied to animals is a convention that supports preying on animals, obliterating their rights or eating them. We even invent special words. A Beef does not moo in the pasture A Venison does not walk in the woods; IT is a thing to consume or buy at the energetic soulful breathing sentient being. IT isn't just about eating but all subjugation and invalidation that requires we disenfranchise other species from rights of personhood. When IT is just an object, not a name, this reinforces the hierarchy of species-ism & makes animal rights sound ridiculous to people who perceive animal as resources. Does every inanimate object have rights? Perhaps so. In indigenous cultural lore, many perceive such. When we begin to conceive of WHO is on our plate and what spiritual energy is imbued in everything, life itself expands into a seamless interconnected tapestry of the pulsing universe, no mere reserve of humans alone. Thank you for this reflection on WHO is chirping outside my windows now, some feathered individual being who sings in my world every day, blesding me with his or her music, not a question of WHAT breed like a taxonomy or table of elements. Who. 🙏 Namaste
My childhood dream, dear Neko, was to have a fox friend, to visit me in moonlight, to be my guide against the traps of night.
Why a fox? I can't explain in terms of the reasoned brain, but every fine fox I saw in the country or in a book had such a handsome look.
Now I'm an old man, all this knowledge, all my plans, never really met my desire to have friendly fox visit me at night.
I keep my eye out for a flash of red before reluctant and tired, I go to my bed.
C