Dog torture and armchair activism

[bitspike]

I don't remember if this had been posted here, but in New South Wales (Australia) on October 20 a "seven-month-old fox terrier puppy" was tortured and killed by two men. They have been charged and are awaiting sentencing

Comments

[seaofzen]

Actually, anyone capable of this is showing early signs of sociopathy, and could be capable of the serial killing of humans. In fact, from the sounds of it, one of them initiated the idea, and the other jumped in on it. I wouldn't be surprised if one who cut his wrists didn't do that just to have his soundness of mind questioned for the purposes of a mental institution being far more appealing than jail.

I find it a very dangerous thing to live in a culture where animals are considered less than human and therefore detached from all the warmth that equates our concern. It gives us practice in disassociation, narcissism, and the allowance of cruelty for our personal gain. There is no question as to why psychopaths start with squirrels in the backyard.

I'm with you on being vegan as a personal moral imperative. And I will continue to work to impact the thinking of our civilization to consider animals kin. Then maybe the laws will reflect it. Cultures will orient to it. And maybe some asshole psychopath won't get the false impression that starting with animals is something he can get away with because it is a lesser crime.

*shudders*

[bizwac]

Actually, anyone capable of this is showing early signs of sociopathy, and could be capable of the serial killing of humans.

I believe that is what socraticomatic is saying, but also that the news articles don't actually spell it out, so people don't realise that it isn't 'just' killing puppies, but can be a sign of things to come (against humans). I wish the news would say it. Then people may be up in arms about this kind of behaviour, if only to protect humans from similar acts from these people.

[seaofzen]

Yeah, I know, but I was just elaborating and differentiating the crimes to further support the disturbing point.

I agree, people would be up in arms about the behavior because of the implications on impeding actions toward humans, but it's a bold assessment to make and usually the people making them are profilers, and it's kept off the record until definitive information is acquired. Not to say I disagree with you, however. I guess what I am saying is that if it weren't for our absolute detachment and even disassociation from animals in a culture as it relates to food, animals might not be seen as a safe avenue for psychopaths to practice unleashing their "power" on in the first place. Granted, if our modern civilization (I can only speak on Westernization here) had more of a mass consciousness that respected all life, it would be a different world indeed. But it is interesting that the two "categories" most commonly objectified by Western culture are the two that psychopaths most commonly strike. Starting with animals, and graduating to women. I am already familiar with the power link, and establishing animals, women, and children as less powerful just begs predators to pounce. I believe this speaks highly of where we really need to evolve.

I am grateful to be able to make personal choices on conducting my life in ways which connect me to my world as often as possible. I am glad you are doing the same. And maybe if we wish the newspapers would just say it, we ought to think about writing them?

[bitspike]

I wish the news would say it, too, but at the same time I feel that they shouldn't need to. Not that the connection to sociopathic behaviour towards people should be 'obvious' or anything. I just feel that acts such as these should be viewed as the extreme atrocities that they are by themselves, that what happened is never excusable and worthy of equal punishment for similar crimes across species boundaries, rather than as 'a sign of things to come for the one species which actually matters'.

But, realistically, humanity is still a long way off from being able to view non-human animals in that way. That's what I find the saddest about this whole thing.

[zebrallama]

+1