David Cassuto
This article on the relationship between human-to-animal cruelty and human-to-human cruelty is worth reading particularly for what it does not do. The author does not dwell just on how inter-species cruelty can be both trigger and symptom of intra-species cruelty, but also on the fact that violence against other beings — be they human or non — is often pathological. The oft-overlooked takeaway there is that it´s the same pathology, regardless of the victim.
Empathy
Therefore, one need not be extraordinarily empathetic (as vegans and vegetarians apparently are) to abhor animal cruelty. One might also be justified in harboring cautious hope that, as factory-farming practices become more and more widely known, people of all walks will recoil in disgust.
How´s that for a little doe-eyed optimism for a Monday afternoon?
Filed under: animal advocacy, animal cruelty, animal law, animal welfare, factory farms | Tagged: animal abuse, animal advocacy, animal cruelty, animal ethics, animal law, animal suffering, animal welfare, cruelty, domestic violence, empathy, factory farms, farmed animals, human-animal violence, industrial farming, veganism, vegetarianism |
Animal Blawg 
[…] The link between cruelty to animals and to humans receives more comment. […]
that is so worgh