Posts
 |
| Ollie, Scully, Brewsky |
Why do I feel more saddened and outraged over the death of a cat in Oregon than I would over a child in Syria? Perhaps it's because I've become hardened by the numerous stories and newscasts I hear about murdered children. Then again, maybe having four cats simply gives me a greater ability to empathize with people whose cats are murdered. Beyond these possibilities, what other factors determine the level of human outrage and grief over the killing of any animal, human or otherwise? Six possibilities come to mind.
(1) Do we like to eat the animal, or the animal's milk or eggs (because bulls don't give milk and roosters don't lay eggs, they're routinely killed)? (2) Did we perceive the victim as belonging to a group that is inferior or threatening? Such factors are why, other things being equal, white people tend to grieve less for black victims, Christians for atheist victims, and almost everyone for rattlesnakes and grizzly bears. (3) Did we perceive the victim to be like us, and did he or she live near us? If yes, we will take the loss more personally, and we'll worry that the same fate will befall us. (4) How similar to our species was the victim's species? Few people have qualms about killing insects. (5) Was the victim cute? The cuteness factor is why people who couldn't kill a bunny can kill a rat despite the fact that rats are more like humans than are bunnies, in ways both flattering and insulting. (6) Was the victim innocent? Innocence only exists in animals and children, but with one major difference: animals live their entire lives in innocence, while children are soon able to choose evil. My belief that cats are innocent—and my own species depraved—probably played a significant role in my reaction.
19 comments:
Did they find the cat tormentor? He (or she) will move on to humans if they haven't already.
The world does indeed contain a multitude of people who should never have been born. Sadly they not only survive they thrive.
some people seem to have a hatred of cats that is out of proportion to anything a single cat could do.
Cats are incredibly destructive to ecosystems but as much as I don't want to see that damage happen, it's not the fault of the cats
Any senseless cruel death is unacceptable;e. If one believes eating meat is okay then a humane death will provide meat. It is not acceptable to kill any other human unless you are defending yourself or a loved one. Dogs also have a hard time of it. Pets trust humans making the animals easier to capture. I hope whoever is responsible is stopped.
You are so right Snow, so many people who should not have been born. Horrors out there every day and I cannot understand why a person would be that way.
I don’t understand anyone who can hurt an animal. Any animal not matter which
I understand we kill to eat. I eat meat. But to torture and kill for no reason is just something I cannot understand
Yes. Humans are the worst kind of animal there is
snow, a few years ago I watched a gaggle of geese flying over the beautiful bay of Provincetown in perfect formation, except one lagged behind, struggling to keep up. I knew that one was badly injured and my heart was so touched I remember the compassion I felt to this day. I think most of us react to singular circumstances like this and the killing of those cats, but we aren't willing to grasp the enormity and injustice of tragedy on a large scale, like syria.
I just posted my confusion about why compassion is not an evolved component of our human DNA. I'll never understand. I'm disgusted that I'm even accepting the level of cruelty that influences our world. All the possibilities you'e listed are valid certainly, but each skirts around the root cause of heartlessness.
love
kj
There certainly are some sick people in the worlds. But remember, cats kill mice.
"Did they find the cat tormentor? He (or she) will move on to humans if they haven't already."
No. Finding cat killers simply isn't something that the government is going to throw a lot of resources behind. I know that violent criminals often start out abusing animals, but I can't say with any confidence that these killers will do that because I don't know their motives. They might be sadists, or they might even regard themselves as protectors of the environment. In the case of the first, I think it likely that they will move on to humans, but in the case of the latter, probably not.
"Cats are incredibly destructive to ecosystems but as much as I don't want to see that damage happen, it's not the fault of the cats"
No, it's 100% the fault of the people who have cats, which leaves me to wonder if they weren't the killers' primary targets.
"It is not acceptable to kill any other human unless you are defending yourself or a loved one."
What about defending society through capital punishment? I ask this without knowing the extent to which capital punishment serves this purpose, yet some crimes fairly scream for capital punishment. For example, those little shits who walk into their schools and murder their classmates. Alongside death being their just desserts, why should society spend tens of thousands of dollars a year keeping them alive FOR DECADES. My only objection to capitol punishment is that if the wrong person is killed, he or she can't be brought back, but he or she can be released from prison. But perhaps we could have two standards of proof, one being the current "beyond a reasonable doubt," and the other "being beyond any doubt." I also question whether "innocent by reason of insanity" should be allowed because if a person is so messed-up that he thinks he needs to kill innocent people to protect himself, then there is surely no way he can ever be released upon society anyway, so what are we keeping him alive for?
"I don’t understand anyone who can hurt an animal. Any animal...I eat meat."
I can't harmonize the first part of your statement with the second part, although I also consider myself a hypocrite in this regard based upon the fact that I eat fish, eggs, and diary, and I buy meat-based cat food.
