On the recent puppy-throwing...

[Karathos]

Now, this is the first topic I've actually decided to start myself so bear with me on this. Watching the massive outburst of anger on most forums in regards to the video of the teenage girl throwing puppies in the river, I immediately started thinking one thing.

"Do people have any idea how many HUMAN BEINGS die every day for no good reason?"

Now allow me to explain that. I just can't get my head around the amount of outrage that this has caused. Yes, it's a sick act and I'd just as happily throw the girl into a river herself, but is it really -that- big a news story that some puppies got killed? Thousands drown in floods in some hellhole and it barely raises any eyebrows, but a girl throwing puppies in the river and everyone's greasing up the sniper rifles for a takedown. It's not the first time this has happened either (US Marine throws puppy off cliff-video, for example), so for added discussion value I'm going to ask...

Why does something like cute puppies being hurt merit such a strong response from people, while simultaneous human suffering elsewhere seems to go unnoticed? Or is it just me being a cynic, to begin with? Now discuss!

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Why does something like cute puppies being hurt merit such a strong response from people, while simultaneous human suffering elsewhere seems to go unnoticed? Or is it just me being a cynic, to begin with? Now discuss!

Most of the time, it's due to the fact that small puppies cannot defend themselves in the same or effective manner that a human being can in the face of adversity and violence. Mainly.

Otherwise, my primary concern is for human beings and the issues that infect our race daily.

 

[AceDefective]

First off the title made me laugh so hard
But yea we hear of people dieing all the time it just stops effecting the emotions But puppys nobody harms puppys so when someone DOES we Freak

 

[YouCallMeNighthawk]

well i'm not agreeing with what she did was right but, disposing of unwanted puppies or kittens by throwing them in rivers has been around for quite a while especially in the more eastern part or europe. The thing that mainly caused the outrage is because they are puppies which are therefore defenseless, also that she was laughing whilst doing it.

Did the flood in pakistan not get enough attention for you? hurricane katrina caused a massive flood and was world wide news. it's has to be a massive loss of life to make the news or else people wouldn't really care.

 

[Karathos]

Why does something like cute puppies being hurt merit such a strong response from people, while simultaneous human suffering elsewhere seems to go unnoticed? Or is it just me being a cynic, to begin with? Now discuss!

Most of the time, it's due to the fact that small puppies cannot defend themselves in the same or effective manner that a human being can in the face of adversity and violence. Mainly.

Otherwise, my primary concern is for human beings and the issues that infect our race daily.

Hmm, true. I suppose being completely defenseless adds an extra layer of cruelty to the act, and people obviously go "How can someone do that..." and so forth because they (hopefully) can't understand why someone would do that.

Good point. *nod*

First off the title made me laugh so hard
But yea we hear of people dieing all the time it just stops effecting the emotions But puppys nobody harms puppys so when someone DOES we Freak

Heh, I was gonna go with "Puppy-tossing" but it sounded too much like a sport. >_>

And yeah, I suppose puppies are up there with any other babies/children as a taboo you're not supposed to mess with.

Keep 'em coming people. We're like four posts in and I'm already seeing points I hadn't considered.

 

[Ickorus]

Floods are a natural occurence so theres not much to be outraged about there but some girl throwing puppies in a river is a disgusting evil thing to do so we latch onto that.

That's my assuptions anyway.

Also there was some girl throwing puppies in a river? What a sick *****.

 

[Dexiro]

Wait? Where's the video of a teenage girl throwing babies into a river?

That's what the puppy thing is equivalent too. Sure humans die for no good reason, but we're watching a defenseless little puppies get killed for no good reason.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Because I don't care about people, neither do I care about the puppies. I think the only reason everyone is so pissed about it is because it's a good laugh to hate on people.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I laughed my ass off at the puppy video. But, then again I laugh at most everything other people find terrible.

EDIT: In response to one of the other comments, Puppy Tossing needs to be a new Olympic sport.

 

[monstersquad]

There's a difference here. The girl was causing direct suffering through her actions, these actions could have been modified at any time with the slightest bit of empathy applied. The wide range of human suffering across this earth is not caused by the capricious whims of a little girl. It's nature pure and simple. And besides, call me a callous dick, but people need strife, it's what makes the world go round. Strife makes life suck. But life without strife, and without the lessons learned from enduring said strife would be super boring and suck even more. I mean suck with a dirty, low-down emptiness that just eats at your soul. So yeah, people need strife. Good old, force of nature type stuff. Enduring hardships is the greatest human quality there is. No matter where you are, what conditions you're in, that's still life, Human existence, and people will always make the best of what they can get, no matter how shitty it may be.

 

[Crystalite]

That is the thing about city-people, mainly. We value most highly what we consider rare.
Humans are all around us all the time, and many are pretty obnoxious. And they are all pretty much the same to us.
People far away, we figure, are even less of concern to us.

