For a large part of my 20 years of living, I have been teased for my irrational fear of whales. Yes, I am a cetaphobe, but I feel like I should explain myself. I feel the need to distinguish myself from those paranoid crazies you see on Jerry Springer who fear pickles or chicken feet. I realize being afraid of whales is a silly, irrational fear. I realize that whales do not eat people and that a whale isn't going to jump out of my closet and attack me (partially due to the fact that I am landlocked). My phobia is not the fear of being eaten or attacked by a whale. Actually, its really not a fear at all. It is more of a feeling of discomfort than a out right fear. I dislike the sounds they make because they are very eery. I dislike their movement just like some people dislike the movement of the aliens in the movie "Signs". The fact that they are the size (if not bigger) than a school bus is also alarming, whether they are vegetarians or not. I attribute my fear to be caused my a combination of things. Firstly, I am a very theatrical person. This is important to the point because when I watch things, I put myself in that person's shoes, or I put myself in that scenario, or I imagine myself eating that fried cow tongue. So when I watch movies that show underwater scenes (I also have the fear of the ocean which is another topic entirely, though closely related) I put myself it that ocean with that whale and it makes me very uncomfortable. Whales are unpredictable. Did you know that scientists don't even know what the sounds they make mean!? Its a biological mystery. I don't even like it when I think humans are talking about me, let alone a mammal thats as big as a school bus. Secondly, I have deduced from watching movies and looking at whale pictures that my fear is not necessarily attributed to the whales themselves but to the ocean. Once I analyzed why I dislike the ocean so much, I found it was due to the fact that the vastness of the ocean makes me uncomfortable (which also explains why I dislike the idea of going into outer space). Thirdly, I have deduced that I fear the unknown, not in an irrational way, but in a rational way. I don't like not knowing what is to come. I am a planner. I like observe my surroundings and past experiences to make an educated guess about the future so I can better prepare myself for it. The ocean is a vast area of the unknown and its the whales territory.
As you can see, I have thought about this for a while. I felt like I needed to explain why I jump into the fetal position when the trailer for Disney's "Oceans" came on in the theater. I feel I have explained myself to the best of my ability. So hopefully, you can better understand the rationale behind this irrational fear.

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