The Ostrich Effect

There is a legend that Ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger. Not exactly. That would be a senseless survival technique, one surely to result in eradication of the species. Ostriches are big birds. They primarily live in the savanna or grasslands. Imagine a predator scanning the naked horizon to find stick-legged creatures with round feathery bodies dotting the landscape. Easy pickens for sure, especially if the heads attached to those bodies are buried, rendering the prey both blind and deaf to oncoming threats. The truth is, Ostriches dig holes to build communal nests for their eggs. The primary female of the flock (or herd) lays her eggs in the center, the other females then surround those with their own. All members take turns incubating (sitting upon to keep warm) the eggs, even the males.

When an up to nine-foot-tall bird puts its head down to check on the eggs in the depression/nest, it can appear like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Legend explained. But the Ostrich Effect is a real thing.

I found some studies online that explain a cognitive bias in which people ignore potentially negative but useful information, mentally hiding their heads in the sand to avoid psychological discomfort.

Boy, can I relate. I am distancing myself from political conversations. In the process, I may be missing some silver linings breaking through the colorless clouds of gloom and doom. Call it self-preservation. Call it denial. Call it hanging on to a positive attitude by a ragged and ripped fingernail. It is what I need to do in this moment in time.

I’ll live with the resulting stupidity of all things cultural and newsy by consciously eschewing social media, news outlets, discourse and arguments. The alternative means anxiety, high blood pressure, and depression mixed with an unwillingness to self-anesthetize because the very best thing I can do is keep my mind clear and my head down. Not in the sand but focused on words typed out on a screen. Words to encourage. Inspire. Inform. Entertain, and most of all, give hope to a world in which so many feel misunderstood, ignored, oppressed and even hated.

I don’t understand much of this next bit, but in 2012 a study showed how positive and negative information played a part in updating existing beliefs. You can follow your own rabbit hole here: The Ostrich Effect.

My takeaway is this: if you are presented with negative information, you are less likely to update your beliefs. So interesting. It is as if some large force is promoting hatred and fear as a means to maintain dominance over the masses by keeping them stuck in their beliefs. In our tempestuous political climate, I see many of those negative beliefs as hateful, racist, misogynistic, sexist and exclusionist. We are being told to be fearful of fellow humans if we perceive them as different, evil, sinful, not desired and to be avoided. At the worst extreme, there is a trend toward agreeing with policies that oppress and potentially eradicate such people from our “great” country. Hatred and misunderstanding driven by fear is not what will make us great.

I’m becoming unworldly in my distancing. My circle of influence is shrinking, but in my tiny corner of the world, I will continue to speak out against hatred and oppression. I will stand for equal treatment and equal rights for all. I will radiate a glimmering wave of hope, no matter how fading it may be. I am thankful for writers, artists, musicians, essayists and journalists who hold a magnifying glass between the exposing light of truth and exclusionist or corruptive practices. May those practices be scorched and turned to ash under the focused beam. I praise legislators who fight against the incoming waves of antihuman practices: denial of climate change, book banning, supremacist beliefs, suppression of voting rights or women’s rights or equal rights. They may get knocked down daily or even hourly, but they rise again and again to fight the tide of great hate.

Ostriches have only two legs, but they are the fastest of all two-legged animals They don’t fly, but their large wings stick out when they run up to 43 mph so they can maintain control and change direction. They communicate with hisses and chirps but can also be heard far and wide. Males growl loud and low, sending the equivalent of a birdy booty call across great distances. We humans can’t project that far without the benefit of technology, no matter for what purpose, but we can whisper truths while standing firm on our beliefs of the value and goodness of our brothers and sisters. Perhaps we will be heard, even if the reach of wordpress and substack posts are piddly by social media standards.

Ostriches don’t have teeth. They swallow pebbles to grind their food in their stomachs. Their diet helps to maintain invasive plant and insect populations. Their long skinny legs deceive. They are muscular and powerful, useful for running but also for kicking and protecting. Those feet are grounded by two-toed feet with long, sharp claws. Their long necks and billiard ball sized eyes, the largest of any animal, are useful in a world where predators are out to get them.

Consider the ostrich. Ugly by our social standards. Unpopular. Ignored or forgotten unless you are on a safari or writing a blog post. What appears to be a fatally ignorant avoidance technique is really checking in and protecting their own in a hole in the sand. If you are determined to encourage, educate, inspire, entertain and promote behavior and beliefs that may serve to sway the future of our species toward survival, please do whatever necessary to maintain your own mental, emotional and physical health. We need more ostriches on the wide, desolate plains of the human desert.