LAST EDITED ON Mar-05-08 AT 01:28PM (MST)[p]I guess I'm a hypocrite too. I have killed lots of prairie dogs, rabbits, mice, rats, birds, squirrels and chipmunks and never thought twice about it. I did it mainly just for "fun" and for hunting practice, and I was a lot younger and now hold a deeper respect for life and think differently about it. But to me there is something really wrong about just throwing a dog off a cliff like that. It is disturbing and wrong in my hypocritical opinion, no matter how many battles or what stress you might be under.
So why do we think it is OK to kill prairie dogs, rats, mice, squirrels, etc just for fun and then cringe when a dog is thrown off a cliff so nonchalantly by a supposed soldier who then just shrugs it off and keeps on marching? Maybe its because we see these animals as prey or the enemy (varmints and vermin) and we see domesticated animals,pets, and game animals differently.
I guess we put a social priority ranking on animals. In my mind, it is sick and wrong to wantonly kill cats, dogs, horses, cattle, and all game species just for fun. I don't like to kill period. However I can accept it if it is for a wise and beneficial purpose. Now this is where I become hypocritical I guess. Where does it become wise and beneficial to wantonly shoot prairie dogs, coyotes, etc? I guess there is a reason for it - controlling vermin and varmint species, but should I enjoy it as much as I do? Should I think twice about it next time before I do it? Maybe so.
But I don't think I probably will and here is my reasoning why, flawed and hypocritical though it may be. Coyotes, prairie dogs etc. can pose a serious threat to us and we can more readily justify killing them to serve a greater purpose. And in all reality, we try to do it as humanely as possible. I know of no other way to more humanely end a prairie dog's existence than with a 55 grain hollow point .22-250 round traveling 3700 feet per second. Yes there is carnage and in a very primal and maybe sadistc way it is funny to see it, but I guarantee you if I hit center mass, the prairie dog won't know a thing about it. It will be dead before its shattered spleen hits the dirt and sagebrush around the hole it fatefully popped it's head out of. Throwing a dog off a cliff is entirely different and I am sorry, but I can't find any moral or psychological justification for it.
In this case it wasn't just a dog either, it was a puppy and there is a certain social stigma about killing puppies. You just don't do it. In my opinion it is along the same lines, though not in seriousness I'll agree, as child molestation. You are taking something that is helpless and harmless and subjecting it to your cruel will for your own pleasure. There is a complete and total disregard for life and it demonstrates a general disattachment from any human emotion that would prevent you from doing such a thing. Yes soldiers are taught to get around this, but not to ultimately ignore it. They are accountable for their behavior and their judgement. To me this demonstrates poor poor judgement and as Ismith has pointed out, a lack of control in the chain of command. Something inside this kid is broken and it needs to be fixed before he can live a productive life in society. The danger of risky behavior as this is never what it is at the moment, but what it leads to in the future. So you say it is just a dog, but the big question that needs to be answered is what is next?
Maybe I have seen one too many puppy calendars and not enough prairie dog calendars to make me feel the difference between the two, but to me, this is almost as low as you can get. I hope it is a fake.
UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
