The world is changing and common slang changes as well.There are some terms that have gained group through the years as well.I am referring to terms that are used to degrade or expressing a disrespect to a person, gender or race.The terms used disrespectingly toward humans also show a lack of respect of the animals from which the term was coined.“These linguistic habits are rooted in speciesism, the assumption that other animals are inferior to humans and do not warrant equal consideration and respect. (785)
A cartoon expressing the loosely used term bitch. (1)
The Webster dictionary dates the definition of bitch back to the 12 century and defines bitch as “the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammals.”The second definition provided defines bitch as “a lewd or immoral woman” or “a malicious, spiteful, or overbearing woman” that is “sometimes used as a generalized term of abuse.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bitch) John Dunayer writes in his article Sexist Words, Speciesist Roots that “bitch denotes a female dog able to produce a litter.As pejorative, the term has remained female specific.” (786)
Dunayer continues in his article to explain the derogatory nature of the word when used to describe a woman.“Why should calling a woman a ‘bitch’ impute malice and selfishness?Given that most dogs are loving and eager to please, the metaphor’s sharp contempt seems puzzling.Breeders, however, have always treated the female dog with contempt—as a means to a useful, profitable, or prestigious litter.” (787)I turn my attention back to the definition provided by the Webster’s dictionary, where it states the definition of bitch dates to the 12th century. Men during that time, and still today use that term to provide themselves with the notion that they are superior to animals, and superior to Women.“The animal is a word, it is an appellation that men have instituted, a name they have given themselves the rightand the authority to give to another living creature.” (720)The term bitch can be understood as used to describe a Women and a female dog/mammal to be only a vessel to provide off spring.
A humorous view toward the term bitch. In this modern time, it seems that the disrespectful connotation of the term is loosing its power and is being more embraced. You decided if this is better or worse. (2)
In the article Sexist Words, Speciesist Roots, Dunayer continues to describe many of the derogatory phrases we use today.It is an interesting read if you are courious to the meaning behind slang phrases and the falsehoods behind them.The term “make pigs of themselves” for example is false in relation to the animal.“Unlike many other animals (including humans), they show no tendency to overeat.” (789)
Puppy Mills seem to be a highly debatable issue, yet I don’t recall having ever talked to an individual that was for them. There are numerous definitions for puppy mill. Wikipedia defines it as “a commercial dog breeding facility that is operated with an emphasis upon profits above animal welfare and is often in substandard conditions regarding the well-being of dogs in their care.”(1) The National Companion Animal Coalition defines puppy mills as “a high-volume, sub-standard dog breeding operation, which sells purebred or mixed-breed dogs, to unsuspecting buyers.”(2) The formal, Webster’s definition is “a commercial farming operation in which purebred dogs are raised in large numbers.”(3) A huge part of the debate over puppy mills would seem to be whether or not all puppy mills are bad, but that would take much more time than is allowed for the purpose of this discussion. For the purpose of this discussion, let’s use the assumption that all puppy mills operate under sub-standard conditions. Should these facilities be allowed to operate and if so, what can be done to assure the well being of the animals? If you have ever been in a discussion with anybody over this issue, the general consensus is to totally abolish puppy mills or make it totally illegal to operate one. Then you have the argument focused toward government regulation of these operations to make sure they are managed properly. But are either of these options really feasible?
Let’s start by analyzing what is the purpose of the puppy mill. At its core, the puppy mill breeds numerous breeds of pure-bred and mix dogs for the purpose of selling the offspring to pet stores and individuals for the enjoyment of their companionship. This being the case, then totally abolishing puppy mills really doesn’t make sense. So, does this mean that the solution is to have the government step in and regulate the industry? It would seem that would be a simple answer to the problem of managing puppy mills.Government regulation could be a viable plan, but would take years, if not decades, to implement and put into practice. Not to mention all the special interests that would end up in a bill of this nature. So that solution is not really a common sense approach either.
With all the technicalities we go through daily, how is it that inhumane operations continue under the radar?When was the last time you read a licensing agreement online before clicking the ‘I accept’ option and proceeding to what you wanted to view on that particular website? Fewer people could profit from puppy mills if we focused less on money and more on ensuring humane methods of breeding animals. Puppy mills exist simply for the purpose of breeding dogs as a product.These dogs are kept in uncomfortably confined spaces, in some cases without the room to even turn around, fed enough to barely stay alive, and their litters are pawned off like any other bit of property.Many of the offspring from these operations tend to have respiratory, genetic and mental disabilities from the unsanitary conditions from which they are bred. The mothers of these offspring face a life of constant pregnancy, and are auctioned off or killed once they fail to produce consistent litters. (4) If a law were passed to regulate dog breeding, which made it impossible for anyone to sell a breed of dog without a proper breeding license, the problem would diminish if not disappear. Though there are no laws at the national level for regulating breeders and puppy mills, many states have implemented some regulations.
