Dinosaur, labels and other stuff

What if a dinosaur knocks on my door right now? This is not a virtual question; it is happening for real, right this minute!

with the Dinosaur – by Nada Zanhour

It is a total surprise of course, an unannounced visit. I didn’t prepare my home or myself for visitors, as I was not expecting anyone, homosapien nor dinosaur, to drop in this way.

Yet, here we are.

As I face this dilemma, he is already enjoying a nice Jack Daniels on the rocks that he served himself. He is obviously a picky drinker and he is full of himself. He chose his drink carefully and did not go for just anything in the cabinet. He certainly has a fine discriminate taste. He is almost like me. Almost!

I admit to being a little bit nervous, and there is nothing wrong about that. Who does not shake when meeting a dinosaur for the first time? I’ll tell you why we all shake at the thought of a dinosaur, let alone hosting him in our living room with a scotch in his hand. Let us count how many stereotypes we carry in our subconscious about these beautiful creatures? How many stories have we heard or read about their aggressive behavior and their violence towards people? How many times have we watched them in movies attacking our cities, our homes, the places we love, and us the “innocent” humans?

I confess, and I think we should all admit, that we have built a false image about dinosaurs in our minds. It is a myth like the devil; and now it seems that revenge is brewing in the background.

I hate conspiracy theories; but let’s face it, that’s exactly what we have done: We have conspired against the dinosaurs and many other species and groups. Forget the dinosaurs for a minute and take a look at others we conspired against in our life: How many stereotypes do we carry in our heads at this moment about homosexuals, Asians, Jews, Blacks, Indians and the list goes on. The truth is we have sorted them in separate boxes and placed the boxes in carefully chosen spots on the shelves of our minds. We have spent all our life labeling everything around us: Our friends, our neighbors, our societies and the entire world.

You see, “labeling” people and things we come in contact with makes life easier to manage. This transforms life into a few boxes that will make it seem more tolerable, and that’s the end of that. But in this way, we become boxed too and that limits us, reduces our potential and shrinks our impact. You can then imagine our reaction when meeting the “other.”

Mass media in general and Hollywood in particular have had an intense impact on us. They have persuaded us that dinosaurs are aggressive. We bought into the myth and now we live with it as if it were the truth. It may be true of course, but there are also other possibilities we must take into consideration.

I choose to go with the possibility that dinosaurs are not hurtful. This is based on what is happening in front of my eyes, in my own living room. Meanwhile, you might be thinking about what you just read or you might choose to google dinosaurs and their behaviors to educate yourself on the subject, or you might do nothing at all. While you do whatever you want to do, my dinosaur companion and I will head to town. We will have a couple of drinks and enjoy a little chitchat about you and your behavior.