The term “weed” has no formal scientific status at all,

Sure it does. It’s not astrophysics precise (because biology in general is a “soft science” in many regards), but it has a meaning when you talk about it in the domain.

In botany, a weed is a general term for any plant growing where it is not wanted. Weeds interfere with human activities and compete with crop plants for water, light, and nutrients.

Some weeds can later be found to have previously unknown benefits and be removed from the category, while other cultivated plants can be transplanted to new climates, escape cultivation, and become weeds or invasive species. Thus, the category of weeds is ever-changing, making the term relative.

The general term for the first sentence is what everyone uses colloquially. But the reasoning for it being unwanted is not “because it looks weird”. an otherwise “attractive” plant (like grass) can be a weed in some other context if it’s taking nutrients from more ecologically valuable plants.

It’s ethics and morality applied to a specific situation.

And I agree. But I also agree there is no morality to a polar bear eating your face. That’s just nature. There are lines, I don’t know your specific context.

For me, I was raised removing tumbleweeds. One of the most tenacious and invasive weeds out there. I don’t even think they are native to my country. But I sure hold no remorse pulling them up the same way I would a dandelion (even if me blowing on one is technically spreading it out).

If I was standing there with a gun to your head because I’ve decided you’re offensive to my garden you wouldn’t genuinely believe it’s fine for me to kill you simply because you can’t do anything to stop it.

Sure. Then a man with a bigger gun will at best arrest you and you’d be thrown in jail. We realized human on human violence needs to be regulated to make it as close to zero as possible. The police have a monopoly on unchecked violence, so our options without consequences are limited and discouraged.

There’s a clear and obvious distinction between taking another life as a necessity because you need to eat in order to survive, and killing on a whim because you decide you don’t like how one form of life looks.

Yup.

I’d certainly pay money to watch a bear chasing you down and eating you so that I could witness how much you’re definitely not talking out your ass when saying that you wouldn’t complain about it, because bears needs food.

I’d run. I’d try to defend myself. I’d do my best to preserve my life. But trying to shame a bear seems like a useless endeavor. Thtat’s all I’m trying to get across with my metaphor.

entirely, assuming, incorrect, and insulting. Congratulations.

I work with the info provided. Feel free to clarify without the snark next time.

The term “weed” is used to mean any plant growing somewhere it is unwanted.

colloquially, sure. But I was reading it from the ecological perspective. Weeds have a specific term there and my mind goes to the times where I pulled out itchy or outright harmful weeds as a kid in my backyard. Tumbleweeds go past “aesthetically unwanted”.

Simply because you have the ability to reach out and rip the plant from the earth and it’s completely powerless to stop you, does that give you the right to do so?

That is nature, yea. I’m not going out of my way to pull out “unwanted flowers” that are otherwise harmless. But there are threat levels, so I will do so for (ecological) weeds.

We’re still animals and we hunt down plants and animals alike. And a few animals hunt us. I don’t complain if a bear starts chasing me down and eats me. That’s just the circle of life. We have issues with overhunting and deforestation, but I don’t disagree with the core issue of “plants are eaten by animals and animals are eaten by animals”

If a more capable form of life saw humans as an invasive species as we seem very likely to kill off the rest of our garden if we remain unchecked and decided to kill us off would you support that?

As a human, no. I will try to preserve my life. But a more capable life form that can reach earth probably has the ability to do whatever it wants. We wouldn’t put up much of a fight against such tech.

I’d hope we could talk it out, but if not… welp, circle of life I guess.

“Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god. Thoughts of a Biologist” ― Jean Rostand

Don’t get me wrong, though. Humans collectively are pretty shitty conquerors. We can do a lot better to preserve life.

Look, February was always missing a few days in the shed. We knew it was inevitable.

But nah, I don’t get it. Moths are pretty chill. maybe I swatted a few in my face, but I don’t go out of my way to squish them.

weeds are removed for good reason, though. they are an invasive species with little value and they will end up killing off the rest of the garden if left unchecked.

The heavy handed metaphor is one plant being a cat and the other a rabid leopard. Even if you love all animals, you and the cats aren’t safe with a leopard wandering around. But I’m sorry that some parents are so impatient with their kids that they can’t break this down to them logically.

Socialize the losses, privatazie the games. It’s crazy when people complain about socialism while these billionaire companies get to reap the best parts of it.