Anthropology, Part 4
Men seem to him the greatest spirits of all. Man's dream of perfection is to be exactly what he is becoming, that is, having anticipated everything to the letter. No other creature cares so much for appearances. We want visions to purify the eye. What is ugly, corrupts. What is simple, gingerly singular in its intention, that is beauty.
In some ways, bigfoot is beautiful. In other ways he is the purest vision of ugliness. Insupportably hideous. He is disorganized to the extreme. He is constantly tripping over himself making new plans and spinning his wheels considering other possibilities. He is indecisive finally. His desire to learn is insatiable. He soaks into the ground like water. He is torn on a breeze like smoke. He is ragged and dirty always.
He can't help it I suppose. He was born into a world of simple interlocking systems, driven more by biology than morality. He didn't even have to consider survival so much, sitting at the top of the food chain in the deep forests. He was like the great whales of the ocean, who only need fear man.
He had hidden so long from man, one might say he'd been hiding from manhood. A flawed innocence. Cocksure certainty. And yet the call of civilization, the first glimmers of a broader organization, the first taste of processed food, combine to irresistible temptation. A real sense of what Adam endured when Eve brought the apple into view. Serpent or no, who could refuse?
This is only to say he was clever enough to get himself hanged. Clever enough to fall prey to everyone. Just smart enough to fail miserably. But dumb enough not to realize it, stupid enough to smile the whole way, ignorant, lacking the common sense to save himself.
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