Coupled with other people, I may sound like a broken record when I say the media has desensitized the public to violence - but it's true! Though the violence I'm talking about isn't directed at humans, it is still equally important to eliminate.
The TV satellite system at our house has approx. 135 channels and, on any given day, there will be a program broadcasted with some sort of animal violence. When showing bull fighting, horse racing, or anything else similar to that, not once will anyone mention the agony the animals will endure to entertain the public. For instance (without mentioning names) there is one 'home video' show on air that plays 'exciting' home videos or 'amazing' footage caught on tape. Today I watched as a bull catapulted a rodeo clown into the guard fence. The audience 'oohhh-ed' and 'aaaahhh-ed', but afterwards, the announcer gave no mention of why the bull was so aggresive, or the torture brought onto it to make the poor bull 'perform'. I never heard anyone say that animal abuse is wrong and should be stopped. As a result, the public gets the impression that animal abuse is right - and torture is okay. It's not!!
Through repeatative airing, people have become accustomed to watching animal abuse and doing nothing. Here's how is works: Initially, the person sees abuse happening..and it makes them flinch....They think about it for no more than a few minutes and forget soon after. They see another case of abuse and the impact isn't so great this time... or the next... or the next... - they become dulled to it. This is where the major problem starts - its like a huge, painful chain reaction. From there, it can only get worse....
It seems like now there are more TV shows encouraging animal abuse than there are TV shows broadcasting how to help end animal abuse - That's terribly sad.
Part of the reason research labs get away with what they do is because the public is desensitzed enough to just forget about the agony - the atrocites - the torture. When a new 'medical miracle' is discovered, the media strongly concentrates on how good it will be for mankind. There is never any mention, though, of what the lab animals went through. If the general public really knew what went on behind locked, guarded doors, the vivisectors would be in big trouble because than maybe it would be a big wake-up call to the public.
You may be able to ignore that picture of a bull fight, but can you ignore the picture of a cat, partly dissected (but still conscious - receiving no anesthesia whatsoever), crying out in sheer pain, hoping for someone to rescue it?? That was just a mild example of what goes on in a vivisection lab - trust me, there is far worse!!
Over the past few years, the focus has been taken off of animal cruelty and the light is now on what good comes out as a result of it. It's the researchers hope that if you push a lot of 'good' news into the public, they'll soon forget about the bad.
In some cases, sadly, that may be true. Thankfully, in other cases, it isn't. This is where animal activists come in! These brave people believe in animal rights and will stop at nothing to enforce them! They (me included) believe that like a human, an animal breaths, lives out its life and can feel anything (pain, sadness, loneliness, happiness, etc).
Unfortunately, the fight for animal rights will be a never-ending one. Animal rights activists will spend the rest of their lives de-bunking what the media (and the vivisectors) report. If you will - the media is like a shredded blanket - only covering certain things. Oddly enough though, animal rights stories are rarely included. The only way to let the truth be known is if enough people draw enough attention to it. It's an on-going battle, but for millions of people around the world, it's worth it!