Images of these animals leave a lasting impression (visual 1)
Individual states have already taken action against puppy-mills by implementing state puppy mill laws.The problem is that not all states have implemented laws such as these.In the state of Georgia, a breeder must pay to obtain a license to operate.They are subject to inspections by the commissioner of agriculture’s office, including new facilities, and must follow specific guidelines set by the state to maintain their license.The stipulation for this license is to provide humane care and proper facilities including: being in a “good state of repair, sanitation, ventilation” and free from “disease”. (5) Other states do not require a license to operate as a breeder, thereby leading to unregulated puppy mills.
Two of the largest states do not require a license to run a business of breeding and selling dogs. These two states are California and Texas.California does provide a definition for a breeder and requirements.However, the state does not regulate these facilities, and does not require inspections.Texas does not have any laws regulating breeders or animal facilities.
There is an assumption that state anti-cruelty laws would be applied toward this type of operation.This assumption has cloaked the fact that “most puppy mill dogs are often treated as agricultural ‘crops’ and not as pets.” (6) Most of the time, these businesses do not allow purchasers to view their facilities. I will use the state of Georgia as an example.Yes, Georgia does regulate breeders within the state, yet it is the office of the commissioner of agriculture that mandates the states stipulations.They bring their “product” to the doorsteps of unsuspecting businesses under the guise of a reputable breeder.“Some local humane societies and governmental agencies investigate conditions at puppy mills and intervene to rescue the animals if necessary. In many cases, though, local authorities may not set foot on a puppy mill unless they have received a complaint from a credible person who has personally witnessed substandard conditions and animal suffering. Because so few puppy mills invite customers onto their property to purchase dogs, it can be extremely difficult for law enforcement to intervene.” (7)
If all states adopted laws that were passed to regulate animal breeding, making it impossible for anyone to sell a breed of dog without a proper breeding license, the problem would shrink significantly, if not disappear altogether. Hypothetically, in this law, a dog breeder would need to go through an extensive process to be allowed to breed.This should not just apply to dogs, but any animal.This law would force every breeder to undergo inspection to see if they were fit to raise animals for breeding, if the living conditions were suitable for the animal, and if the dogs were indeed being well taken care of.If every breeder had to pay a fee to acquire a license and bi-monthly inspections on the animals and the owner were mandatory, it would be a strong deterrent for abusive dog-mills. The law should also dictate that pet shops be held liable for checking the authenticity of breeding license before buying animals from a breeder.
That said, common sense dictates a much more directly manageable plan if we are to make a difference in the lives of the poor animals that are bred, born and raised in these hell-holes we call puppy mills. One of the most effective means of combating the problem of abuse and neglect in puppy mills is on site inspections, looking for compliance of animal cruelty laws. These inspection jobs already exist, but training these people takes money and maintaining these jobs takes a decent salary. However, just having these positions is not enough either. There needs to be more of them than are currently out there, so the kennels and breeding facilities that are in non-compliance are actually caught and dealt with. The infrastructure and laws regarding animal cruelty are already in place. What is lacking is financing. We have National Kennel Clubs such as the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the United Kennel Club (UKC) and each individual breed of both dogs and cats have individual Kennel Clubs for their specific breed. All of these clubs have action plans for protecting the integrity and breeding of their individual breeds. We have organizations like PETA who are dedicated to the protection of animal rights. So why re-invent the wheel? It would seem that all we really need to do is reach into our pocket books and help fund the plans that are already in place. We all talk the good fight, but that is all we do! TALK!!
