A cat's life
Could we all pause for a second and take a deep breath?
The fallout over the killing of a cat at Sliters three weeks ago is nearing the ridiculous. At first it was just the letters about how terrible the action of clubbing a cat was. OK, I can understand that.
But then began the letters and calls demanding that Tim Dalton, the store manager accused of the act, be fired. Then came the e-mails calling for the boycott of Sliters.
Now I'm getting faxes and e-mails from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals who have contacted Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan "urging his office to charge Tim Dalton with cruelty to animals and vigorously prosecute him."
In fact, Bigfork is on PETA's home page. County Attorney Ed Corrigan will now likely receive letters from all over the nation thanks to the posting of his address on the Web site.
PETA's fax to me even went so far as to cite "leading mental health professionals" that state people who are violent to animals - even just once - are likely to repeat the offense and "pose a serious threat to all animals, including humans."
Never mind PETA's screwed up belief that humans are in the same category as all animals, but to insinuate that because someone smacked a cat - that bit him, by the way - he is now a threat to society is absolutely stupid and a classic case of character assassination.
An isolated incident by a respected person in a store that has long been a positive influence in Bigfork doesn't call for this kind of a response.
Maybe this will help put it into perspective:
In the past three weeks, a growing number of Flathead youths became addicted to meth.
In the past three weeks, millions of young girls continued work as sex slaves around the globe.
In the past three weeks, more American soldiers came home in flag-draped coffins.
And in the past three weeks, a stray cat was killed because it bit three people. If the last sentence ranks in greater importance to you than any of the above problems - that's sad.
I'm always amazed at how much energy is drummed up over trivial matters. I'm an animal nut - I love them. Could I have killed the cat even though it bit me? Probably not. Should a stray cat put someone out of a job or significantly hurt an employer? No.
Where is this kind of passion and outpouring when it comes to the real problems in our society. Call me crazy, but I'm a people first kind of guy.
Helping animals is a worthwhile cause, but certainly not the leading issue of the day.
Thousands of dollars go rushing out to help stray cats every year. Year-round fund-raisers go on to help dogs find homes, which is a good thing. And yet, a fair amount of people in the Flathead struggle to meet their basic needs.
I'm not trying to excuse the behavior of people who actually abuse animals, and I don't think we should ignore animals, but how is it that feral cats can stir the hearts of people more than our fellow human beings?
When I was attending college in Portland, I occasionally volunteered with an organization that helped homeless street kids. Most of these kids came from horrific backgrounds, and the dangerous streets of the city were a better alternative than staying at home. A lot of them couldn't even go to the homeless shelters because sexual predators went their to troll for underage victims.
The people running the organization had to go around and beg for funding just to help feed and clothe the homeless youth.
As I was driving home one night, I passed by where two homeless kids often slept - under a large billboard. When I looked up at the advertisement, it had a large picture of a cat on it with a warning about the consequences of neglecting your pets.
I was sick that a massive advertisement about pets was the "home" for homeless kids.
PETA's priorities are just as twisted.
The group's newest face of anti-violence is none other than Edie Falco, one of the stars from the popular HBO program "The Sopranos."
Ah, yes, the lovely program about the mob frequently murdering humans. What better role model for an anti-violence campaign than the wife of a mob boss. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe Ms. Falco wears a fur outfit every now and then on her show. (Don't tell PETA.)
Clubbing a cat would be one of the least violent acts to ever take place during an episode of "The Sopranos," but PETA doesn't mind.
When I wrote back to the person involved with PETA who had e-mailed me that their spokesperson of choice was strange, his response was "We've gotten great feedback on the PSA. People seem to really respond to familiar faces - associated with fictitious violence …"
I guess violence against people can be overlooked for a cause that's truly worthy - stray cats.
What a world.