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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Glorifying Cruelty – 24 January 2008
By Mary T. Hoffman

Unfortunately, glorifying cruelty is so common that most people fail to recognize it; they’ve probably become immune to it. Here’s just one example of “glorifying cruelty” that I happened to see on TV: A girl is riding a horse in a rodeo setting when the horse flips backwards landing her on the ground. In a later video, she is shown bragging about her going out to compete again just a few days after her accident, and how determined she is, et cetera. The voice-over adds that the injuries that many other riders sustain make it impossible for them to compete again. No mention at all is made of the condition of the horses. Apparently, they are considered expendable in this warped, egotistical, cruel exploitation by humans.

Then there is the TV ad showing a little girl practicing her bull-roping. You may have noticed, as I have, the increase in commercial ads that feature females in what can be described as aggressive/violent “humorous” situations; for example: hitting someone on the side of the head or throwing rocks at a house. Another very common scenario involves taking children out for some fish-killing “fun.” You can probably think of a lot of other examples of behaviors that are nothing more than the glorification of violence or cruelty.

It’s too bad that gaining equality translates into equal rights to engage in increasingly destructive behaviors. I don’t call that equality. It’s more like females being suckered into buying more hunting and fishing licenses, and equipment from the “cruelty goods” stores. It doesn’t take long for the oppressed to become the proud oppressors, does it?!

Also visit:
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/horse.html 
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/index.html

Go on to: Turkeys – 25 January 2008
Return to: Why We Don’t Eat Eggs – 23 January 2008
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