"But to torture and kill for no reason is just something I cannot understand"
Perhaps the killers were sadists, or perhaps they felt outrage at irresponsible cat owners who allow their pets to poop in people's flower beds and decimate the area's wildlife. Whatever their motive, they didn't just want to kill cats; they wanted to terrorize people who have cats.
"I think most of us react to singular circumstances like this and the killing of those cats, but we aren't willing to grasp the enormity and injustice of tragedy on a large scale, like syria."
Do you know of a book entitled "Against Empathy?" I haven't read it, but I've twice heard the author interviewed. The last time was yesterday on "To the Best of Our Knowledge." His thesis is that empathy can not only be misdirected, it can make the world worse. For example highly empathetic people are also highly punitive people, and rather than working hard to make the world better, they get so upset by suffering that they have to turn away. I think I'm probably toward the highly empathetic end of the scale. I frankly would like to see these people die in the same way they have killed.
"There certainly are some sick people in the worlds. But remember, cats kill mice."
Do you regard men mutilating cats as an evolutionary drive? If not, what's your point?
"I don't even kill wasps or mud daubers!"
I don't kill them either, but I do kill flies, spiders, and mosquitoes, and I'm not a vegan. I also drive a car, which causes both direct and indirect destruction to life. I think that in nearly all cases, we can humans can justify killing if it serves our purpose.
“I eat fish, eggs, and diary...”
You know what they say, a page a day keeps the doctor away.
Thanks for making me laugh this morning. Laughter is good for the soul.
The killing of animals in such a way is a symptom that underlies the death of many children as well. Callous, cold, uncaring, people
"Thanks for making me laugh this morning. Laughter is good for the soul."
Help me out, my Dear Friend who has been muchly missed and a little worried about. What was the funny part?
"The killing of animals in such a way is a symptom that underlies the death of many children as well."
I doubt that the killing of cats is ever done by people who are not prone to meanness if not actual violence in other contexts. I think that cat killings are attributable to sadists, to people who hold a grudge, and to people who have a vigilante mentality which leads them to terrorize other people through harming their pets, rationalizing their actions as being in the service of some greater good. Kylie's comment regarding cats' damage to wildlife has inspired to write another post that I'll probably get done with within a week or so.
That you meant dairy but wrote diary. Okay, I am a little weird, but only a little.
I thought we were talking about cats.
Emma, my comment was about something Snow had said in reply to angela’s comment. You have to pay close attention and you definitely can’t tell the players without a program.
"I don’t understand anyone who can hurt an animal. Any animal...I eat meat."
Emma, above is Angela's statement, and here here is my response to Angela's statement but with the word diary changed to dairy:
"I can't harmonize the first part of your statement with the second part, although I also consider myself a hypocrite in this regard based upon the fact that I eat fish, eggs, and dairy, and I buy meat-based cat food."
None of us really means it when we present ourselves as just and compassionate in our treatment of animals, a possible exception being Jains.
Not being able to reply to specific comments makes Blogger harder when trying to comment on a piece, because as we can see above, people get confused as to who they're replying to, and even if named there's no way of knowing an answer has been given.
Rhymes really made me laugh with his diary comment, hahahaha, thank you.
I'm with Emma once again all the way.
You know, and have heard my views on the way people decide to differentiate between animals and have no issue with they being bred, tortured, repeatedly made pregnant in order to take away their wee offspring, so long as they can satisfy their 'wants' when it is absolutely *unnecessary to do so, but harm a cat and the world is up in arms. Cats are deemed cute to most. The same with dogs. Dogs are tortured horribly and eaten in China and once again someone tucking into their roast dinner or lobster would say how appalled they are at such treatment of dogs whilst giving not one flying fuck about either animal, one of which is boiled alive. The cat killers you have are despicable and will go on to kill or physically harm humans, so I do hope they're caught.
*For those who would tout 'tradition' 'teeth' or 'vitamins'. I've not eaten meat for twenty five years and the only thing I have problem absorbing is B12. I can take a tablet. Taking a tablet each day is worth helping to cease the demand for selfish torture of sentient animals purely because they've eaten meat all their life and won't change their tastes. This is a link to an interview with Moby, who doesn't go on about the torture at all, he's just saying why he doesn't eat meat or dairy (don't think he eats diaries either), and I'm quoting him too below.
"I learned, eventually, that yelling at people isn't the best way to get them to listen to what you have to say. When I yelled at people they became defensive and resistant to whatever it is I was trying to tell them. But I found that by respectfully talking to people and sharing information and facts with them I could actually get them to hear what I was saying, and even consider my reasons for being a vegan.
To be clear: Just because I'm a vegan I'm not saying you should be a vegan. It would be ironic if I refused to force my will on animals but was all too happy forcing my will on humans." - Amen to that. (I'm not a churchy lass by the by)
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/opinion-why-im-vegan-by-moby-20140318
Post a Comment