Every action plan needs to start somewhere.Awareness is already being raised for animal cruelty as a whole, and a focus needs to be made toward puppy mills.The public needs to face public problem recognition of the issue surrounding puppy mills.“Problem recognition occurs whenever the consumer sees a significant difference between his current state of affairs and some desired or ideal state.He perceives there is a problem to be solved, which may be small or large, simple or complex.” (8) The consumer being the person who unknowingly buys a puppy from a local pet store that, knowingly or not, purchased the animal from a puppy mill.There are documentaries such as Earthlings that show the dire conditions animals live through in puppy mills.The public does not search out images or information about this depressing subject.Commercials and public campaigns for animals in shelters are blasted across the airwaves and the impact has been made.However, the attention now need to go from a broad focus to an intense focus on puppy mills, themselves. “On May 29, 2008, MSNBC aired a report about puppy mills, in which Oprah Winfrey revealed an industry fraught with problems and apparent cruelty. The broadcast showed puppy mills having small cages with chicken wire floors, stacked in rows from floor to ceiling and stated that many dogs spend their entire lives within these tiny cages. Many of these dogs are sold on the internet or by pet retailers to buyers who are unaware of the dogs' backgrounds.” (9)More coverage and attention needs to be made toward this industry.Only continued exposure will lead to the public gaining knowledge about these practices.
Clip from the documentary Earthlings (Visual 2)
We should use the resources that AKC and UKC have set in place.There are many free avenues that can be used to start an awareness campaign.Facebook is a good example of a free median that can be used to raise awareness.Many other organizations have used fan pages and groups to gain membership and awareness on a subject.A starting point would be to focus on an individual city or state.Once membership climbs to a substantial number, use other free media to give exposure to the cause.Ask members to go to their local pet stores to inquire where they purchase the animals they sell and ask for documentation.In the city of Austin TX, Pet Smart works hand and hand with the non-profit organization Austin Pets Alive.In these Pet Smarts, rescued animals are up for adoption within the store instead of puppies.I would tend to believe that this has diminished the demand of puppies from puppy mills in this city.This also shows how a small group (in this case a non-profit organization) can make an impact, and start a chain reaction of change.
The largest impacts can start as small individual plans and actions. A huge difference can be made by raising awareness for the cause of creating jobs to combat animal cruelty in puppy mills.The tools are in place, so now is the time to use them!If you truly love animals and truly want to see the abuse and neglect that is occurring in these breeding facilities come to a halt; get off your lazy behinds and start helping to fund the programs that are out there to combat this abuse and neglect! Or, if you don’t have the extra money, donate your time. Just a couple of hours a week could make a difference! If you are going to buy a pet, do your research first. Look for a reputable breeder. If you buy from a pet store, find out where they get their pets and make sure that place is reputable. You could also do as I did and adopt a pet through a non-profit organization that focuses on rescuing animals.
Self explanatory (visual 3)
Word Count (without quotations): 1,733 Word Count (with quotations): 2,014
Works Cited
1. Wikipedia. “Puppy Mill.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_mill (accessed March 29, 2010).
2. Animal Advocates Society of BC. “Puppy Mills- a definition.” Animal Advocates Society. http://www.animaladvocates.com/dog-breeding/definitions.php (accessed March 29, 2010).
3. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. “Puppymill.” Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puppymill (accessed March 29, 2010).
4. Miscavage, Loriane. "Mother Dogs at Puppy Mills Have Nothing to Celebrate." The Humane Society of the United States. http:/http://www.hsus.org/ press_and_publications/press_releases/mother_dogs_at_puppy_mills_050909.html (accessed April 20, 2010).
5. Humane Society of the United States. “State Puppy Mill Laws.” The Humane Society of the United States. http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/puppy_mills/puppy_mills_laws_chart.pdf (accessed March 29, 2010).
6. Human Society of the United States. “What about anti-cruelty laws? Don’t those affect puppy mills?” Human Society of the United States. http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/qa/puppy_mill_FAQs.html#What_about_anticruelty_laws_Dont_those_a (accessed March 29, 2010).
7. Human Society of the United States. “What about anti-cruelty laws? Don’t those affect puppy mills?” Human Society of the United States. http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/qa/puppy_mill_FAQs.html#What_about_anticruelty_laws_Dont_those_a (accessed March 29, 2010).
8. Solomon, Michael R. "Consumers as Decision Makers." InConsumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being7th ed., edited by Katie Stevens, 308. 1996. Reprint, Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.
9. Wikipedia. “Puppy Mill.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_mills#cite_note-15 (accessed March 29, 2010).
