Letter: Mascot abuser needs some help

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

Who abuses animals? "Most people who abuse animals are adolescent or young adult males ... Many animal abusers have ... antisocial or criminal activities, including vandalism, assault, and arson, and many are the victims of physical or sexual abuse. Animal cruelty is often associated with children who do poorly in school and have low self-esteem and few friends."

Why? "Animal cruelty ... is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, and under the control of others. The motive may be to shock, threaten, intimidate, or to demonstrate rejection of society's rules" ... or "as a safe way to get revenge on someone who cares about that animal."

The person responsible for this deviant crime against Blu needs psychological intervention. Without help now, this person could be headed for a life of crime and abuse afflicted upon others.

In the words of Thomas A. Edison, "Nonviolence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."

EILEEN C. HATFIELD