If meerkats had machine guns, the landscape of their desert home would look quite different. But they don’t, so they respond to threats generally by fleeing. Musk oxen circle up. Ants swarm and bite.
An attacked animal will flee or fight. A hungry carnivore will hunt.
Human aggressors feel the pressure of more complex motives.
“I thought he was going to hit me so I hit him back first.”
“I wanted what he had, so I took it.”
“I disapproved of how he lives, so I attacked him.”
“His way of life is a threat to my security.”
“He pissed me off.”
“God told me to.”
And the meerkats are tinkering in their burrows. Be very afraid.
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