Don’T Be A Future Killer’S Accomplice
When Johnny was 6, he enjoyed pulling the wings off dragonflies. And people would say, “Heck, he’s just a kid.”
When he was 10, he liked to see how long it would take a goldfish to die out of water. His mom said, “Oh, well, it’s only a fish.”
At 15, he’d kill squirrels and birds for target practice. The neighbors said, “no big deal, they’re just pests.”
When he discovered the joys of torturing, killing and mutilating cats and dogs, people would still say, “They’re only animals.”
When Johnny was arrested for committing murders in which the victims were found to have been tortured, everyone was shocked. “He seemed so nice. Who would have guessed?”
“Johnny” isn’t real but the connection between animal cruelty and hideous crimes against people is all too true. While not every child who’s ever hurt an animal is destined to kill a person, murderers often start out that way. A Yale University researcher, for instance, found that 80 percent of convicted violent criminals have a history of abusing animals. The majority of serial killers and other death row inmates began by hurting animals. Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and the Boston Strangler, to name only three notorious examples, all began their careers by practicing on animals. If anybody had been paying attention early in their lives, the pattern of cruelty most likely began long before their victimization of pets. Yet too often, we fail to spot the warning signs of abhorrent, abusive behavior.
As a society, we must condemn animal abuse with our hearts, not just because it’s the law. You don’t have to be a card-carrying animal rights activist to recognize that all life has value. When a person enjoys inflicting pain and killing, it must be recognized for what it is, not measured by the perceived value of the victim.
Now, a deviant is committing a series of cat mutilations in Moscow, Idaho. More than a dozen cats have been found mutilated, their body parts left for others to be shocked and sickened by. A reward of thousands of dollars has been established to help find the culprit(s).
It’s hard to believe that nobody suspects who’s doing these horrendous things. Are they brushing it off as “just cats” and therefore beneath concern?
Some people say there are too many abused children in the world to get worked up over a bunch of animals. It’s not an either/or choice; the human capacity for compassion is limitless. But if it’s logic you need, consider this: Will one who takes pleasure from killing, who delights in causing pain, ripping flesh and smelling fresh blood, draw the line at small animals? Like a drug addict, will such a person seek a greater “high”? There is no reason to expect boundaries of civility.
Turn the sickos in to authorities. They need help. Maybe it’s not already too late.