90 replies to this topic

[Harlequin Dreamer]

ouija ouija, on 05 October 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

The situation in Spain made me feel hopeful of an end to bull-fighting in my lifetime ........ then France made it legal and China is starting. This sort of news makes me despair.

If they diddn't kill the Bulls for sport most people wouldn't bother about it and the world medias wouldn't hype it up.

[Orcseeker]

Well, what makes good news? Man tortures dog or new animal shelter set up?

These violent and cruel actions speak the loudest. Don't think they outnumber the good ones. The media just puts out what will get the most attention. Take that as a good reminder that people do care and it infuriates me to see animals treated horribly as it does to most people I know.

That's why it goes out on the news, because a lot of people are going to read it because they do care. Don't see it as increasing or becoming more prevalent. If anything, more is being done to assist and help.

[The world needs you]

ouija ouija, on 05 October 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:

My anguish is caused not so much by awareness of poverty, (I'm actually mainly distressed about the plight of animals rather than people. Although not exclusively), but by cruelty and torture.

Sorry, I wanted to say more but I can't get my thoughts straight at the moment. I wanted to say something about Karma and Divine retribution ...... neither of which I believe in ..... I think if you do believe in either or both then it makes life much easier for you: you can shrug your shoulders, turn your back and say to yourself "It's okay, they'll get their come-uppance in the end!". I don't have that 'safety net'.




When people imagine a world-catastrophe scenario, I think it is often just a way to distract themselves from awful things that are happening that they can't do anything about. It puts reality to one side for a while and allows the fantasist to be in control and 'put things right'.

Definitely meant a tool of the media. Most people are until they realize and break away. Emotional manipulation for profit because with every article or story there are adverts. Only you yourself can know if this applies to your situation. If you are a tool or not, only you yourself can say.

I look up greatly to people like Princess Diana and Mother Theresa who must have felt great anguish at the suffering of others and actually did something about it.

Even if it is just over animals, to feel miserable constantly is to deny all the opportunities you have. That you yourself most likely live free of torture, then to let that opportunity go to waste to be in constant anguish, to me just does not sound as one is being realistic.

Even in nature animal cruelty is at an all time high, would it be as cruel and anguishing to you just focusing on the barbarity of animals themselves without the human factor that brings misery on an industrial scale? Life exists by consuming other lives and that is one of the cruelest facts of our existence but one that cannot be denied.

I am not totally cold either because the suffering affects me just not on the level that I am in constant anguish. The fact that I believe in what goes around comes around also is not the reason why I can walk away and forget about it, walking away and living your life is real, pretending it is all a pitty party and not living to the fullest is not real. That has nothing to do with believing in karma or divine retribution.

But come on get real!!!! How many strays are in your county alone? Do they not suffer? Does it require animal farms or bull fighting to allow your suffering meter to go up? Stray pets suffer too, starvation, cold, neglect, right there in your county and are you doing anything about that? This is not to say one cannot feel bad without going out to volunteer where there is a need to be filled, this is not even judging those who do not volunteer, it is about the gift of life itself we have been given.

Plants are also forms of life and they die everyday, even trees cut down to make way for another shopping strip. I hate that but life goes on and I will end up shopping there.

I am not saying one doesn't have a right to feel miserable at times but to remain there perpetually is in a way spitting on the gift of life and opportunities we each have. One can only be in protective mode or in growth mode but not in both modes at the same time. When in protective mode we cannot help ourselves or those around us so in essence it is also robbing those around us of all the things we could have done for them.

Edited by Chasingtherabbit, 06 October 2012 - 09:12 AM.

[lizzieboo]

I recently read an article on, of all places, the "Cracked" magazine web site about the reasons that humanity needs monsters. One of the reasons was that our brains respond to hatred and anger the same way they respond to cocaine: Our bodies release norepinephrine, a natural analgesic. So perhaps humans are drawn to stories about animal abusers because when we read them, we react with hatred and anger, thereby stimulating our brains to release norepinephrine to soothe us.

Just a thought.

[redhen]

No one has mentioned the animals involved in agricultural practices. The defintion of animal cruelty includes unnecessary pain, suffering or death. Since humans do not need to consume milk, eggs or animal flesh to survive, it is by defintion cruel.

So the question is, if you are concerned about animal welfare, why are you not a vegan?

[ouija ouija]

redhen, on 06 October 2012 - 04:04 PM, said:

No one has mentioned the animals involved in agricultural practices. The defintion of animal cruelty includes unnecessary pain, suffering or death. Since humans do not need to consume milk, eggs or animal flesh to survive, it is by defintion cruel.

