Malcom Reynolds: Ornithophobia

Standing at six foot one, and weighing three-hundred and twenty pounds, Malcom Reynolds is infamous for having won multiple weightlifting champions across the United States. At 14-years of age, after reining as champion in an international weightlifting competition in Iceland, Reynolds was declared “Strongest Youth in the Northern Hemisphere.” Looking at this man, most would not hesitate to assume that he fears nothing. But even as the gallant Bruce Wayne fears bats, the goliath Reynolds fears of another winged and benign creature: birds. Much to the pleasure of irony, the massive Reynolds has, for his whole life, dealt with severe ornithophobia, the irrational fear of birds. On the twenty-fifth of April, I interviewed Reynolds to find the

It is possible that Reynolds is in denial of the consequences of his phobia. Throughout his interview, Reynolds would constantly contradict himself, at some points claiming that his fear was rational, and at other points claiming that it was irrational. Although he stresses that ornithophobia effects his life in a minute way, later in the interview, he tells that he spends most of his time on campus indoors, especially at Powell Library, to avoid birds. This would make any rational observer see that his ornithophobia clearly impedes his life, and is feasibly even the reason why he spends most of his time at home. Perhaps the reason Reynolds often contradicted himself in his interview was to shield himself from the true consequences of his phobia. In his interview, Reynolds expresses an element of shame, remarking on the shame he feels towards himself for not being able to protect himself against birds. Reynolds tells of an occurrence during his freshman year of college, where his phobia made him duck underneath a girl he had an affinity for when he saw a bird. According to him, many of his friends tease him about his phobia, which embarrasses him and makes him feel foolish. Because ornithophobia does not fit in the masculine identity he has created for himself, Reynolds often refuses to recognize its existence, even though it regularly runs through the back of his mind. Reynolds is