Watching the documentary, "To Love or To Kill: Man vs. Animal" left me feeling sick to my stomach after seeing how animals are treated. By seeing this movie, it showed me that Americans are not the ones that are harming animals the most.
For example, the Spanish are extremely cruel to animals. Torturing bulls and throwing other animals out of windows is extreme. The documentary reasoned this type of torture and killing through religion. Why would a culture feel the need to kill another living creature that their God created? There are other ways to show adoration towards a God and celebrate religious holidays.
During the part of the movie where cats were being decapitated was when I was the most disgusted. Why would household animals be killed as a source of food? This showed me that the moral status of household pets equals the same of a farm animal's in countries such as China. It opened my eyes to a different culture's point of view of animals. However, there was some good qualities to this documentary.
Seeing animals being used for therapy with disabled human beings or prisoners showed the happier side of the relationship between man and animals. It showed me how the United States still respects animals to some degree and uses them for meaningful purposes. Luckily, where we live animals are being used to help others and not as a source of food/sacrifice.
Also, when the Rabbi stated we were inconsistent with killing cows as a source of food but not cats, I felt disgusted. Although I agree with him to an extent, I do not believe it justifies what other cultures are doing. I still believe it is wrong to kill a cat as a source of food and do not care if I am a hypocrite by doing this.
Watching this movie proved to me that one's culture helps determine the moral status of animals. What is "right" to one culture is "wrong" to another. Like Betsy, Liz, and Nicole, I would prefer not to finish watching this documentary. Even though it is useful to an extent,
I believe it is more harmful. Seeing my other fellow classmates and me closing our eyes and turning away from the TV showed how much we did not want to see more of it. I hope that I can actually sit and watch the rest of the movie without shutting my eyes.
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2 comments:
Jackie,
Appreciated your comment on my blog. I agree with you that our culture seems to be a powerful determinant in what we accept as acceptable sources of food. I also gained insight and data from your sharing your observation about how many of us had eyes closed. Thanks for sharing, it helps. Betsy
Jaclyn, I totally agree with you about being disgusted with the Rabbi. I think though that maybe it is because of there being different cultures. Different cultures give different animals different moral statuses than we do.
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