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Myth-of-the-Month Club: Billy Goat G-ROUGH

scared goatIn honor of my husband’s birthday, this post is dedicated to a cryptozoological creature of the southwest/central Americas: the Chupacabra. 

It’s not that I question their existence, (though I do), or that I am skeptical (which I am), but the deeper question to me is, “Why do people in these current times, attribute acts of violence, etc. to made- up critters? Why isn’t there more of an investigation?” Because, seriously, think about it–if there really is a creature that sucks livestock’s and domesticated animals’ blood, leaving behind a wake of death and destruction, and is possibly FROM OUTER SPACE…shouldn’t we be more concerned? Shouldn’t we be doing nightly patrols, with infrared goggles and heat-seeking scanners? C’mon, people! The goats can’t protect themselves, they need our help!

Now, it’s also notable that these sorts of stories tend to pop up more in the news whenever there isn’t much else going on. When “real” news occurs, with all of its horror, pain, tragedy, and grit, the folklore stories are put on the shelf. When there’s been years of drug-related violence in Central/South America, creeping into the U.S. borders, and not to mention the on-going conficts in the Middle East, Chupacabra’s press clippings begin to shrink.

Or do they?

Well, some might make that correlation: http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/Home/Articles/a37a5b5c7f684c6795bd84d7e2aa8e05/Tabloid-sales-continue-to-topple.html

Why do you think that happens?

Huh. Guess I kind of answered my own question. It’s easier and more ‘fun’ to make up stories than to face reality; it’s much more interesting to think big, nasty chupacabres are out there chasing the livestock than to think it might be another man-made horror. Bueno, Chupa. You kept my mind off of the other nastiness, at least for awhile.

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2 thoughts on “Myth-of-the-Month Club: Billy Goat G-ROUGH

  1. I have a hunch that we create monsters to avoid facing our own dark side. South of the border the monster is the chupacabra. Just north of the border, the monster is the people south of the border. For what it’s worth, I’d rather be scared of a goat eater than scared of Latinos.

  2. Tabloid sales may also be down simply because the newsprint media form is changing to being more electronic. When I get a chance, I’ll look into the on-line traffic for tabloids.

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