Friday, April 17, 2009
Animal rights
I'm teaching a class of high school students yesterday and a young lady brought up the fact that animals have rights...okay I say, what rights do they have and why? She says because we are animals and have rights that animals require the same treatment and that they should be treated equally. Is this ludicrous, or am I the only one out there that believes somewhat differently? Well, a lot bit differently come to think of it. It seems to me that these kids are getting this nonsense from somewhere, and that perhaps we as experienced, knowledgeable adults should be gently correcting their misconceptions with compassion, love and forebearance. Either that or just laugh at their silliness, explain to them in no uncertain terms how inane they truly are, give them a good kick in the butt, and send them on their way. I vote for the latter.
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4 comments:
One of the classic hints a mother gives her daughter upon entering the dating world is to watch how her potential beau treats an animal. If he treats them with kindness and the respect any living thing deserves (such as not denying them basic need like food and water, or beating them), then he's "a keeper"! Of course, there are crazy liberals and conservatives alike that take this concept too far, saying that an animal life far exceeds those of a human (well, there are special cases- Manson, Pol Paut, etc), but each to his own.
Animals capable of conscious thought do have rights, but for the most part, they don't exceed humanity's.
Not according to these girls, they informed me that the life of an animal is much more valuable than that of a human. Now that's sad! Guess I should have been a little more clear in my blog!
Seriously? You should remember me- I was in that class. I was one of the so called "young ladies." You've made half of this up.
According to you, you said that we had no proof on the matter of how an animal should be treated. We had much more than you did. All you could say when we asked "where's your proof?" is just "I just know." Tell me, how is that proof? Do you remember saying to me animals only can do what they are trained to do? Isn't school just a place to train students? Aren't we potty trained just like household pets? Doesn't that sound like all we can do is what we're trained to do? You may bring up the argument that we are the only species that can train our own but we're not. An animal's mother will train them to hunt, how to walk, and how to survive in the wild. If you weren't trained to do that do you think you could survive?
I'm sure you remember saying that "animals don't have feelings." I'm thinking that you meant they don't have emotions, which is just stupid to say because when a dog gets angered it bites, when a cat gets scared it scratches, and all animals cry if they're in pain, worried, or in distress. Just ask any vet and I'm sure they will tell you if an animal growing up goes through too much anxiety it will become aggressive. These are perfect examples of emotions.
I never said we were animals I said we were mammals. I said that animals should get the same treatment as us because they don't deserve to be stuck in an abusive household just like we don't deserve to. That day you said animals can't reason. If they couldn't reason they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a bad and a good person, or a bad or good thing to do. I bet you'll say to that, that they are only trained the difference between bad and good. Well we are too. When we are small children and we do something bad we get punished and sometimes it's the same punishment a dog or a cat get when they do something "bad". It may be a swat on the butt or they are put in to time out. So what you know as bad and good may be totally different then what I believe to be bad and good. We are trained to do believe that.
I also never said an animal's life is more valuable than a human's (yes I even read the comments). All I said was they don't deserve to be made to fight and if they lose they should not be killed.
You would be much more believable if you could look at the subject trough someone elses eyes. if you just sit there and listen without butting in. I would sit and listen to you if you did the same for me.
by the way when you said "I'm teaching a class yesterday." I'm present tense and yesterday is past.
The argument that animals should have the same rights as us, that 'I said that animals should get the same treatment as us', doesn't hold any water. Here's the thing: animals cannot reason. They cannot tell the difference between right and wrong, other than through conditioning. You argued that people are trained, 'like animals', and thus should be treated equally to animals.
Is it just me, or do you lack an understanding of how humans work? Sure we're 'trained' early on, but that denies the basic free agency endowed in everyone that dogs and other animals lack.
Furthermore animals do not, as you argue, have the same emotional capacity as humans. Can an animal be struck in awe over the grandeur of the Grand Canyon? Can a beast fall in love? Can a mere creature view a piece of art with the same emotion as a human? No.
Dave's point is that animals do not have the same rights as humans, and to argue that is ridiculous.
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