When we are children, we don’t pay attention to the race/gender/ or species of others.The family dog can be your best friend, rooming freely around the house with you taking part in adventures.You could care less about the race or gender of your playmates on the playground.The ability to distinguish these traits is taught to you while you are growing and learning.The world around you starts to get smaller as people around you teach you what you should believe. (PICTURE 1)
“I was shocked that I had forgotten that human animals and nonhuman animals can communicate quite well; if we are brought up around animals as children we take this for granted.By the time we are adults we no longer remember.” (760A) Alice Walker expresses this idea beautifully in her story Am I Blue. Relating the treatment of animals, specifically a horse named Blue, to the treatment of slaves.She describes the relationship of adolescence and equality to the conditioning the person faces by the times/parents/ and peers on how to treat those that are different.“About slavery: about white children, who were raised by black people, who knew their first all-accepting love from black women, and then, when they were twelve or so, were told they must “forget” the deep levels of communication between themselves and “mammy that they knew… many more years later a white woman would say: ‘I can’t understand these Negroes, these blacks.What do they want? They’re so different from us.’”(760B) Racism is defined as “a belief that human races have distinctive characteristics that determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.” (762) Slave owners taught their children that they were better than the slaves they owned.Had their parents not told taught them, they would have continued to have a lifelong love for their “mammy” and slavery would have ceased to exist.
2."I Remember Mammy: Mattie Lee Martin ("Mammy") By one who loved her, Sharman Burson Ramsey
A story of love that didn't die, and didn't leave. A true Mammy that made an impact.
Animals can feel the despair of lose just as family of slaves when a loved one is taken from their arms. In the story Am I Blue, Blue’s mate was taken from him at a time where he seemed the most tranquil.“Blue was like a crazed person.Blue was, to me, a crazed person.He galloped furiously, as if he were being ridden, around and around his five beautiful acres…It was a look so piercing, so full of grief, a look so human,I almost laughed to think there are people who do not know that animals suffer.People like me who have forgotten, and daily forget, all that animals try to tell us.” (760B)We are taught as we grow up that we are human, and that animals are different from us.This is called speciesism.“Speciesism: a belief that different species of animals are significantly different form one another in their capacities to feel pleasure and pain and live an autonomous existence, usually involving the idea that one’s own species has the right to rule and use others.” (762)We forget that we ourselves are animals, sharing this planet with other species.What power are we given that other creatures aren’t?Do we have a bestowed right to treat animals as objects? “The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?” (757) The answer is yes!Blue’s eye told the story of his pain, and he never trusted the human’s that took his partner away.Animals feel the pain of lose, and we choose not to acknowledge that.Even a goldfish can feel loss.My 7 year old goldfish stopped eating and continued to swim back and forth in his tank for days after the death of another gold fish.I realized that he was mourning the loss of his “friend”.I did find another goldfish to add company to the lonely tank, and after a week my goldfish started to eat again.Though a story of a goldfish isn’t one that should in itself sway you, it should serve as an example that even a goldfish can express loss.
3. A Goldfish expressing himself to his owner
“Comparing the suffering of animals to that of blacks (or any other oppressed group) is offensive only to the speciesist: one who has embraced the false notions of what animals are like.Those who are offended by comparison to a fellow sufferer have unquestioningly accepted the biased worldview present by the master.To deny our similarities to animals is to deny and undermine our own power.It is to continue actively struggling to prove to our masters, past or present, that we are similar to those who have abused us, rather than to our fellow victims, those whom our masters have also victimized.” - Spiegel (766)
A final thought:“ Dale Baum, a history professor at A&M, said UT’s statues and fountain inscription make it arguably the most Confederate campus in the South.” (784) Taking a walk down the great lawn and past these statues, do you ask yourself about the racism embodied on the Campus of the University of Texas?
The subject of sympathetic imagination is difficult to talk about in direct terms.For today’s class discussion I plan on using poetry/ fiction writing as a way of expressing the emotions of a power animal in class. Another item that will be focused on is the difficulties of abstractions in writing; directly relating to sympathetic imagination.
TO BEGIN CLASS DISCUSSION:
A student who chooses to will be asked to read: The Panther (Rilke) and A Second Glance at a Jaguar (Hughes)
The class will be handed note cards with a specific animal (from the classroom power animals) written on the top.Each student will then be asked to write a short nonfiction story or preferably a poem about that animal.The topic of prose should be to express the animal on the card without naming the animal itself.The student should use sympathetic imagination to express how that animal would feel being in a cage for example, or the freedom of being in the wild.
