“If you hear hoofbeats in Central Park, think horses, not zebras”
This phrase is as complex as it is painfully simple.
As human beings have the unique capacity to think in the abstract, to utilize imagination and construct sensational story through consciousness, one might argue “zebras”—the idea there is a more vast, sophisticated and fantastical explanation for everything— are what give life and color to this world.
By contrast, one might argue that “horses” —the over-simplified, more obvious conclusion, grounds us and keeps us from wandering into the deep weeds of over-thought, sometimes problematic why’s and outcomes.
In recent years, I might have assumed there is one right answer; I either look at the world and draw conclusions through an outlandish wonder-full ‘zebra’ lens, or a more boring, simple, anti-climactic horse lens.
Like most of us, I was raised in a binary; a “this/that”, “black/white” “good/bad” “boy/girl”, conceptualization of the world.
Of course, binary is not only useful but absolutely crucial to the development of a human. It is a GOOD idea to treat people with respect; if I don’t pay my taxes, I’m going to have a BAD problem, etc.
Obviously, it’s important not to throw the binary out with the bathwater, especially in our current climate of dismantling systems of oppression constructed through the binary lens. There is nuance. There are zebras.
I think about our current global pandemic— a virus. A simple predictable virus made more complex and deadly due to capitalism, systemic racism and an upcoming election. If anything, this pandemic shows us, in real time, just how poorly assembled our society is and how ill-equip we are to care for each other in tangible, sustainable and ethical ways. Perhaps many of us have realized for the first time or finally acknowledged that we do not lack resources, but rather dwell in a faulty racist, sexist, classist distribution system.
If you’re like me, you understand the simple and very explainable nature of a virus. Viruses happen and viruses spread because that’s how they work. As a species we have evolved to ward off many viruses and some are more serious than others. Viruses in and of themselves do not discriminate. They are not self-aware, they do not have a conscious mind. They do not punish bad people nor do they spare the good ones. They are not like humans.
When a virus sweeps through communities, humans ideally respond by isolating it, studying it and developing a medicine to keep it from further harming or killing us.
This, I would argue, is the “hoofbeats to horses” ideology.
However, if you are operating from a “hoofbeats to zebras” mentality, you might believe a virus to be a conspiracy unleashed by one person or a group of people, in an attempt to overthrow, derail, incapacitate and/or destroy a person, a nation, or an entire planet. In that case, you need a culprit and a pretty out there explanation for such tyranny. You would also need a vivd albeit lazy imagination.
The Q-Anon conspiracy is an example of toxic and dangerous “hoofbeats to zebras” mentality; the conviction that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against President Donald Trump, who is battling against the cabal is not only laughable, but unbelievably dangerous.
Now, a little nuance…
While the above example is no doubt built on completely unsubstantiated evidence, it would be equally as ignorant and irresponsible to assume there is no corruption or complexity of any kind at play, especially in the wake of a global economic and health crisis.
“Hoofbeats to horses” has the capacity to keep us in just as much ignorance and disillusionment as “hoofbeats to zebras”. Both lenses have a shadow.
As I mentioned earlier, COVID-19 isn’t just a virus we can treat and prevent. Or maybe it would be if capitalism, the illusion of patriarchy and the cult that is white supremacy ceased to exist. There ARE “zebras” present indeed. But these zebras assume personal responsibility and admit to complicity in systems of oppression, rather than foisting blame on Satan-worshiping, child trafficking celebrities.
There are layers upon layers to this horse/zebra analogy, as well as countless more boring, benign and personal interpretations. This phrase applies to the experience of illness, grief, the woes and frustrations of meal planning, raising a family and strange sounds in the night. But there is a common throughline—a thread and universal truth that ties them together: discernment and a sense of personal responsibility.
Each of us play a role in the ongoing creation and necessary destruction of the world, however boring or eventful; uninteresting or bizarre.
Were this phrase to be re-configured in favor of honoring the nuance and intricacy of what it means to be human, it may go something like this:
“If you hear hoofbeats in Central Park, it doesn’t matter what animal it is, get your shit together and figure it out amongst your fellow Zookeepers.”