Do you think we will ever live in a world where all people will respect animals..?

Question

Or will always exist people who hate animals, want to shoot everything in sight and only think about their own personal gain and the dollars they will earn?
I've read this quote being referenced to Mahatma
Gandhi: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can
be judged by the way it's animals are treated."
Do you think this is true? I do.

Answer 1

I suppose it will happen when humans begin to acknowledge that we are ourselves are animals, are primates, etc. Very often, I notice people saying that "animals act instinctively, don't 'make choices,' etc." I also constantly see the acceptance of the food industry propaganda that we must get all 8 essential amino acids all at once - thus tofu would seem the only viable (and therefore "unnatural") "alternative" source of "protein." All 8 essential amino acids can be had from combining various vegetables. Who will disperse ignorance? I will. You will. We will.

The USA is 2-3% Vegetarian at the moment - when we hit 10-15%, it ought to "snowball." I hope it does. I am tired of knowing so many violent, ignorant and delusional people with double chins on statins and blood pressure meds.

Answer 2

Nope. Part of it stems from personal experience. If you're like La Toya Jackson, and saw a cat attacking someone's throat, you'd be afraid of cats too. But also, there's jealousy, since some animals can just lie around all day while we have to struggle. Then there's people who dispise animals in general, perhaps because they're oblivious to the things we're concerned with, or because even the smartest animals will never come close to the intelect of the average 8 year old human.

So long as people are individuals, for any given person there'll be some animals they like, and some animals they dislike. I personally like ants, squirrels and cats, but dislike dogs and spiders.

And I disagree with the Gandhi quote, since personal preferences for animals isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just because a famous person said something doesn't necessarily make it true ;-).

Answer 3

Why can't we respect both people and animals at the same time? Why some people always think that until all people respect everyone else, only then we can move to respect our fellows animals will always confuse me. Is there a scale of love I'm not aware of?
I agree with you. People should have respect for every living being but I think that's a long way from our generation.

There's also a quote by Kant similar: "He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. "

Answer 4

Since we can't live in a world where even all the people are treated with respect, I think living in a world where all animals are treated with respect is a million years away at best.

Answer 5

I'm confused by what you mean. Do you mean we must not kill animals to eat? to clothe us? Do you mean we must not "put it down" when it's severly injured? Do you mean we must not use animals to study effects of drugs and should go straight to human test subjects first?

I respect the farmer who tends to his cattle and shoots the rough looking coyote that seems to be sick and unafraid of humans. I respect the father that discreetly takes the dog that just got ran over and left to die slowly, out back and puts it out of its misery.

I respect the indian who taught me that we must be thankful of what the animals provide for us and never abuse this by taking more than we need.

What would you change about these people's actions?

Answer 6

I think that for the most part, it's true!

However, I don't think we will ever live in a world where all people will respect animals as long as we have people who don't care for them! This cycle of hatred is just like that of racism, sexism, classism, etc.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, I don't think all people will ever see animals the way you and I do. I feel more empathy for animals because they can't speak for themselves and defend themselves. It makes me sad and sick the way they are treated and hunted. I really like the quote by the way.

Answer 8

I pray every day that mankind will realize that his Dominion over the animals , means he should take care of them! not destroy them, abuse them, and eat them.
for Animal rights check out www.myspace.com/rageboo
peace

Answer 9

It would take the dismantling of capitalism, which commodifies everything--including humans and animals--for this to happen.

Answer 10

I think that we, as humans, need to work on respecting each other first.