Can't We All Just Get Along



Racism runs rampant in the Washington D.C. area, The Washington Post reported today. Racism against black squirrels.

In Montgomery, the black squirrels are spreading into Gaithersburg and Rockville -- though not without a little controversy.

Some residents have called to complain that the new squirrels are aggressive, driving out the friendly gray squirrels, said Bill Hamilton of the county Department of Park and Planning.

He said he reassures residents: "It's the same squirrel," just a different color.

Among themselves, the squirrels appear to feel the same way, according to Vagn Flyger, a retired University of Maryland professor.

Flyger devoted himself to studying squirrels because, as he explains it, they weigh less than a deer and don't bite like a polar bear. He used to smear a tree behind his Silver Spring home with a mixture of peanut butter and Valium and then tattoo the squirrels that he found passed out below.

He has studied their behavior -- now using feeders rather than Valium -- and determined that the squirrels don't appear to treat each other differently because they are black or gray.

"They don't seem to care," he said.

Never mind the fact that this guy drugged squirrels and then tattooed them. (We've all done it before). But perhaps us human beings can learn a thing or two from the squirrel population.

Before we start judging squirrels for the color of their fur, we've got to look in the mirror and ask ourselves "Where does our hate come from?"

Its time to stop hating and start loving all squirrels (and people too). Cause in the end, the worms can't tell the difference.

So donate to your local NAACS (National Association for the Advancement of Colored Squirrels) and do your part to clear away old sterotypes.

And if you see any trees smeared with peanut butter, for God's sake, don't lick them.