Puppies however, apart from beeing rare in our everyday life, have the typicall facial and bodily traits we associate with children. It is a known fact that we respond instinctivly to young animals much the same way as we react to human kids. With the instinct to love and to protect. Just natures way of making us protect our young, and all young look pretty much alike.

We feel little compassion for people we don´t know or don´t see. People drowning in floods is horrible, but unless I see these people or know them, I personally find it very hard to react emotionaly.
If they showed pictures of children actually drowning, I would be sick, much more so than the puppies (which only made me sad a bit). But all we ever see is sad looking dishevelled people huddled somewhere, and that is not strong enough for us, desensitized as we are.

Just my theory...

 

[Casimir_Effect]

It's easier to care when it isn't people being hurt. When it's another person, it makes us realise most of the whiny little problems that we suffer are of little consequence.
"This girl doesn't like me"
"My parents are SO annoying"
"My friend is being a dick"
"School sucks" etc
None of these matter compared to something like, for instance, this [link]http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/24/congo-rebels-rape-un-rwanda[/link]
And how many of you heard about that on the news?

If you ever think about a story like that, you either numb yourself to it and go back to normal life, or you truly think about it and for a while are more thankfull about your own position in the world. The problem is, no one else around you has thought about it, so while they're being their normal whiny, depressive self and you're going around trying to be happier with what you have, you're slowly brought back down to the place they are in. That fantastically self-centred place where only your own happiness and problems have any relevance, and there is little you ever do without expected to gain in some way.

I'm no better. Instead of writing stuff like this I could be trying to help. Sure I can tell myself that for now my further eduction matters and will allow me to help more in the future if I wish to. But will I wish to after graduating? Or will I fall into the life of a privaleged Westerner - get a job, get married, get a house, get kids, retire, die. A part of me wants to go and help somewhere. At least, I think it does.

 

[AlanShore]

Because hurting an animal like this is just so completely pointless and cruel. There is absolutely no excuse for it at all and is the product of someone's sick idea of fun. Also people who have pets can relate at lot more to it and would be pretty devastated if someone were to harm their pet. I know what you're getting at, but you can't really compare it to floods and natural disasters as there isn't anyone to blame for it.

Plus, why do people hold human life as being so sacred that the loss of an animals life is almost negligible? Most people are so completely unremarkable I don't care about loss of their life any more than an animals.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Because humans aren't as cute as puppies. Or as marketable.

Child cruelty and the mistreatment of other human beings is omnipresent, but why get into a frenzy about that when there's a girl throwing some cute widdle animals in the river?

I guess the Devil you know seems less scary. Or at least, less newsworthy.

 

[NotSoNimble]

I don't know where you live, but the news I get always covers floods and any other type of human death that occurs.

The only place I have seen this puppy stuff is on this website. I know it has been covered elsewhere, but most news I hear about has to do with humans.

Today for example all I hear about is the extra from Transformers 3 that might die from the blow to her head she got while driving her car.

Just cause one person notices something often doesn't mean the world only notices what you see.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

well i'm not agreeing with what she did was right but, disposing of unwanted puppies or kittens by throwing them in rivers has been around for quite a while especially in the more eastern part or europe.

Bullshit. Eastern Europe isn't some sort of redneck infested area that still clings to feudal ways. The so called "tradition" here when it comes to unwanted puppies is either give them to somebody that wants them or get them to a shelter. Oh, that's right, WE'VE GOT SHELTERS and just like everywhere else they either get adopted or put down.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Most people are so completely unremarkable I don't care about loss of their life any more than an animals.

Thanks for being part of the problem. If everybody thought the way you did we'd all exploit, murder and steal from one another because, after all, I don't care about such unremarkable people when there's ME I can think about!

Oh wait, that's how the world really is. Because so many people think like you. You know, everybody seems lame and boring until one pulls one's head of the proverbial buttocks and gets to freaking know them. I met a guy in a college class this term who was a veteran who spoke Korean. Another guy was in the marines. I know a Vietnamese girl who was born in Belgium but lives in America, an Asian-American anime chick, a would-be cartoonist who dresses like Ramona Flowers, and a dude who fought a former World Champion martial artist.

I dunno what people are like where you're from, but most of the ones I meet are pretty freaking awesome. I'd much rather see people alive than dogs, and I'm a dog person.

 

[Mechsoap]

cause puppies are cute.

serious its because puppies cant defend themselves, and while someone for fun kills defenceless creatures

 

[EeveeElectro]

I was wondering something similar about the woman who threw a cat in a bin.
Would people care as much if the cat was a spider? Probably not.
I suppose it's just human nature to think certain life is more dear than others.
I, myself prefer animals to humans most of the time.

Haven't seen the video, don't want to. I saw a comment that she was laughing whilst doing it; she obviously is mentally unstable. Get her locked up before she starts killing humans in the same way.