by wyandottecaver » Jan 21, 2011 7:55 pm
Doesn't anyone READ anymore? More to the point does anyone THINK after they read. I agree with NZ's Goodwin's law point, as the reasons against it obviously held true here. Everything else got washed under the "he said hitler" frenzy with no thought paid the the actual illustration.
I have already agreed that what happened is illegal. I also pointed out that breaking the law by itself doesn't mean your some kind of societal dinosaur. I agree that *I* think it was wrong too.
What we don't agree on is that the only way someone could have done such a thing is that they must be a sicko, psycho, or otherwise not normal. THAT is my point.
Much of the arguments seem to differentiate between vermin and non vermin, between killing animals for fun or for a reason, etc. as to whether something is right or wrong. The point I tried to make is that what consitutes "vermin" or killing for fun, or even "right" is not universal.
I NEVER said killing bats (or rats) was right. I never said jon was Hitler or Patton was. I said that WHAT is right to you or the next guy is a function of many things. That normal, reasonable, responsible people can disagree. That education, society, culture, all those things matter. That calling someone psycho, weird, disturbed, etc. or suggesting they get "a different kind of sensitivity training" just because they don't believe the way you do has been done many times before in history. That anytime anyone (including Patton) thinks their version of right is the ONLY version that reasonable people can hold thats bad.
As for facts:
I assure you I'm probably at least as familiar with the rates of rabies among bats as you or BCI is. I'm certainly not saying we need to exterminate bats for fear of rabies. Raccoons are FAR more of a threat on that front.
That's not the point. The point is we kill mosquitoes as a human health threat (or just because they land on us) without batting an eye. While I doubt whoever did this had the "public good" in mind, LOTS of otherwise reasonable, normal people think bats are a rabies danger, get tangled in your hair, Should be encouraged to roost in places that flood, and all other preposterous things.
What they did was certainly illegal, It was possibly based on poor information, It could have been done maliciously, It certainly was not necessary. But while they may have held no more revulsion at killing those bats than jon seemed to have at killing rats in a cellar, I say its preposterous we label them sicko's sight unseen.
P.S. You can enjoy birdwatching and camera safari's without enjoying killing. Just exactly how do you like hunting without also liking the killing? Please don't quote me the noble savage or love of the chase crap or we will need a new thread.
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)