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From 17 April 2005 Issue

Smashing Puppies & Kittens With Hockey Sticks
By Robert Cohen - [email protected]

Today's column has nothing to do with milk issues, but during the years of Notmilk advocacy, it's been made clear to me that all things are connected. Violence to animals, violence to people, abusing humans, abusing any living creature. It's really all the same.

When innocent people are hurt or die from an act of violence, or when innocent animals experience the same, that illogical and irrational action becomes a tragedy of spirit that separates abusers from the infinite forces which govern us all.

To those who are on the receiving end of injustice and pain, there is the suffering and indignity of actions which make no sense. To those of us who have assumed the role of complacent spectator to such universal suffering, there becomes an obligation to make a phone call or write an email or stand up and protest that which is clearly wrong.

Professional sports sometimes exist as a microcosm of life. Cities fight cities and fan(atic)s applaud the actions of their own warriors.

I grew up as a New York Ranger hockey fan and was lucky enough to be a season ticket holder (Section 108, row 2, seats 5 and 6) for twenty years at Madison Square Garden. Hardly a game went by without hearing this comment from one or more spectators:

"I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out."

Yes, hockey is a violent sport, and for the first time in history, Canada's national game was eliminated for the 2004-2005 season because of labor disputes between the owners and players.

Sadly, Canada's bloodlust has replaced one sport with another. We do not play this new sport in America. North of the border, millions of infants will die violent deaths while the world watches in relative silence.

I invite you to click on this photo, taken moments before the splattering of blood sprayed from the head of a newborn infant mammal. The picture represents the promise of violence, but not the actual act, so you should not be overly offended:

<http://tinyurl.com/69ovp

Here is the "after" photo, and yes, its reproduction here is intended to offend:

<http://tinyurl.com/7ynma

It is not really puppies and kittens who die on blood-stained Canadian ice, but does it matter what creature suffers that fate? No living infant deserves such human hatred or indifference. Nature has designed the face of all infants, so that the basic instinct of any adult is to nurture and help those soft, cuddly, loveable, innocent creatures who are now in distress.

See:
<http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals.html

Who is responsible for the carnage? Is it the men wielding the clubs, or the women wearing the sealskin coats? Is it the Canadian bureaucrats who turn deaf ears to the protests, or the majority of people who choose not to even whisper their displeasure? We all share responsibility, because these horrendous crimes against nature's creations continue.

What can you do? What should you do? My answer is, whatever you think is right. Take this moment to ask yourself, what is the nature of my religion, or my God, or whatever spirit that will one day tabulate my own scorecard and assess the things that I did in my lifetime. Many, myself included, believe that to save just one living creature is to save the world. What you do today can be self-gratifying, and can make an enormous difference for those who are unable to speak out against injustice.

To get VERY MUCH involved:

http://www.protectseals.org 

Eyewitness account of seal hunt:

<http://tinyurl.com/5gnyz

Have a happy and productive Sunday.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com 

Go on to Our Very Own Color by Michelle Rivera
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