For Love of Animals (aka People Suck!)

This blog post has been well over a year in the making. It's never been far from my mind, but I've never taken the time to actually sit down and sort out the thoughts in my head. Oh, I've posted bits and pieces here and there. So let's take an older blog post of mine as the starting point:

(and yes, I know I'm prone to linking to older blog posts for some context, and I know people are loathe to click on them, but this time-- please do read them. There are thoughts there complement my thoughts here, and I didn't want to make this too long by repeating myself)

First off, my thoughts after visiting an Asian supermarket in Southern California-- markets which typically house lots of live animals meant for consumption. These poor creatures are treated accordingly, and it breaks my heart: http://heckledtrio.blogspot.com/2007/11/asian-delicacies.html

Secondly, my thoughts on my visit to Indonesia in October 2008. This blog post focused on the plight of that country's poor, which was bad enough: http://heckledtrio.blogspot.com/2008/11/rich-vs-poor-in-third-world-country.html

Equally depressing (if not more so) was a combination of the two: wanton disregard for the well-being of live animals meant for consumption in an Asian country.

During our 12-hour layover in Taiwan on the way from the US to Indonesia, we wandered around one of those open-air markets. It's about as you woud imagine-- very crowded, full of vendors hawking their wares and loudly trying to drum up business. A bit depressing and yet interesting at the same time. The "stalls" were full of all sorts of fruits and vegetables you wouldn't ordinarily find in the States. But then something really caught my attention. I was wandering along the street, taking in the sights and sounds and mentally converting posted prices back into dollars, when I was splashed with water.

I looked down and saw a man sorting out shallow wooden boxes full of fish. What I had thought were gleaming, freshly-caught, *dead* fish were actually still alive, and flopped about desperately. My initial disgust at getting the filthy water splashed in my face paled in comparison to the feeling of revulsion that grew as I watched the hapless animals flop about, suffocating. It only got worse. As I made my way along this part of the street, I saw other marine animals for sale: turtles, crabs, frogs. All still alive. All very much unhappy in their crowded nets. Stacked thoughtlessly atop each other, squished so close they had little room to move, let alone breathe freely. The sight broke my heart, and I turned away, having completely lost any interest in seeing the rest of the market.

If you've read my blog post that I linked to above, you'll know that this sort of thing isn't restricted to Asian (or other) countries-- they bring it here to the United States, and it is equally deplorable here-- maybe even more so, since we live in a culture that more or less values animal life.

And as I stated in that blog post, I have no problem with consumption of animals-- I'm no vegetarian, myself, after all, and if the animal can be raised and killed humanely and without suffering, that's fine. What I *do* have a problem with is the terrible conditions under which these animals are made to suffer as they await purchase and consumption. And often times, the slaughtering process is just as vile and pain-inducing.

All this brings me to the declaration I've often made: that I like animals much more than I like people. Animals may kill each other too, but they only kill for food or in self-defense. They don't subject each other to wanton cruelty just because they can. They don't exact suffering on other creatures. They don't torture smaller creatures for fun. They do what they have to in order to survive, and nothing more. This is why I am saddened when a sea turtle dies at the jaws of a hungry shark, but shrug my shoulders because that's the cycle of nature-- yet I am enraged beyond comprehension when a sea turtle dies at the cruel hands of man. There's a video out there of humans slaughtering turtles that have come ashore to lay eggs or just get some sun. I cannot bear to press the play button-- the preview shot in the video player shows a seashore stained dark red with blood. It is enough to turn my stomach. The last time I hit the play button on such a video, it showed dogs being skinned alive for their fur.

Whether it's deplorable farm conditions, heartless slaughter for fur, food or shell, outright torture and abuse, or neglect of house pets, all kinds of animal suffering at human hands makes me so angry I cannot help but loathe humanity as a whole. Humans heap such suffering on fellow human beings, as well, but somehow it seems worse when it's helpless animals.

Because of this, I often feel as if I am at odds with the whole Christian notion of "love thy neighbor" and commands to do good for your fellow man. I don't dispute the importance of it, and I don't mean to downplay the nobility of that command, nor the harsh reality of human suffering and abuse the world over, but I often feel like the plight of animals gets brushed aside or even forgotten in the process. No matter what country. Even this one. And it really gets my goat when animal lovers try to do good things and raise money for good causes (such as helping stranded animals in Haiti or rescuing the cold-stunned sea turtles off the Eastern coast of the US) only to be sneered at by so-called humanitarians that think this is a waste of money, that insist this money is better spent on rescuing humans. Hey-- you have your cause, I have mine. Just because I choose a particular one to donate my time and money to doesn't mean I don't care about the other plights of the world.

Still, whether its animal abuse, human abuse, environmental abuse, or what have you, one factor still remains common: Human beings suck. Period. Now you see why I'm so anti-social ;-P