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Old 01-26-2005, 10:37 PM   #41
Azred
Drow Priestess
 

Join Date: March 13, 2001
Location: a hidden sanctorum high above the metroplex
Age: 54
Posts: 4,037
Question Mark

The fact that two teenagers decide to torture/abuse a kitten says nothing about society as a whole, only about those two individuals. They choose their own actions, and they have chosen a set of actions that point to the fact that they act inhumanly (or inhumanely, if you prefer).
They don't deserve to be beaten or some other equally viscious fate; they deserve to be placed in a mental institution until the source of their insanity can be discovered and possibly cured. Abusing animals is well known to be a "first step" in the development of a future sociopath (sociopaths are worse than psychopaths, because sociopaths know they are doing something wrong but don't care).

Many people transfer their own innocence onto animals, especially puppies and kittens. We view them as "helpless" because we project that they are; in a sense they are, yes, but not as helpless as we were at that age. However, generations of selective breeding have instilled a certain inherent trust of humans in many cats and dogs, thus when someone breaks that trust we find it unusually despicable.

Although this would qualify as felony cruelty to animals, the sentencing rules remain rather lax; depending on the circumstances they might serve some jail time, but will probably get a stiff fine and lots of community service...and maybe even psychiatric counseling.
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