tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11522380.post8296274827146851977..comments2023-10-26T05:57:03.209-07:00Comments on Skeptacles: Damned good questionStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02211730939356678631noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11522380.post-91332834694045311382007-09-26T07:52:00.000-07:002007-09-26T07:52:00.000-07:00I think part of the disconnect is the level of per...I think part of the disconnect is the level of perceived <I>agreement</I>. The society is already doing, we hope and believe, everything it can to suppress brutality against humans. It's something we agree on, pretty much, so, if there's no celebity association, we can categorize the news rapidly and firmly into the class of irreducible violent crimes.<BR/><BR/>Dog abuse often evokes more outrage because some people apparently don't think it's particularly problematic. It's just a dog, they say. The rest of us, dog lovers perhaps, react strongly to that unacceptable minority opinion more than the event itself. We <I>want</I> people to be outraged. If they're not, it's news.<BR/><BR/>There's also a perception that society is drifting toward increasing levels of dog abuse. The trend is also more disturbing than the event. Why, we want to know, is this happening? Change for the worse is puzzling and frightening. I know that in Philadelphia the rising murder <I>rate</I> has occupied more front pages than any other topic but Iraq. Iraq, of course, is newsworthy because we disagree among ourselves on the question of what should be done there.jj mollohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15011855944240477996noreply@blogger.com