Abstract arguments need examples and/or concrete images. Use “word pictures” like “illustrations, analogies, vivid quotations, metaphors, similes” (76). This helps your reader both understand and remember your argument
POEM: “A piece of writing or an oral composition, often characterized by a metrical structure, in which the expression of feelings, ideas, etc., is typically given intensity or flavour by distinctive diction, rhythm, imagery, etc.; a composition in poetry or verse.”
Each student will then anonymously place the card in a bag.A random student will then pick out a random card from the bag and read the poem.The class as a whole will try and guess what animal was the topic and answer the following questions:
Is the animal easy to guess?
Were you able to make a mental image of the animal and the surroundings? (cage/ in the wild)
Were you able to relate to the conditions the animal faced? (Use sympathetic Imagination)(“aperson’s ability to penetrate a spatial barrier and enter an object for a moment of complete identification.")
Were there to many abstractions? Were you able to gain a firm grasp of the idea presented?
a.To add to this question, I will read from Professor Bumps literature on Abstractions:
i.Hence the usual advice for good writing is to avoid abstract B.S.:
*John Trimble asks, "Are you being specific enough?" (Ex. “The character of Hamlet displays the qualities of a tragic hero.” LIKE WHAT???)
ii.Abstract arguments need examples and/or concrete images. Use “word pictures” like “illustrations, analogies, vivid quotations, metaphors, similes” (76). This helps your reader both understand and remember your argument
b."When vague abstractions are introduced, the leader is expected to ask for definitions and examples immediately. (Students who introduce vague abstractions should be prepared to supply these definitions and examples.) Why? "Without a firm hold on things, we shall waste ourselves in vague speculations'."
5. What phrase could have been changed to give a better (concrete) understanding of the animal?
At the end of the class I will pose this question.Though writing as the voice of the animal were you able to relate to the conditions faced by your subject?Do you feel that this exercise allowed you to have a better grasp of sympathetic imagination?
Being given the prompt to write about“the function of poetry, of fiction, of nonfiction, and of philosophy and which works for the sympathetic imagination extended to animals”, my mind goes to the explanation of poetics by Aristotle.Aristotle wrote in length about his beliefs on poetry and how to read, regard, and examine the meaning.He also wrote on the expression behind the poetry, and in the words of Dr. Gunn “Human experience is much more complicated and vast than our ability to communicate it! Your daily life experience is more rich and vast than can be captured in a sentence …Writing poetry is a way of expressing and explaining feelings or experiences.” Aristotle wrote at length in Poetics his definition of poetry.I have found a good summary of this definition through Spark notes of Poetics.“He defines poetry as the mimetic, or imitative, use of language, rhythm, and harmony, separately or in combination. Poetry is mimetic in that it creates a representation of objects and events in the world, unlike philosophy, for example, which presents ideas. Humans are naturally drawn to imitation, and so poetry has a strong pull on us. It can also be an excellent learning device, since we can coolly observe imitations of things like dead bodies and…animals when the real thing would disturb us.” (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/aristotle/section11.rhtml)
I believe poetry to be an outlet of expression.There are ideas that one can create in poetry that would not be conveyed as abstractly as fiction or nonfiction writing.I feel that poetry is the closest way to express the thought process behind a thought or idea.When you are pondering a thought in your mind, do you think in terms of structured sentences?I cannot answer that question for you, but for me my thoughts flow freely or in short spurts that do not contain the full idea that I wish to express to another.
Drawing back to the prompt, I believe that it is possible to express ones sympathetic imagination through all four facets; poetry, fiction, nonfiction and philosophy. On the topic of sympathetic imagination extended to animals, each rhetoric avenue has its strengths and weaknesses.It is the author who decides which avenue is best to describe or express the image and emotion he wishes the reader to gain from the reading.In my opinion, poetry allows the author to separate himself from the subject of the prose, and allows for the reader to develop an individual image from that.When reading Rilke’s poem The Panther, the passage of the animals will stands out. “His supple gait, the smoothness of strong strides that gently turn in ever smaller circles perform a dance of strength, centered deep within a will, stunned, but untamed, indomitable.”(665)I read a quite strength from the animal in the passage.The panther knowing it is en-caged chooses to keep its untamed will, though he shows a drawn out submission through turning in smaller circles.As it is with poetry, you may have developed a different image from this same passage.My point is that poetry entices the reader to form a mental image, thus the poets purpose is fulfilled.
