I am saddened and appalled at a few of the responses to the video footage of a soldier throwing a puppy off a cliff. If you visit this page (you must have a Facebook account to do so) you see the video that has been edited to read “do it faggot” while the soldier holds the dangling puppy. Someone has commented, “that video made me laugh.” Before the “soldier throws puppy” video was removed from YouTube, several viewers left similar comments.
Most humane, intelligent people feel that torturing and killing a small, helpless animal is deranged and evil. Overwhelmingly, the public’s response leads me to this conclusion. However, some public comments on the video suggest that a small but nonetheless significant percentage of the population is amused and delighted with another living, feeling being’s suffering.
I do realize that, perhaps, some people may believe these videos are fake, and therefore laugh as if they were watching SNL. I would argue that laughing at imagined violence is a short step away from laughing at real violence – and perhaps we would benefit from ascertaining whether or not the violence is genuine before laughing at it.
I also acknowledge that some people making offensive comments are probably just trying to agitate others.
My greatest concern, in all of this, is that our modern western society (and since I am in America, I especially direct this toward the US) is losing our ability and desire to empathize with other living creatures, both human and non-human.
People do not have as much contact with animals today as our agrarian, horse-drawn forebears did. We don’t have pets because of allergies, dirt, expense, and nuisance, or we avoid animals entirely out of ignorance, fear, or harmless disinterest.
According to studies, we also have less meaningful contact with others. We are a lonely, busy society that has an unhealthy tendency toward sitting behind our video games and televisions shows and movies and desks and computers (like myself, blogging away). We are increasingly losing touch with our neighbors, as we spend more time pursuing our own interests and careers and less time forming meaningful relationships with others.
What I’m trying to say is, we need to be careful. Laughing at someone else hurting an innocent creature leads to hurting one yourself. We can not afford to allow ourselves to degenerate into a callous, uncaring people, unconcerned with the value of life. We must educate ourselves and others on ways to save life, not to destroy it – or at the very least, we must send the message that those who indiscriminately threaten life, no matter how irrelevant that life may seem, will be made to suffer repercussions.
For more animal-esque music, news, and issues, tune in to Kitty Mowmow’s Animal Expo online at www.thecapstone.ua.edu, Sunday nights 8-10 central.