Monday, January 24, 2005
The Bigger Picture
Nothing like having two weeks of work left, but no actual work to do. I'd stop coming in, but then they would probably dock my last paycheck - and we can't have that happening. I guess I will mooch around and be bored for a while.
There was more mooching to be had on my weekend, which was pretty uneventful. The highlight being the fact that my packing efforts are well underway. I figure I will be sending five boxes of 'stuff' (ie. CDs, DVDs, books, clothing and assorted miscellany) home, and as of the moment, 3 of them are packed and sealed, ready to go.
My efforts to get other people to sell my furniture for me are going well, and just about all the big stuff is accounted for now. All I need to do is negotiate prices. The fact that I would probably have to pay to get rid of half of it if I wanted to throw it away will weaken my bargaining position somewhat, but I shall see how I go. I am meeting some prospective buyers (aka. guys that I go drinking with from time to time) for some drinks tonight.
Perhaps the main reason behind this post is the fact that the world, or at least the way the media reports it, has some serious problems. Allow me to refer to an article in The Australian today:
Kitten torched
January 24, 2005 A KITTEN was doused with petrol and set on fire the day after two teenagers were charged over the torture of another kitten at a Sydney railway station.
RSPCA chief inspector Don Robinson said the 10-week-old kitten was found today cowering under a house in Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west, with second degree burns to 30 per cent of its body.Despite treatment, it had only a 50-50 chance of surviving, he said.
"A witness has told us they saw two male youths on Saturday night pour petrol on the cat and set it alight," he said.
Mr Robinson said he was keeping the exact location and time of the attack secret while the RSPCA and police worked to identify the attackers.
The kitten, named William after Braveheart's William Wallace, had probably been hiding under the house since the attack.
William is being kept at the same animal shelter as Shelley, the kitten tortured at Seven Hills railway station, also in Sydney's west, on Saturday, January 15.
Three boys were caught on closed circuit TV (CCTV) stoning, stomping on and twice running over an eight-week-old kitten with a bicycle about 2.30am (AEDT), police said.
The stray – later named Shelley after the police officer who rescued and later adopted her – was kicked onto the train line after being brutalised and left for dead.
Shelley suffered a broken leg and internal injuries.
Two teenagers, aged 15 and 18, are due to appear in court next month charged with aggravated cruelty. They face a maximum $22,000 fine and/or two years in jail if convicted.
A third teenager, also aged 15, escaped charge but will get counselling.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, police are questioning four teenagers today over the abuse of a cat in Shepparton on Saturday night.
The three-month-old cat suffered a broken pelvis and internal bleeding when it was kicked, swung by the tail and thrown to the ground.
Police believed the attack could have been an attempt to copy the torture of Shelley a week earlier.
For one, society has a few issues if teenagers are running around torturing kittens. But that's not my point. There will always be the odd weirdo/psycho/unbalanced sliver of society doing twisted things like setting cats on fire.
What bugs me is the overwhelming media attention that these types of crimes have been receiving lately. Domestically, people are being abused, killed and cheated, people are starving, poverty-stricken and greviously ill. Look beyond our borders and there are wars raging and natural disasters abounding. In the greater scheme of things, who gives a fuck about kittens? Really.
Wouldn't we be better off drawing attention to the plight of ill/abused Australians PEOPLE? I mean, good on the RSPCA for all their work - their hearts are in the right place - but human society, and Australian society specifically has slightly larger problems than a bunch of barely-pubescent louts playing with fire and furry animals.
Are we that desentisied to human suffering?
It remids me of the scene in American Psycho where Patrick Bateman stabs the homeless man and proceeds to stomp his dog to death. You don't blink when the homeless guy gets snuffed out, but the killing of the dog makes you cringe.
