Mar 29, 2012 -- 10:21AM, Esdraelon wrote:

Careful now, or someone might accuse you or projecting!........

You mean they'll accuse me of something you do all the time?

Mar 29, 2012 -- 11:36AM, mountain_man wrote:

Mar 29, 2012 -- 10:23AM, loveontheair wrote:

They eat dog an many places around the world.

That means you are going to eat your pets. I could never do something like that.

loveontheair: They eat dog an many places around the world.  A FACT.

MM:  That means you are going to eat your pets.  A DEROGATORY RETORT, DEVOID OF ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, SHOWING A COMPLETE DISCONNECT TO THE OBVIOUS.....

Mar 29, 2012 -- 1:12PM, loveontheair wrote:

I never said I would eat my pet...

Essentially, you did.

Well said, Esdraelon.

Humans kill and eat other living beings (including other humans) for the simple, basic reason that they can, and because humans really do believe that everything on this planet, including any and all other living beings, exists for the sole purpose of being used by humans. 

This goes along with the erroneous idea that Homo sapiens sapiens is, for some reason, superior to all other living beings.

The scientific fact that every living thing on this planet evolved from the same common ancestor, and that we all share at least some of the same DNA, never enters into the equation.

People say that they would never kill a dog, or that they wouldn't even consider eating horse meat, but they have no problem supporting the cattle or pig killing industry.  In other words, most humans subscribe to what George Orwell so succinctly expressed in Animal Farm:

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.'

People really do believe that.

Mar 29, 2012 -- 6:49PM, Erey wrote:

Mar 29, 2012 -- 5:32PM, solfeggio wrote:

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.'

People really do believe that.

 

 

I believe that and I am not ashamed of it.  I am sorry, a cockroach is not equal to my dog (or your dog).  A sparrow is not equal to a tiger.  There is a hiearchy that exists because it makes sense.  Let me say before people get nuts that this does not mean that I advocate running around biting the heads off sparrows or stomping all over toads.  I don't.  I just mean that there are valid and usefull reasons that human societies value certain animals over others. 

Personally, I find this idea that all animals should be valued exactly the same to be completely unfeasible and really just ridiculous.  I am perfectly happy to intervene on what appears to be a lost dog.  I am not going to go too far out of my way for a rat that lives out in my yard. 

I think what should be advocated is a higher degree of care and concern for all animals.  not this mamby pamby idea that you have to declare a common house spider equal to a blue whale. 

I too like to feed the birds and squirells that live outside my home and I suppose by default I probably feed the rats too. 

I have given little creatures a helping hand because I could.  I could pick up the baby bird and place it on a higher branch.  I could stop for a toad in my path.  But some animals are more valued by me and valued by society.  For those animals I am willing to engage in more efforts for them. 

The Animal Farm was comparing animals to animals, not to cockroaches and spiders, lol.  Anyway, all of life deserves respect.  That is what to be equal means, equal respect.  Now as far as equal intelligence, we all know that different animals have different superior traits to others, different intelligence to others.  There are things that people in general don't even know about animals and where they appear in the cosmic life, but that's a different thread.