1. Jaguar staring out his cage
Ted Hughes writes about another caged animal in The Jaguar.There is a notable difference in the tone of this poem compared to The Panther. “He spins from the bars, but there’s no cage to him more than to the visionary his cell; His stride is wildernesses of freedom.” (668)The animal in this poem does not slow his stride within his cage.The panther, like the jaguar keeps his untamed mind.The difference being that the panther continues to keep freedom within his vision.
2. Black Panther staring into the abyss with cage out of focus
In Elizabeth Costello, the fictional character John Costello asks his mother, “but isn’t poetry just another kind of clever talk; admiring the muscles of the big cats in verse?”(103)I believe that Elizabeth had answered this question earlier in a lecture when discussing Hughes.“It is much like the mixture of shamanism and spirit possession and archetype psychology that he himself espouses.In other words, a primitive experience (being face to face with an animal), a primitivist poem, and a primitivist theory of poetry to justify it.” (98) Though this does not fit directly in with my overall theme, it does show that poetry inspires imagery, and thought upon the subject of the poem.
In the theme of imagery, Kafka captures this within his story of Red Peter.This fictional story brings the reader face to face with the speaker of the story being an Ape.Being a fictional story, the Ape has gained human insight and qualities of speech and character.This character is able to express his feelings of being caged and his thoughts on freedom.“As far as I am concerned, I did not demand freedom either then or today.Incidentally, among human beings people all too often are deceived by freedom.And since freedom is reckoned among the most sublime feelings, the corresponding disappointment is also among the most sublime.” (660)
3. Artist representation of Red Peter
It is difficult to explain the power of sympathetic imagination in specific terms. Sympathetic imagination can be described as "a person’s ability to penetrate a spatial barrier and enter an object for a moment of complete identification." (http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E603/web04/Katie/Portfolio/notes%20for%2011.2.htm) By using poetic tools, the reader is forced to create an idea or image in their mind to represent a meaning from the poem. The same is used with fiction writing as well, to gain insight from the point of view of the animal. The section I quoted above from Kafka is an example of the author giving voice to an animal to give their view of their world, or their side of a story. This cannot be so easily done with non-fiction. It is true that an ethnography can give insight onto the outside world that an animal lives in, but it does not capture the voice of the animal. The poems quoted above do not give voice to the animal, but it does take the reader into the cage with the animal or right outside the cage feeling the tension between the space the bars steal from the animals freedom. If time is taken to put yourself into the place of the animal inside of the cage, the bars will feel colder than steel. You might be able to feel your freedom taken away, and if you make that momentary identification you are closer to that animal in spirit than the trainer will ever be.
After today’s readings, I am not sure what to write for my blog entry.Of course there were sections that I highlighted to return to once writing yet I can’t set my mind to the course of action of writing.Though the story was well written, I could not bring myself to enjoy the reading of Disgrace.Having many things in my personal and educational life bringing me down of late, I do not look forward to reading about cruel things that have been, or are being done to animals.I really disliked the end of the story (or at least our reading) after the main character builds a relationship with an unwanted dog, and realizing the dog had also formed the same connection. “Bearing him in his arms like a lamb, he re-enters the surgery. ‘I thought you would save him for another week,’ says Bev Shaw. ‘Are you giving him up?’ ‘Yes, I am giving him up.’” (687)Though this was a difficult task for David, and he continues to reflect upon the mental hardships he faces putting these animals down, he put down the one animal that he had made a connection with because of his disability.I have many personal qualms with the persecution of people and animals with disabilities.I have many problems myself that I do not view as disabilities, along with my constant companion Jazz (14 year old cockatiel) who can no longer fly.I agree with Barbara Smuts “while few of us can travel to Africa to live with wild baboons, most of us have the chance to develop a bond with a member of another intelligent, social species…”, with my bond being with Jazz.(652)The topic of disability is one that I will save for another day.
"Hope is a dog born without front legs. A dog barely mobile. Gentlemen, we can rebuild her. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world’s first bionicpuppy. Hope will be that puppy. Better than she was before. Better, stronger, faster.
This two-legged Maltese puppy gets around by using a specially-designed device using wheels from a model airplane. From birth, she was able to get around hardwood floors with ease by pushing off her back legs. However, doctors said that her natural mode of moving eventually would damage her bones and spine. This led them to creating TheSix Million Dollar Dog." 1.
Already being into the middle of my blog entry, I realize that I have made this a more personal “journal entry” than a blog.The next blog entry should be back along my usual writing style…
I also realize that I do not have much to say in the way of expressing my opinions, or reactions to the readings.They were another element of my day that brought me down.In continuing with not saying much in my own words I will finish this lonely blog entry with quotations relating animal cruelty.
“Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and think: they’re only animals.”—T. Adorno. (725)
“The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk?But rather, Can they suffer?”- J. Bentham (727)
“The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.” –Hippocrates (726)
“There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to beasts as well as man it is all a sham.” – A. Sewell (728)
“Heaven goes by favour.If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in… man is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain.” – M. Twain
“The Earth does not belong to man; Man belongs to the Earth.This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself… What is a man without the beasts?If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man.” –Chief Seattle. (729)
Reading about the holocaust a forgotten memory emerges from a grade school class in west Texas.We had finished reading number the stars, and were engaged in a discussion about the book and the story.The teacher was young and full of energy, and if I remember correctly it was her 2nd year to teach.She made an observation about the classroom of students that I will never forget.While discussing the section of the book where the main characters friend is poised as have dead sister (due to her late sisters hair and eye color), she remarked how many students in the classroom could be mistaken as Jews during that time period. (I think she was not thinking about what she was saying as she spoke).She pointed me out to the class along with another girl and stated, “Look! Sarah and Candice are both blonde with light eyes; they could have passed for Germans.”I analyze this remark, as I do most topics in this class to be a sign of the times.People are hard pressed to ignore the reality of a situation in the present and from the past to be able to bypass what they believe to be unnecessary empathetic emotions.This can go hand and hand with relating the holocaust to factory farming. Millions of animals are slaughtered, being chosen for their demise based on the form they were born into.J.M. Coetzee quotes from his mothers’ lecture, “Though I have no reason to believe that you have at the forefront of your minds what is being done to animals at this moment in production facilities… I will take it that you concede me the rhetorical power to evoke these horrors and bring them home to you...We have only one death of our own; we can comprehend the deaths of others only one at a time.” (63)She continued in her lecture to address the holocaust and the absence of concern from those living near to concentration camps stating, “They might have known, in another sense they did not know, could not afford to know for their own sake...because of a certain willed ignorance on their part.” (64)The fact is that people in a sense know what was going on around them in Germany and Europe the same as people knowing where their food comes from; the fact is they choose not to address this ethical dilemma and continue living in the dark.
1. Miami Beach Florida Holocaust Memorial
In this modern world people want convenience, and shelter; shelter from the horrors faced by those who came before us.In this current world, people have been affected by the recession. They have chosen the word recession as to not relate to the great depression.Though circumstances and the times are different, the fact remains that people have/and are suffering.Regarding my teacher in grade school, she did not live during World War II, therefore has no direct contact to the emotions felt for those affected.Her words seemed cold to me at first, and I am sure to you the reader, but if we take a closer examination on her knowledge reference she did not see what was wrong with her statements.Though she was informed about the holocaust, the direct images were not in her memory frame of reference.To quote Coetzee from his book Elizabeth Costello in regards to understanding another’s point; “the problem of calling evil a problem,… because a limit has been reached, the limit of what can be achieved with a body of balanced, well-informed modern folk in a clean, well lit lecture venue in a well ordered… city in the dawn of the twenty-first century.” (175)The modern person cannot relate to the actions of others, since they have not given time to ponder of the implication actions of others.A modern person finds a hard time relating to the actions of the Nazi’s yet they do not see the correlation in their actions against animals.Animals are literally being lead to the slaughter without any chance of speaking out against these actions.They have been pulled aside and marked for death for the body they process, all the while to serve the hungry appetites of humankind.
You are probably asking yourself, “Is she really relating the holocaust with the modern factory slaughter of animals?” and my answer for this blog is yes. David Sztybel explains the correlation in his article Can the Treatment of Animals Be Compared to The Holocaust? “ “’Holocaust,’ originally denoted ‘a Hebrew sacrifices in which the entire animal was given to Yahweh [GOD} to be consume with fire’ (Sax 200, 156). In a twist of history, then, a form of animal exploitation became a metaphor for what happened to the Jews at the hands of the Nazis.It is asked if the Holocaust can be compared with animal exploitation, even though the very term involves such a comparison, albeit metaphorically.” (732)Animals are being oppressed for how they look, think, and feel without being given the chance to just exist.Humans have been around only a fraction of time in the grand scheme of things.What gives us the right to overtake the lives and existence of other creatures that have populated this planet longer than us?It is true that animals eat other animals, and I do not find fault with humans eating meat.What I find fault with is the nature by which we prepare and consume our meat.Meat in modern times is not from the spoils of the hunt, but rather the all mighty super sized combo wrapped in a nice yellow wrapper. Does this photo need a caption? Does a person need a hamburger this size? No! Or any proportion of food this size? NO. Is this what a single animal died for? Yes.
