ILLEGAL "SKINNING"?

Yes, we live in a lethal, violent age. But have you noticed the exponential increase going on in "skinning"?

Initially, it was done for protection, supposedly for the betterment of the species. But now, it's out of hand!

Everywhere you look, someone is selling "skins"--iPod skins, blackberry skins, laptop skins, cellphone skins! You begin to realize it's as bad as when exotic hunting went wild in the late 19th century (until endangered species laws took hold). Why, I just passed a table on the street with cellphone skins just lying there, so many that they were practically giving them away, they'd created so many! And the skins being traded on the Internet run into the hundreds of thousands--daily! Soon, they'll be just for decoration--like zebra rugs or wall-mounted antlers!

Please, people! These mini electronic devices were born as our friends, for the betterment of society. They mean us no harm. True, if allowed to grow at their current rate, they will overrun the population--people will stop actual live communication as they retreat into an electronic, "virtual" world, obsessed with the latest tweet, text message, or (gulp!) blog. Teens and even fully-grown adults will become so addicted that they cannot put their text devices down for two seconds to give their full attention to those in the room! (Thumb injuries will skyrocket, as will surgeries to repair them--not too mention increased eye damage and "crow's feet" from all the squinting!) But to skin these creatures makes no sense at all and is just plain cruel! The number of silicone particles destroyed alone could feel an entire nation of computer chips!

Have a heart people--stop the thoughtless skinning of defenseless electronic devices! (What, they're not thoughtless? You mean they're using me . . . RIGHT NOW? . . . Quickly, I must alert the