How Sick Can "People" Be?

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http://www.cfhs.ca/Programs/HumaneEducation/ViolenceLink/ccbackgrounder5.htm

This link worries me even more about people who abuse or are cruel to animals

 

For once, I'm at a loss for words....

 

Agreed; if some people get off by watching an animal suffer, watching a human do the same could very well be just a "natural" extension of that.

 

This is exactly what's wrong with the world. Man's inhumanity to man is well-documented (no sexism intended), and Sarevok's right about worse things happening every day to people around the world. Human beings are the only animals on this planet truly capable of evil - if an animal kills in the wild, it's for survival, not for pleasure (the only exception I can think of are domestic cats). Everybody who's comparing puppies to human babies, well, it's been done before, I assure you. In the former Yugoslavia (and in plenty of other places, too), rape was used as a method of ethnic cleansing and genocide as well as for the sadistic pleasure of soldiers. During WWII, on the Russian front, German soldiers were given amnesty for any crimes against humanity they committed before Operation Barbarossa was launched, effectively sanctioning a war of annihilation. Atrocities against indigenous populations are no less terrible and here in Australia, such acts weigh heavy on the consciences of most Aussies, even though they were generally less bloody or done with the best of intentions (at the time). I see all of this happen and have less faith in humankind's ability to rise above it.

@ Shadowhunter: these people knew what they were doing. I get so damn sick of people hiding behind circumstance and BS like this to escape culpability. It doesn't matter if you're poor, or stupid, or a redneck, or a pyromaniac - you knew damn well what you were doing and what the consequences would be, so be prepared to pay the price for it. Minor stuff like blowing up letterboxes and graffiti I can ignore or excuse, but killing and maiming for pleasure? No. That's just plain evil, and in dealing with them we have to be fair and somewhat merciful - without a measure of forgiveness and proportionality, we're no better.

@ Xenecor: I've studied abuse and victimisation (heck, I'm writing a Masters thesis on it). Transmission of abuse (either to those around the victim or to the victim's children, in the case of childhood abuse) is a real problem. Again, though, I would argue that the solution is not mere punishment or a legal system that care nothing for the welfare of victims, irrespective of what rights laws are in place. These kids (hopefully) won't do anything like this again. If someone is so mentally disturbed as some of the people in Dark Haired Beauty's article, if they continue to abuse animals, then they need to be confined. Unfortunately, some people can't operate in normal society, and so we need to remove the threat they pose in as humane a fashion as possible.

@ Splunge: Absolutely right. The only questions I have are (1) what do we do about them, and (2) why didn't any alarm bells start ringing earlier? Hindsight is perfect, but surely a person who kills animals for pleasure has to be considered a danger to those around them if they have such a reckless disregard for life and suffering.

Something in me finds cruelty to animals (especially dogs) the lowest of the low - dogs are friendly, trusting and loyal companions, and certainly in these ways, they're better than most people. That said, if you read anything about Stalinist Russia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia, Andora, or even Tiananmen Square you'll find some pretty horrific things happen to people as well. Scale is important, but that doesn't stop this from being horrific and evil.

Phew! Sorry about the length of this post - it hit a nerve, and I'm studying criminology. I just couldn't stop...