The lessening of human suffering is a mere dummy set up to amuse sentimental dreamers... –Lewis Carroll (543)
In a modern world, we are subjected everyday to images of death and violence on national television networks.I have personally seen images of gruesome images from police crime/accident scenes from family and friends of my family in law enforcement.There is a human curiosity with violence and death, as manufactured by media networks.Long gone are the times were you could turn on a news network station and view family programming, along with images on people and animals alike spending the day together at a city function.Sex and violence sells, and that is what seems to keep this perpetual system going.The more these images flood our entertainment activities, the more the public craves.In relation to this animal humanities course, images that do not surface often are of animals in these same scenarios.The images of animals being rescued, or advertisement to rescue animals are the extent that we exposed to the suffering of other creatures that we share this planet with.
Scientists and student researchers on the UT campus have conducted experiments on animals to further feed our fascination with sex.A student that had conducted an experiment in the Animal Research Center at the University of Texas wrote about his experience experimenting on quails to better understand the novelty of sex.His experiment “investigated the copulatory (sexual) behavior of Japanese quail and its effects on learning and memory” (553).To accomplish his task, he was forced by the nature of the experiment to practice vivisection, as to not corrupt chemical data.He writes that “The subjects did not receive sedation or anesthetic as those chemicals would conflict with the aims of the experiment” (553).Once the experiment had been completed, and the animals killed to feed the data, the published results of course left out the avenue taken to get the data for the research.The purpose of the experiment was to show “novelty diminishes the effect of sexual experience in male Japanese quail” (554).This student follows his recounting of the experiment with stating “as a former researcher, I am not uniformed.Moreover, given my appreciation for both sides of the animal rights debate, I do not consider myself a fanatic… While I appreciate the need for animal research, I completely disagree with vivisection” (555). Another student researcher reflects "there probably never exists a point at which I will become numb to these sites..." and I hope this thought stays with him/her (558)
For the human curiosity in the subject of sex, why not experiment with humans?This is a novel idea for if we were to suggest testing the novelty diminishing the effect of sexual experience with human males, the masses would be excited to find out the results.Behind the curtain however, would scientists be able to conduct their experiments without feeling pity toward the poor souls that would be killed after a sexual experience.The public would find outrage if they knew that people were killed to get these results.So why is it that the testing on animals, especially using the method of vivisection to get results for medical publishing, go unnoticed?The reason is simple, we enjoy the convenience of going to a bookstore and purchasing a magazine to learn new information and not knowing what goes on behind the curtain.How many Americans would daily drive thru McDonalds for their daily lunch if they saw how their food was prepared in the kitchen?I realize this is a far cry for a decent analogy for the torturous killing of animals, but what else do I have in my arsenal of shared experiences that would make the average/blind American to think about this point?
The author of the Alice children’s book series wrote an article for Fortnightly Review entitled “Some Popular Fallacies about Vivisection” in 1875.So to the informed human, the issue of vivisection has been around for many centuries already.In this article, Carroll takes time to “attempt to formulate and classify some of the many fallacies, as they seem to me, which I have met with in the writings of those who advocate the practice”(541).He takes time to address thirteen fallacies that he has come across.The major problem today, as it was in 1875 is the dis-understanding of the practice.As I have stated before, the fact that the images and practices being kept behind the great green curtain of OZ.Animals suffer just as humans do, for are we not akin to others that share most of the same genetic code?Carroll writes in 1875, “For does it not presuppose the axiom that human and animal suffering differ in kind?A strange assertion this, from the lips of people who tell us that man is twin-brother to the monkey” (542).So why not the experimentation on humans?I do not, or will I advocate vivisection on humans, but the question makes you think about your own mortality.“Modern animal researchers… believe they are above moral obligations” (549).So what would this scientist say about experimenting on a fellow human?He might make a statement much as Carroll suggests; “He will tell you that this is merely a question of relative expediency,--that, with so feeble a physique as yours, you have only to be thankful that natural selection has spared you so long” (548).
It is not well known that human vivisection has occurred. See the images of children for yourself.