So the question is, if you are concerned about animal welfare, why are you not a vegan?

I am.

[redhen]

ouija ouija, on 06 October 2012 - 04:20 PM, said:

I am.

Hi Ouija, I wasn't  writing specifically about you, but in general, to the UM readers.

There is an e-coli outbreakright now in an Alberta slaughterhouse that has resulted in a massive recall of beef in Canada and the U.S. In one article I read I was surprised that the author spoke truthfully about the cause.

"Many of the staff are recent immigrants or temporary foreign workers". These workers can't speak English, are told to work as fast as possible and are not likely to complain or blow any whistles.

There is plenty of scholarly literarure about the effects of working on a "kill floor". That's why no one wants to do this dirty work and is left to desperate immigrants. This was well documented in the 1906 novel The Jungle by Upton Sinclair about the Chicago slaughterhouses. It's always the most desperate who have to do this work.

I will leave you with a happy story. There are some ranchers who have had a change of heart and refuse to participate anymore.
Here's a video trailer about one such rancher.

http://www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org/

Here's another trailer http://www.witnessfilm.org/ about one man who felt compelled to do something and is making a difference.

It's people like these, and you, who give me hope.

edit: found the full video for The Witness

Edited by redhen, 06 October 2012 - 10:04 PM.

[ouija ouija]

lizzieboo, on 06 October 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

I recently read an article on, of all places, the "Cracked" magazine web site about the reasons that humanity needs monsters. One of the reasons was that our brains respond to hatred and anger the same way they respond to cocaine: Our bodies release norepinephrine, a natural analgesic. So perhaps humans are drawn to stories about animal abusers because when we read them, we react with hatred and anger, thereby stimulating our brains to release norepinephrine to soothe us.

Just a thought.

I think another reason why we are drawn to horrific situations and behaviour is a primitive need to know about all dangers so that we can avoid them/run away from them/ prepare to fight them/rescue 'tribe' members from them. This was fine when we lived in very small extended family groups, but now, through the various forms of modern media we are being informed of so many horrors that our brains 'short-circuit', so to speak. I think the same primitive instinct kicks in when we drive past a car crash on the motorway. Reporters are always quick to accuse the public of 'rubber-necking'(even though that is essentially what they themselves are doing!), but I believe it is that instinct that insists we become aware of close dangers.

[Simbi Laveau]

ouija ouija, on 03 October 2012 - 05:39 PM, said:

Recently there have been several topics in UM that have particularly troubled me. They were about animal misuse and abuse. They immediately made me feel really down and they played on my mind. I am 60, and this abuse of animals(and humans too), seems neverending ..... it seems to have been around forever. The sheer number of miserable, pain-filled lives around the world, overwhelms me. It seems that even when some horror lessens or even stops altogether, a new one appears somewhere else. Sometimes it feels as if there will never be an end to the new horrors and tortures that humans can think up and then inflict upon the weak. It makes me feel as if I don't belong here and that the only time I will have relief is when I am dead.

So what I am asking for help with is this: how do I learn to cope, on a daily basis, with this excruciating anguish that, on occasion, makes me feel almost suicidal?

I get alerts of all kinds .I post them,photos an all,on my facebook.This distressed my friends,but I say to them ,we Nuff never forget how cruel humankind is ,and we must always stand up for animals .
I got one,this week,of a dog,so cute,stolen ,out of its owners yard in NJ,found 3 weeks later,in a dumpster .
Starved abused .Used as bait .
A tiny loving family dog .
I cannot even tell you ,the sounds that came out of me .

I posted It on my fb ,and wished death ,on the perpetrators children .I
And I got yelled at ,and I know thats beyond harsh ,but people who do this ,do not deserve happiness ,or kids.
Children of such people,are better off being reborn ,somewhere else.
Just my feeling on it .
Wishing karma on them ,helps me cope .
And it never makes me suicidal ,but maybe homicidal.
I hate people. I see this stuff,and know,most of the world today ,sucks .

[ouija ouija]

redhen, on 06 October 2012 - 09:45 PM, said:

There is an e-coli outbreakright now in an Alberta slaughterhouse that has resulted in a massive recall of beef in Canada and the U.S. In one article I read I was surprised that the author spoke truthfully about the cause.

"Many of the staff are recent immigrants or temporary foreign workers". These workers can't speak English, are told to work as fast as possible and are not likely to complain or blow any whistles.

