Elizabeth: I mean...I suppose yes and no. Mostly because I'm well...I'm in a very unique position as a skunk where....well, my burn scars tend to take precedence when it comes to what other mammals first notice about me. I can cover up most of them, aside from my face that is...*Sighs* Which is why I do tend to keep my head down when in public, and most of my love for wintertime is based solely on the fact I can cover most of my face up...still, it tends to be the feature of mine that gets the most attention first. So it sort of...skews my experiences in terms of dealing with skunk-specific discrimination. But that's not to say it hasn't happened to me.
If I'm in a situation where there's a 'smell' in the air, most mammal's eyes tend to fall on me. Whether that's because we're in an elevator and someone was able to use the skunk in the crowd to hide passing gas or waiting at the bus stop while the city works on a sewage line a block over, and all the mammals near you are giving you the stink eye...*Shakes head* And no, that pun wasn't intended.
Omari: So you say my dear...so you say...
Elizabeth: *Giggles* You know I don't do puns! It's not one of my talents, unlike literally all of my uncles.
Omari: By the gods, what did they all get a crash course when they became parents? They're all pretty bad, even my Dad, but Uncle Zach and Uncle Vernon are by far the worst offenders.
Elizabeth: *Tries to stifle a smirk.* What was that really bad one Uncle Vernon tried to slip in at the last family reunion...it was so awkward...
Omari: It was after he picked you up and hugged you, then he pretended his back hurt and said *Omari puts on his best drawl impression *"Ooh, you've gotten bigger lil' Lizzie, think I might a' pulled a 'Musteloid'". *Rolls eyes*
Elizabeth: *Snickers* Punctuated with the cheesiest grin I've ever seen him make, and bobbing his eyebrows for emphasis that he had indeed done that on purpose...
Omari: *Laughs* Does that count as skunk discrimination? Cause that pun was practically a hate crime.
Elizabeth: *Let's out a giggling snort, before pressing a paw to her snout and swatting at Omari* Omee! You made me snort...you know I hate doing that!
Omari: *Feigns defending himself* But I love it!
Elizabeth: *Rolls her eyes* Anyway...I should mention, as a lot of mammals probably don't know it. But A.) Skunks have a gland responsible for their defensive spray. If you aren't actively spraying, there's no smell.
Omari: Unfortunately media is largely responsible for painting skunks as constantly stinking, mostly thanks to the character actor 'Pepe le pew's' performances.
Elizabeth: And B.) Most skunks have the gland removed shortly after birth, as it's considered more of a hindrance now that our species isn't walking around on all fours anymore. I haven't had those glands since I was a year old.
Omari: These days you'll find very few skunk pups with those glands unless you're dealing with a very 'naturalist' family. And nine times out of ten those pups will go on to have them removed as adults when they can legally do it themselves... Mostly because of all the issues and teasing that arises from growing up with one...or so I've seen.
Elizabeth: You know what's very interesting, and this isn't limited to skunks, but every so often you'll run into a mammal that knows Skunks are omnivorous. And Mam'...the insults I've gotten thrown at me for being omnivorous is...it's actually worse than the skunk stuff.
Omari: Diet purism, especially in this day and age, is still so hard for me to grasp. For the god's sakes, most mammals thought to be strictly carnivores or herbivores have shown to periodically eat foods traditionally from the opposite side of the dietary table. It's necessary to boost levels of nutrients that can't always be provided by sticking to the stereotypical species meal plan.
Elizabeth: We should know, we were raised by wolves, and I've seen my fathers and uncles eat all sorts of things, and not...*Chuckles* I know Uncle Vernon has actually been struggling to get meat back into his diet, as he's almost gone full herbivore by virtue of living with Auntie Dawn for so long.
Omari: *Snickering* Struggling makes it sound like it's his problem. I remember distinctly Aunt Dawn and Allison begging Uncle Vern to eat some wings at the last reunion. But he was adamant it would upset his stomach. I hate to agree with Dad and Jabari, but I feel it was just easier for Uncle Vernon not to cook multiple meals once our cousins moved out, and Aunt Dawn didn't realize how much of a problem that could be until he became conditioned to it.
Elizabeth: He looked so thin...and that leg of his isn't going to get any better without protein in his system...*Shakes head* Anyway, we've kind of strayed from the topic at paw. The point I was trying to make is that there are still quite a lot of mammals out there who see being a carnivore or herbivore as...almost as if it's like supporting a sports team...or a political party.
Omari: Considering several well-known political parties use diet as part of their descriptors, that's less of a comparison as much as I'd call it evidence.
Elizabeth: There are more mammals than you'd think out there that turn their snouts up at species that...*Chuckles* As my Dads would say, 'play for both teams'. We're trusted less, and seen as shadier because of it. So needless to say between that, my skunk scent, and my...burns, I've had a lot of things I can't really control working against me in life.
Omari: True, but most of those mammals who look down on you aren't award-winning, highly respected concert violinists...With a particularly handsome Pawdiatric Oncologist mate to boot...
Elizabeth: *Snickers* And here I thought it was Jabari that was the braggart brother. *Shakes head* What did I get myself into?
*The couple shares a laugh*
No comments:
Post a Comment