I’m sure you’ve heard about the cat in the garbage bin woman. I first heard about it on the CBS Evening News a few days ago and I thought, “That was mean but is it really worth making an international incident out of it?” There are many cases of animal abuse that are much worse. Why isn’t the world outraged about any of those?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not defending the woman. That she said, “It’s just a cat,” really pushes my buttons and makes me wish I could have a word with her. There’s no such thing as “just a cat.” But what’s bad about this whole thing – what’s scary about it – is that any one of us could have a moment of stupidity and do or say something we wouldn’t normally do or say and have it end up on YouTube and become next week’s “Most Hated Person in the World”.
I would bet that the majority of people don’t think the woman putting the cat in the garbage bin was all that big of a deal but it doesn’t matter what the majority thinks; it’s the shouting minority that counts. A person could lose her job because 10% or so of the world’s population is upset about one thoughtless act. Don’t think it could happen to you? Well, be careful because you never know.
August 26th, 2010 - 8:17 am
And be careful what you say on the Internet. And be careful what library books you check out. And be careful what you order from catalogs.
I don’t like the modern world so much any more. (Well, except for human rights, women’s suffrage, antibiotics, vaccines, and pasteurization….)
August 26th, 2010 - 8:50 am
I know. Dammit, why can’t we have all the good stuff and none (or at least less) of the bad stuff?
August 26th, 2010 - 9:48 am
On the other hand, putting a live cat in a garbage bin kind of goes beyond a mere “thoughtless act.” It falls rather under the purview of “antisocial impulse that in earlier days before cameras everywhere people would have been expected to have the self-discipline to overcome.” It’s odd that along with spy cameras everywhere people seem to have lost all inhibitions and now just do whatever the impulsive little voice in their heads tell them to do. Me, I guess I just barely missed getting to grow up under this regimen of “if it feels… like anything at all, do it!” If I ever get an unusual impulse to do something bizarre, I can hear my grandmother’s voice from the great beyond: “Don’t you do it!”
August 28th, 2010 - 8:11 am
I’m one of those who is not a cat person. I’m allergic to them, I bear them no ill will, but nor do I bear them any particular goodwill.
I’m fascinated by the way in which the global lynch-mob went after this woman. What she did was wrong, cruel, stupid, but hardly justified some of the threats against her.
Our world treats animals badly a lot of the time, and compared to most, cats have it pretty good, unlike say, a dog, no lead, no commands, free range of the house, sleep on any bed/chair/towel/heap of clothes/kitchen surface.
On the same day, countless animals were hunted, trapped, shot, or netted.
Where’s the outrage on behalf of the anonymous cod?
August 28th, 2010 - 8:16 am
Oh. And if ever I have any work done in my home whilst I’m not present, I’ll be sure to mention the hidden webcams…..
That’ll make them paranoid…
Maybe I should actually get a webcam? Aargh no! Not unless I want to accidentally find my early morning, bleary-eyed, partly naked self all over you tube.