Have you ever noticed that good religious creatures, like angels, have what can only be described as bird wings? Meanwhile, evil religious creatures, such as demons, have wings that are blatantly like that of a bat.
The only bad thing I can think of for a bat is that they can give rabies to humans whereas birds can’t. The reason they are so susceptible to rabies is because they are closer to humans than birds are. They are mammals, just like us. Whereas birds are part of the bird family of vertebrates. Birds are descended from the dinosaurs and have their own diseases to worry about.
Mammals survived the apocalypse that wiped out the dinosaurs (except birds) and basically took over almost all the niches that dinosaurs were in. Dinosaurs were tall so mammals became giraffes. Dinosaurs were big so mammals became the blue whale, the biggest creature that has ever lived. Dinosaurs could fly so bats took to the sky.
Bats nurse their young, thus proving they are a caring species of mammal.
Another thing which seemingly makes them bad is that they come out at night. But this is really more of a testament about how birds are evil in daylight. Bats don’t brave the day because they are likely to be dinner for some bird with 100 million years more of flying experience. And those daytime birds can be big with nasty talons and sharp beaks.
As a fellow mammal, we should be proud of our bat cousins. They can fly in the dark because they use sonar. They have good vocalizations that their good ears can pick up and that their good brains can use to figure out what the terrain is – even in the dark.
Still think birds are superior in the good/evil department? Then why is it a murder of crows, a conspiracy of ravens, a plague of grackles and a squabble of seagulls?
Actually a squabble isn’t that bad. So suddenly I see the truth. Bad is associated with black birds and bats because they are black.
This dark/ light thing of good and evil has got to go. Termites are white so they must be good. Maggots are white so they must be good. Polar bears are white so they must be good. It’s just not true. Black labs, black horses and even black cats can be very good.
Maybe I’ll retreat into fantasy which has some stories of good dragons who incidentally have giant black bat wings. It’s more realistic than the angel/ demon characterizations of religion.
