You Can't be a Killer by Torturing a Cat

Having read an article featuring a Chinese lad who reportedly made money by hawking video clips about this man's hankering for animal abuse-he is said to have skinned cats , someone posted a message on a website claiming that "murderers usually start by killing helpless animals."

I simply object to someone making a ludicrous statement like this. There are no grounds to think that one could end up becoming a killer after treating cats badly. Here's my reply to that person.

"Your contention that serial killers start by croaking animals doesn't withstand analysis. I have slain insects like ants and flies in the past; besides, I even put soap into the gob of a goldfish when I was still a kid. If that doesn't sound hideous, then let me tell you that I once saw one of my classmates throwing stones at a little dog; he was trying to push the poor dog into a hole. And I simply stood there watching him do this while laughing just like a flinty-hearted accomplice cheering on the perp. I don't remember what happened next; the dog may not have been killed. I admit it was an atrocious act, but that's no justification for suggesting that you run the risk of becoming a killer after torturing a dog or cat. It's apples and oranges. Consider this: you have never killed insects in your life?

I'm not trying to explain away such abhorrent acts. I just want to say that this conclusion is repugnant to the facts about some killers who actually behave like mild-mannered sorts in reality, say, they can be doting parents, complaisant colleagues, jovial husbands or doe-eyed wives, biddable friends, and even devout religious people who abide by holy principles.

For my money, people tend to do loopy things when they yield to their caprices or mood swings. And people also don't act like rational beings when they get a cob on something, say, a girl just can't act like a lady anymore when she espies her boyfriend and her own best friend-who's female-snogging. There is a related case in which a diffident girl just drugged her boyfriend after being told that he was dating another girl. It's plain that she wouldn't have done this if she hadn't been antagonized by his perfidy.

To be fair, the onus is on us to protect such poor cats while decrying animal abuse. And it would be foolish to vent your spleen on a poor cat when you get embittered by something. A better alternative would be to find another way to let off steam, such as playing online combat games or watching hilarious movies to lift your spirits. You could even simply cry like a kid when you feel sad or get stressed out; just never let your anguish build up in your heart and flare up like a volcano at length.

You are just making a rod for your own back when you go loco or go rogue just like the young man in this case. He is said to have been berated by his school. Some Chinese websites even report that he has been banished from his school."