Indeed, Thin Man , that all depends on how we define “shit,” doesn’t it? And also how we define “ourselves” as a group or as a stand-in for the individual who identifies as a member of a group so defined. If we consider “shit” as physical reality, then the statement is literally true. Shit is a subset of us. Of course, if we want to get even more literal, we could determine how efficient our digestive/eliminative systems are and define just how much of us is, in fact, made of shit.

The interesting part comes when we consider that, without our digestive system, there would be no shit. Shit is a dynamic product of human activity. So if we exist without shit, then we soon will die, for we cannot long survive without shitting! Perhaps it is high time for an ode to shit and just how necessary it is in our lives!

Of course, if we’re using “shit” in a pejorative sense, then it just shows that we’re closing our eyes to a necessary part of humanity, one that polite society tries to ignore but can’t. “Shit” as the underbelly that hangs unseen only because we’ve all agreed that we won’t look at it. Thus ends my Sunday ruminations on excrement. What fun! :D