Whose pain can you feel?
Last year, a colleague mentioned that dogs are superior to other animals because they have a higher emotional quotient. Last month, a friend hypothesized on cow milk being purely vegetarian. Last week, somebody mentioned during an informal gathering that fish can’t feel pain. Today, I wonder why humans have so little empathy for fellow humans.
Maybe it’s not an and/or question anymore.
You either care for all beings or you don’t.
Also, it’s not a question of whether you consider another being food or not. Food brings in the morality angle. Almost everything is a matter of choice, isn’t it? The problem is we don’t wish to acquaint ourselves with evidence. We are so scared of confronting harsh realities that we don’t want to face the truth. If the slaughterhouses had glass walls, we’d graffiti on them. For karmic reasons, thanks to the advent of social media and camera phones, the Internet is flooded with more than enough examples that tell us how the so-called animals and birds have feelings too. Yet, we choose to overlook them just to make our indifference fashionable.
Take for instance the ongoing cry against climate change. A few days ago, a study estimated that we’ll be destroying the planet — at the rate we are destroying it right now — in exactly 31 years. I sincerely hope these scientists do what the Mayan calendar couldn’t in 2012. Climate change isn’t for debate, particularly when over 95% of the scientists vouch for it. But when it comes to methods of undoing climate change, there are stinking segregation. Some scientists are of the opinion that giving up meat consumption now won’t make a significant difference to the situation. On the other hand, there are scientists who want humankind to slowly shed the dependency on animals for nutrition. Either way, the conversion from non-veg fare to veg fare is not happening at a consequential rate. Too little. Too later. At the end of the equation, everybody might agree that climate change is for real but not everybody is willing to give up meat for the climate. And therein lies the greatest chasm between reality and expectation.
But, again, the problem isn’t the impending death of the planet; it has seen worse and risen from the dust and snowflakes again and again. This is about us and the ways we can redeem ourselves for all the wrongs we’ve inflicted upon the speechless creatures for temporal benefits. Maybe it’s time to step back and see what we are doing in the first place. Cruelty check, perhaps?
Let’s start with the so-called wild. For starters, why the hell is a bear made to perform; also, who are these sadistic folks who enjoy this torture? How can smearing cake on a lioness ever be funny? Who is going to create rivulets with their footsteps when the elephants are extinct? Where does a whale go when its belly is full of plastic? Such shameful reports are long and bloody and apathetic. All these incidents point to the undeniable role humans play, especially the ones who choose to ignore completely.
Of course, we don’t have to go on a safari to realize the gross injustice we execute on the fauna. Remember how we are all connected? The fluttering butterfly in the park beneath your skyscraper has something to do with the turbulence you’ll feel on your flight to London. We might not know how nature works and watching Planet Earth series might help. Besides, we can see it nearby how animals are mistreated. Street dogs and cats have the worst in India as kids throw stones at them while their parents admire their aiming skills. Who is going to speak for their pain? And while we are at it, let’s raise a bit above those who qualify as pets. Suffering is suffering. And it’s no different for two donkeys tied next to each other and made to walk in sync on the footpaths of Gurgaon? Or for that matter, the castration of bullocks so that we get our rice on the plate? The list goes on and on.
We are guilty, as a species, for each one of these iniquities. This status quo won’t change unless we accept the possibility that they are just like us — trying to make it to the next day. Be it a limping cow or a grounded pigeon or a overburdened horse, we, the urbaners, need to see and feel a bit more. Because whatever we are doing right now is clearly not enough. While we possess a brain that is intelligent enough to call itself the most intelligent, we are also the vilest product of this planet. No other creature singularly ruined the matrix of earth the way we are presently doing. A blue whale is gigantic but it’s gentle. An ant is tiny but ridiculously industrious. They all contribute to the welfare of our planet. Unlike us, who are synonymous with the word of the century: waste.
That’s our collective legacy.
So, in conclusion, dogs aren’t placed higher in the ‘good chain’ on the merit of their EQ. They are there because we choose to favour them over others. Similarly, cats can be legit assholes but they don’t deserve getting kicked by jerks. If vegetarians can have milk originally meant for calves, then they should shut up when beef is served. You can’t have it both ways. Lastly, just because fish don’t know how to scream with their mouths doesn’t mean they are enjoying their last moments out of water.
Tomorrow, you too will wonder why humans have so little empathy for fellow humans.
