# Acts of cruelty you're not ashamed of **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 23, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358 "2009-12-23T19:35:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/21 "2009-12-23T20:26:33Z")
When I was an irresponsible young adult, I did something similar. I “freed” a hamster to the wild because I was sick of him, he kept escaping, chewing things up, rationalization, rationalization, rationalization. I’ve regretted it pretty much since. It was a totally shitty thing to do, and I wish I hadn’t. I don’t get the OP … what the fuck were you expecting, “kudos for being a borderline psychopath” … “good job on killing a defensless animal” … “nice work being a soulless prick.” ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/22 "2009-12-23T20:29:09Z")
Sigh. I was hoping this would be about practical jokes or something. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Meh. It’s an animal. It was a bit cruel to throw her out in the snow rather than have her euthanased, but the end result is the same. The goal with euthanasia is to provide a good death (ευ-, “good” + θάνατος, “death”), or at least one with a minimum of pain and suffering. That is not the same as throwing a house cat into the snow. > [@](#): > > Never seen the need for angst over getting rid of an animal. And I say this as someone with pets. I’ve never equated an animal’s life with a human, but if you can’t see how “getting rid of an animal” can cause sole people at least a little “angst,” something’s wrong. > [@](#): > > Oh, and I don’t regret telling my ex-girlfriend that her boyfriend (that she left me for) was cheating on her. Not one bit. Now _that_ I can understand. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/23 "2009-12-23T20:30:32Z")
> [@Slappy\_the\_Clown](#): > > You’re a piece of shit. Go fuck yourself. I hope you get thrown out into the snow, never to be seen again. Sigh. **lissener** is whacking off to your comment now. I hope you’re happy. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/24 "2009-12-23T20:30:39Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Hey, if you can share a home with them without getting fondly attached, more power to you. > > I’m sure that makes you a much more emotionally grounded person than us sentimental animal owners. I get fondly attached. When it’s reciprocated. Otherwise, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/25 "2009-12-23T20:31:51Z")
Not man enough to drown the little furball in the rain barrel, then? Figures. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/26 "2009-12-23T20:31:55Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > What are you looking for here? Do you have some sort of urge to get off on people telling you what a horrible person you are? Haven’t you had enough of that here already? Before I’d only disliked him because of the smug, condescending tone he adopts in Cafe Society. Now I feel like I have a much better reason. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/27 "2009-12-23T20:35:22Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > The goal with euthanasia is to provide a good death (ευ-, “good” + θάνατος, “death”), or at least one with a minimum of pain and suffering. That is not the same as throwing a house cat into the snow. But both methoda, the end result is a dead cat. I acknowledged it was cruel. > [@](#): > > I’ve never equated an animal’s life with a human, but if you can’t see how “getting rid of an animal” can cause sole people at least a little “angst,” something’s wrong. I can see \*why \*it would cause some people angst, but I don’t always agree with it. If the cat as described in the OP was mine, I’d have euthanased it probably around year one. Loveable moggie that purrs in my lap, of course not. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/28 "2009-12-23T20:36:26Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Not man enough to drown the little furball in the rain barrel, then? Figures. Man, now **Crafter\_Man** is going to be all up over here…or was he the one that shoots them, I forget. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/29 "2009-12-23T20:43:11Z")
Am I imagining things, or did I read the story in the OP before? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/30 "2009-12-23T20:49:50Z")
Yes, I’ve mentioned it before. Twice. The difference is, this time, **twickster** , in her capacity as a moderator, rather than starting a Pit thread to address her objections, moved this thread here, effectively instructing all of the Dope to pit me on her behalf. Dickish move, and frankly one that I think should not be allowed. If a moderator thinks someone should be pitted, she should pit him. Not pin a “Kick-me, per a moderator” sign to his back. I’ve asked her to close it. I’m happy to debate the advisability of my actions, even the state of mind I was in–this was right before the first time I was hospitalized for depression–but I’m not willing to bend over, at a mod’s whim, and just take it. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/31 "2009-12-23T20:50:22Z")
I’m skeptical that a cat could move a 9 pound CD player, unless it was pretty precariously perched in the first place. You don’t put expensive, breakable items on shelves that are narrow enough that the object has to be near the edge. And once one valuable item has fallen down and broken, however it happened, it’s just dumb to put another valuable, breakable item in the same place. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result every time. > [@Bosstone](#): > > He drinks out of the toilet, usually after I’ve just used it Why don’t you just keep the lid down when you’re not using the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358/32 "2009-12-23T20:52:14Z")
Thread closed at OP’s request. If the OP wishes to begin a discussion about my actions, he is welcome to do so in ATMB. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acts-of-cruelty-youre-not-ashamed-of/522358.md?page=1)