There is plenty of scholarly literarure about the effects of working on a "kill floor". That's why no one wants to do this dirty work and is left to desperate immigrants. This was well documented in the 1906 novel The Jungle by Upton Sinclair about the Chicago slaughterhouses. It's always the most desperate who have to do this work.

People who are immune to the suffering of animals and are only concerned with making the maximum amount of money out of them, those who own/run slaughterhouses are not going to be the kind of people who are bothered about food hygiene & safety laws.

Edited by ouija ouija, 06 October 2012 - 10:59 PM.

[ouija ouija]

Simbi Laveau, on 06 October 2012 - 10:15 PM, said:

I get alerts of all kinds .I post them,photos an all,on my facebook.This distressed my friends,but I say to them ,we Nuff never forget how cruel humankind is ,and we must always stand up for animals .
I got one,this week,of a dog,so cute,stolen ,out of its owners yard in NJ,found 3 weeks later,in a dumpster .
Starved abused .Used as bait .
A tiny loving family dog .
I cannot even tell you ,the sounds that came out of me .

I posted It on my fb ,and wished death ,on the perpetrators children .I
And I got yelled at ,and I know thats beyond harsh ,but people who do this ,do not deserve happiness ,or kids.
Children of such people,are better off being reborn ,somewhere else.
Just my feeling on it .
Wishing karma on them ,helps me cope .
And it never makes me suicidal ,but maybe homicidal.
I hate people. I see this stuff,and know,most of the world today ,sucks .

Keep up the good work. It seems there are plenty of people who agree with you ........ including me, of course.

[redhen]

Simbi Laveau, on 06 October 2012 - 10:15 PM, said:

I got one,this week,of a dog,so cute,stolen ,out of its owners yard in NJ,found 3 weeks later,in a dumpster .
Starved abused .Used as bait .sucks .

Let me guess, Camden? Camden NJ is notorious for the number of animal cruelty and neglect cases and where politicians just don't care. I could post some websites but the images there prevent me.

[Simbi Laveau]

redhen, on 06 October 2012 - 10:36 PM, said:

Let me guess, Camden? Camden NJ is notorious for the number of animal cruelty and neglect cases and where politicians just don't care. I could post some websites but the images there prevent me.

New Brunswick . I have it ,if you want to see it .

[ouija ouija]

Chasingtherabbit, on 06 October 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

Even in nature animal cruelty is at an all time high, would it be as cruel and anguishing to you just focusing on the barbarity of animals themselves without the human factor that brings misery on an industrial scale? Life exists by consuming other lives and that is one of the cruelest facts of our existence but one that cannot be denied.

But come on get real!!!! How many strays are in your county alone? Do they not suffer? Does it require animal farms or bull fighting to allow your suffering meter to go up? Stray pets suffer too, starvation, cold, neglect, right there in your county and are you doing anything about that? This is not to say one cannot feel bad without going out to volunteer where there is a need to be filled, this is not even judging those who do not volunteer, it is about the gift of life itself we have been given.

Plants are also forms of life and they die everyday, even trees cut down to make way for another shopping strip. I hate that but life goes on and I will end up shopping there.

I am not saying one doesn't have a right to feel miserable at times but to remain there perpetually is in a way spitting on the gift of life and opportunities we each have. One can only be in protective mode or in growth mode but not in both modes at the same time. When in protective mode we cannot help ourselves or those around us so in essence it is also robbing those around us of all the things we could have done for them.

'Even in nature, animal cruelty is at an all time high' ...... I don't understand what you mean by this. (I am fine with wildlife eating other wildlife).

No, cruelty does not have to be large-scale and dramatic to affect me. I am lucky in that the county I live in has one of the lowest crime rates in the U.K. . The county is sparsely populated and therefore consists mainly of small rural communities. Animal cruelty is largely of the legal kind i.e. farming, fishing, although there is the occasional horse-mutilation reported(latest was less than a week ago). There are plenty of places for stray pets to go and plenty of people with the space to adopt them. Currently I am not physically able to help out at an animal shelter and I can't afford to rehome an animal.

I do not believe that life is a gift.

I wasn't going to mention plants/trees for fear of being laughed at!

Part of my problem at the moment is that my opportunities/possibilities are almost non-existent and I'm struggling to reinvent my life from scratch almost. I believe I am partially in growth mode and partially in protective mode at the moment.

[Professor T]

I think this might help you.

http://www.personalt.../awakening.html