I've been wanting to write poetry but my morning Zen has been invaded somewhat by
Sponge Bob and
Animal Planet. I can't help it---these are distractions. Those
animal stories in particular suck me in.
"Animal Witness: The Michael Vick Case" is coming soon to
Animal Planet and half of me wants to watch it having followed the cruel saga. Fortunately,
Animal Planet usually offers palatable endings to their pieces which make it more bearable (pun--they have that
Grizzly Man Diaries show as well). No, it's certainly not always reality, but the shows demonstrate possible positive outcomes from devastating animal events. Animals are our recycled souls and an integral part of our Earth stewardship responsibilities. Without them, we cannot evolve as human beings.
Our relationship with animals often shows how we relate to people as well. Animal cruelty in childhood marks one criteria for imminent, violent mental illness. If not treated, children who torture and kill animals often carry that violence into adulthood and apply it to people.
I understand not everyone holds my beliefs, and while I would (could) never hunt, I respect hunters who try not to inflict pain and who use their game for meat. A local shelter offers deer meat to the needy; that's not evil in my book. Hunters who thrive on animals' pain are another story. Anyone who thrives on inflicting pain has a problem, in my book. They are true predators.
Several years ago, having been the outlet for someone's lust for power, love of fear, and pleasure in inflicting pain (and twice after, having revealed it to people who saw it as an opportunity to continue the negative effects of that experience), I've learned the hard way that sick people thrive in our culture of violence. They attack the most vulnerable--the elderly, the mentally ill, the physically disabled, the young, the inexperienced, the isolated--because they know they can satisfy their need to hurt and injure or kill. If they know anything about the victim's weakness, a pre-existing condition, predators easily succeed. And then there are those who live off the remains. These are the vultures of our own species.
Predators want easy targets. They won't always go out of their way to find them. They coerce. They pretend they are mostly harmless. And for those who have never experienced the seeming sincerity of the violent, they create a sense of disbelief in their victims: "No one would really do that. No one is really that evil."
But some people really are that evil. And some of them are seriously mentally ill themselves, never treated, never saved at an early age when intervention and prevention were more possible. Serious mental illness, however, does not negate the pain of the victims or their families.
What is one difference between human victims and animal victims? Humans often override their natural instincts if they have any. Even experienced, worldly victims may argue with instinct that there is no need to fear, that the world is safer than it is, that violence only happens to other people, that murder, assault, rape, and violation are newsworthy items that the media exaggerates. Unprepared, naive or sick victims may believe something similar and simply wander into the wrong company.
We see this accidental immersion in people who are drawn into the drug scene, prostitution and other unhealthy practices through the company they keep. It can happen randomly, through familiar, environmental associations, through persuasion or through force.
Animals typically have more teeth than we do. They often bite back or run faster than predators. But some are hooked like schooless fish with open gills and bare-gummed lives.
I am no Hillary fan, but outside of education, it takes a village to ensure violence does not prevail in our communities. It doesn't take violence or hatred or intimidation to protect ourselves because those bring more pain and violence. It does take vigilance, early intervention, concern, and a drive to get people help when something seems wrong.
We should never walk away from someone being beaten in the street. While we should not necessarily jump into the fray, we should hold some sense of responsibility for our fellow humans. Animals do this in packs. Dogs protect their their families. Not all animals are friendly, and we should respect that. But we should learn from the kindest, fuzziest animals to look out for one other and rise above the mentality, "It's none of my business." It's EVERYONE's business.
