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Comparing cats torturing other animals to systematic genocide, using nuclear weapons on others, starving whole populations, and other atrocities committed by hu

by mnm1 9y ago

Comparing cats torturing other animals to systematic genocide, using nuclear weapons on others, starving whole populations, and other atrocities committed by humans is what lacks perspective. Another big difference is that we are capable of knowing what is right and wrong and choose to still hurt and torture others en masse. We are now close to choosing to likely cause a worldwide extinction event, but somehow a cat torturing a mouse is comparable? No other creature even comes close.

dpark 9y ago
You're complaining that I compared cats to humans, while at the same time you're drawing a connection between genocide and eating pork. I stand by my initial statement that this is utterly lacking in perspective.
- mnm1 9y ago
  No, I'm comparing the torture of a few creatures to the torture and deaths of millions. I'm not drawing a connection between genocide and eating pork. I'm saying genocide is a lot worse than torturing a few creatures. You completely misunderstood.
true_religion 9y ago
> Comparing cats torturing other animals to systematic genocide, using nuclear weapons on others, starving whole populations, and other atrocities committed by humans is what lacks perspective. Are any of these things the 'natural' state of humanity? It looks like you only get to that after at least a few thousand years of cultural development as a whole, and two decades plus socialization to adulthood in a person. I feel like cats certainly would commit genocide if they had the mental capacity to plan for it. Overall, I think that it is a wrong view that morality exists as an abstract separate from the current social circumstance and any species (even humans) can be measured against that perfect ideal.
- mnm1 9y ago
  There's plenty of armies that recruit young children around 8, 9 years old as they have been for thousands of years. You don't need nuclear bombs to commit genocide or kill whole populations. Blades and spears will do just fine. So, yeah, I do think this is the natural state of humanity. Even a little kid who is not even an adult human is easily coaxed into a monster and has been so for thousands of years.

by mnm1 9y ago

dpark 9y ago

You're complaining that I compared cats to humans, while at the same time you're drawing a connection between genocide and eating pork. I stand by my initial statement that this is utterly lacking in perspective.

mnm1 9y ago
No, I'm comparing the torture of a few creatures to the torture and deaths of millions. I'm not drawing a connection between genocide and eating pork. I'm saying genocide is a lot worse than torturing a few creatures. You completely misunderstood.

true_religion 9y ago

> Comparing cats torturing other animals to systematic genocide, using nuclear weapons on others, starving whole populations, and other atrocities committed by humans is what lacks perspective. Are any of these things the 'natural' state of humanity? It looks like you only get to that after at least a few thousand years of cultural development as a whole, and two decades plus socialization to adulthood in a person. I feel like cats certainly would commit genocide if they had the mental capacity to plan for it. Overall, I think that it is a wrong view that morality exists as an abstract separate from the current social circumstance and any species (even humans) can be measured against that perfect ideal.

mnm1 9y ago
There's plenty of armies that recruit young children around 8, 9 years old as they have been for thousands of years. You don't need nuclear bombs to commit genocide or kill whole populations. Blades and spears will do just fine. So, yeah, I do think this is the natural state of humanity. Even a little kid who is not even an adult human is easily coaxed into a monster and has been so for thousands of years.